David Letterman, Music, and Me

My mother is 68 years old. That’s the same age as David Letterman. Now, my mother isn’t as obviously plugged into pop culture as much as the recently retired and 33 year tenured late night talk show host is, but she is the owner of a nice collection of vintage vinyl. She bequeathed the majority of my late father’s collection to me, but only upon promising that I would make her CD copies of the music so she could still listen to it when she wanted. The point being, she was quite up to date on popular music for many decades-and still is in many ways (she insists Lady Gaga has a better voice than Madonna-a point we hotly contest), but now I’m sure she couldn’t tell you the names of the members of Foo Fighters, even if the she doesn’t mind their music. As we all know now, and have been reminded of relentlessly over the past few weeks by a deluge of listicles on the topic, Foo Fighters is David Letterman’s favorite band. The point here being that David Letterman was obviously, all the way up to the end of his tenure as the king of late night (and he WAS the king of late night-nay sayers be damned) a fan of great music. He never lost that teenage-like joy at hearing a band he really enjoyed play live on his show, nor his delight and palpable emotional reaction to a band that he might not have been impressed with at first, but ended up a fan of after hearing live for the first time. The majority of music fans often lose sight of popular music after 40. Letterman never lost sight. In fact, Letterman never grew up in this sense and plenty of MTV deprived youths, such as myself, owe him a great debt because of it. 

CHIMES’ Debut LP Pile of Parts Is Worth the Wait

Mike Magarelli and CHIMES launch an inspired Dark Wave resurrection with debut album PILE OF PARTS. 

Back on September 23, 2023, I was covering Modern English live at the Radio Room in Greenville, SC. I was there to see them primarily and really wasn’t aware of who was opening. I always cover the opening bands in my reviews though, so I definitely was going to check out whomever it was. As Chimes began to play their opening set, a vibe not unlike a cool wind on a late autumn night emanated from the stage and enveloped the crowd in melancholy embrace. It was an embrace that wasn’t sad, or sorrowful, but coolly affecting. It’s the kind of vibe that bands like The Cure, The Twilight Sad, early Jesus and Mary Chain, and other goth and Dark Wave bands of a similar sound are masters of. Chimes’ performance that night won me over, ended too soon, and left me wanting to hear more. Finally after a year and a half, the LP Chimes’ lead singer/guitarist Mike Magarelli promised was coming soon is now here.

A.A. Williams Solstice

 

A student of mine recently asked me, "How do you know about so many bands?!" Besides the fact that I have 3 decades of listening to music on him, I explained that one of the best ways to discover new bands is to pay attention to any smaller, locally and independently run, music venue near you. These locations are where the best new musicians and bands often make their tour debuts. For me, that local venue is The Radio Room. I've discovered many bands that I've taken a serious liking to by either checking them out live there or looking up their music on various streaming platforms. A.A. Williams is one of those artists that I discovered this way. Although I couldn't make the show The Radio Room sponsored due to scheduling conflicts, I looked up her music and listened to her debut album, Forever Blue (2020). Her follow up album, As the Moon Rests (2022) solidified me as a fan of her music, and made me deeply regretful I missed seeing her live. With her 2026 release, Solstice, Williams continues to deepen and expand her sound. A sound that amalgamates alt-rock, goth rock, doom metal, and post-classical and transcends many of her fellow musicians' compositions working with similar post-modern modes and genres. 

A Perfect Circle Return With New Song "Starless"

 

A Perfect Circle returns with their first new music in 8 years, and while it's only a single song, it's like hearing an old comrade pick up the good fight again. 

Maynard James Keenan has never shied away from grand statements as the front man for TOOL, and especially as the leader of Puscifer and the voice of A Perfect Circle. TOOL is often inward looking with its music and philosophy, focusing on the sacred geometry of the body and soul. Puscifer started as a comedy routine basically, but has grown into an outward looking satirical and mind bending trip into what ails society at large. A Perfect Circle started out as a descent into occult imagery and psychological themes. About the time of eMOTVEe though, A Perfect Circle became starkly political in much of their music. While maintaining much of the occult imagery and intricate orchestration, covers of songs like "What's Going On," "Peace Love and Understanding," and "Imagine" bespoke of a certain concern for the politics of the time. Eat The Elephant (2018) continued the socio-political commentary with its lyrics. "Starless," their first new song in 8 years further continues this trend, but a little less directly than many of the songs on Eat The Elephant did.  

Chevelle Continue their Sci-Fi Inspired Crimes On New Album Bright as Blasphemy

 

The Brothers Loeffler continue the evolution of their band, Chevelle's, 1990s alt-rock cum nu-metal sound to one merged just slightly enough with the type of elements that make MUSE the number one sci-fi rock band of the 21st Century, and deliver their best album since they dove head first into sci-fi themes and album artwork with 2009's Sci-Fi Crimes with their new release Bright as Blasphemy (2025). 

Still Fumbling Towards Ecstasy With Sarah McLachlan 30 Years On

Sarah McLachlan's Fumbling Toward Ecstasy continues to speak, 30 years on, to those possessed with and still Fumbling after ecstasy. 

Pearl Jam Dark Matter Album Reflections

 

Pearl Jam Dark Matter 

Dark Matter has been out long enough now that official bootlegs of Pearl Jam's 2024 tour are available at pearljam.com/tenclub. Live versions of songs off the album can be heard, dissected, and scrutinized by Pearl Jam's legions of fans, myself being one of them. Some of the songs take on new life live, like "Setting Sun," a song which I didn't really get into upon hearing it on the album. Now it's one of my favorite new PJ songs. Other songs like "Won't Tell" are just as compelling live as they are on the album. Anyway, what is there left to say about the band's most recent album that hasn't already been said? Not much. Still, a 33 year Pearl Jam fan's opinion might be interesting, especially since upon a first listen to the band's 12th studio album, I despised how it sounded. It turns out I wasn't evolved enough yet to understand it.