“It’s Nice to Eat the King” is my first new music recording in a year

“It’s Nice to Eat the King” is my first new music recording in a year

Posted inMusic, Videos, Works by Eric
Recording music was an escape for me. My focus on big, layered sonics, ambiance and sometimes even downright noise came in no small part because I can get lost in all that sound. It's meditative. Relaxing. Soothing despite the noise. But for some reason, the pandemic has coincided with the longest musical dry spell I've experienced in years. Aside from some digital music created last year for a project I will post about another time, I haven't created anything. Nothing at all. Hell, I went nearly a year without even picking up the guitar, much less writing something on it.…
28 Songs that Changed My Life: De La Soul, “The Magic Number” (6 of 28)

28 Songs that Changed My Life: De La Soul, “The Magic Number” (6 of 28)

Posted inMusic
Hip hop entered my life at a fairly early age, making its way to the New Jersey sticks by way of transplants from New York City. Early cuts like "Roxanne Roxanne," "Rock Box" and others were elementary school playground jams that stick with me to this day. But let's be honest: The early years of rap were pretty samey. Awesome, yes, but not particularly varied in sound, approach, or lyrics. There was a formula and most acts stuck with it. Then in 1989, De La Soul dropped Three Feet High and Rising, and everything changed for me. Hip Hop could…
28 Songs that Changed My Life: The Crystals – “Da Doo Ron Ron” (5 of 28)

28 Songs that Changed My Life: The Crystals – “Da Doo Ron Ron” (5 of 28)

Posted inMusic
There's just something about a chorus of women singing a catchy melody over a dense bed of sound that feels right. Phil Spector was a murdering villain. That is now his legacy, and it will be forevermore. But that legacy shouldn't taint the legacy of fantastic vocal groups like The Crystals, who provided a soundtrack for my youth and who, without me knowing it, influenced the music I'd later come to love. For a time, I found the stuff by The Crystals, The Ronnettes, and others to be dated and quaint. It was my mom's music, not mine. It's music…
28 Songs that Changed My Life: John Coltrane, “A Love Supreme” (2 of 28)

28 Songs that Changed My Life: John Coltrane, “A Love Supreme” (2 of 28)

Posted inMusic, Random Musings
Prior to my journey into jazz beginning (which largely started with Miles Davis and the legendary Kind of Blue), all I knew of John Coltrane was a fleeting reference in a U2 song. I assumed their reference to A Love Supreme was because it was some important or influential work, but I was young and not nearly as musically adventurous as I'd become, so I did as I often did and didn't think much about it. Then jazz happened to me. I discovered how great escape it was. How it could put me at ease and transport me somewhere else.…
28 Songs that Changed My Life: Public Enemy, “Night of the Living Baseheads” (1 of 28)

28 Songs that Changed My Life: Public Enemy, “Night of the Living Baseheads” (1 of 28)

Posted inMusic, Random Musings
It's no exaggeration to say that Public Enemy helped change how I view the world. Much like George Orwell's 1984, it helped me clarify thoughts I'd had and refine my overall worldview, putting to words an sounds the way I saw politicians, authority figures, media, justice, and more. I've extensively written about Public Enemy's impact on me, so here I'm going to skip the formalities and get right to the song. I still remember the day I first saw the video for "Night of the Living Baseheads." The blaring horns, pounding rhythm, thought-provoking lyrics, and insane multimedia assault of a…