I’ve been a fan of Norwegian singer Maria Mena for over twenty years but haven’t been lucky enough to see her in concert. She does shows in Europe but never in the USA. She hinted once about coming to New York City which had me hyped but that never materialized. When I was in Amsterdam…
September was the month of double albums, a few weeks ago Paula Cole put out her two Sonic Memoir volumes and last week Carly Rae Jepsen dropped her twenty-four track (one for every hour of the day) double disc Day And Night. The first twelve songs are the Day disc. Daytime Carly is experimental with…
This weekend New England was hit by a Noreaster. What’s a Noreaster? It means lots of rain with heavy winds. What did it mean for most people? Panicked grocery runs for milk and bread. What did it mean for me? Debating if I still go to New York City Saturday to see two off-Broadway shows…
This was the video that started it all, my lifelong love affair with Madonna. Every queen needs their diva and she’s been mine since that day in 1984: I ran to the flea market to buy rubber bracelets and a belly-baring mesh tank top…not a flattering look for a chubby pasty-white boy MTV introduced me…
The List is the Susanna Hoffs album I’ve been waiting years for. In March I went to The Ridgefield Playhouse in Connecticut to see Susanna perform most of the songs off The List with a few Bangles songs thrown in. I’ve been a fan for decades but it’s seldom that Susanna tours or puts out…
Paula Cole’s new double album, Sonic Memoir Vol I and II is four and a half hours containing 63-demos spanning the first nine years of Paula’s career. Finally, a diva who recognizes the appropriate amount of songs for a new release. Paula went into her vaults to dust off these musical treasures (from 1989-1998), gave…
When I saw Jaclyn Smith was releasing an autobiography this month, a quick Google search discovered none of my usual haunts were having signings but Bookends (211 E Ridgewood Ave) was and I bought a ticket before knowing where Ridgewood, New Jersey was (luckily just over the New York border). Not knowing about traffic or…
Candi Carpenter’s new EP and short film, Reincarnation, has hard rocking beats over sermons of independent thinking. Their message is delivered with some anger sprinkled with humor. One minute I’m head banging against my car’s steering wheel and the next I’m on my knees with laughter at Candi’s outrageousness. Candi was raised religious but had…
Over the past few years, there’s been a lot of talk about AI in the music industry. However, what if it’s been around longer and is just letting itself be known now? Picture it, the late 1990’s, a young diva is just coming off a popular soap opera (Neighbours) and taking the world by storm…
I became a fan of Kathy Troccoli’s pop albums (Pure Attraction and self-titled) in the 90’s, but she mostly does Christian music now. It’s not my jam but I followed her career over the years, picking up her Christmas (A Sentimental Christmas) and covers (Heartsongs) albums along the way. In 2016, I saw her jazz standards…
