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Bob Dylan grows older, louder, stranger, and—annoyingly—more interesting, refusing the easy gravitas play in favor of long songs, sharp elbows, and feral dogs. Contributing Author Stobgopper walks us from “Time Out of Mind” to “Together Through Life”, where the man doesn’t so much age as double down—with accordion, mustache, and opinions fully intact.
You can just imagine the meeting: A Canadian producer looks at the US version of K-tel’s “Music Express,” and politely and quietly built a better (and occasionally cheesier) pop time capsule. Contributing Author Chuck Small rides the rails of 1975 chart logic, regional pride, and the fine art of calling a Top 10 hit what it very clearly was not.
Contributing Author DJ Professor Dan steps away from his usual chart archaeology to take aim at the Internet’s favorite pastime: blaming Spotify for everything but the weather. It’s surgical dissection of the booming cottage industry of gloomy headlines, playlist paranoia, and contradictory claims about “passive listening”—all somehow proven by the same songs, including the ever-abused “Sound & Vision.”
Join DJPD as he checks in on “ghost artists,” the moral panic over background music, and the heroic labor of critics determined to turn algorithmic recommendations into a cultural crisis.
Contributing Author DJ Professor Dan time-travels to 1925, when flappers set the tempo, radios crackled with ukuleles, and Eddie Cantor shouted “WOW” like it was headline news. It’s a century-old playlist of Charleston-worthy chaos, served with equal parts shellac, sass, and secondhand jazz smoke.
Contributing Author Stobgopper’s ‘I Made a Playlist’ series rolls on, as our scribe dissects the twilight renaissance of Bob Dylan’s artistry. From the spectral echoes of ‘Oh Mercy’ to the rustic grit of ‘World Gone Wrong’, it’s a second act worth revisiting. And maybe even re-believing in.
A Whole Lot Of Soul
In Record Relays Volume 12, Contributing Author Chuck Small curates twenty remarkable R&B and pop collaborations, each representing a handoff between icons. From Stevie and Deniece to Aretha and Clarence, it’s a Classic Chuck playlist celebrating timeless R&B collaborations—heartfelt, ambitious, and rich with soul.
It’s The Hits Of October-ish 2005!
A scant twenty years ago, pop got weird, wonderful, and sometimes downright ridiculous, from will.i.am’s odd lyricism, to the brashness of The Sugababes, to the Arctic Monkeys’ debut roar. Contributing Author DJ Professor Dan cuts through the pop smog with wit and knowledge – and somehow still manages to look good on the dance floor.
Not traditionally handsome. Not polished. And at first glance, entirely unforgettable: But Joey Ramone proved that charm isn’t a face, it’s a presence. Contributing Author Bill Bois dives into classic duets from Punk’s dorkiest hero, who still had everyone swooning from the hey, ho get-go..
The Artists Who Shaped My Sound
Every musician eventually traces their musical DNA, note by note, back to the ones who lit the spark. In a wide-ranging and personal reflection, Contributing Author Rollerboogie revisits the pianists who shaped his sound—from Jerry Lee’s chaos to Guaraldi’s calm—and finds that influence, like melody, is a living thing.
Northern Soul thrived on rare US soul records, all-nighter dance floors, and a working-class dedication to the subculture. From The Twisted Wheel to the Wigan Casino, Contributing Author JJ Live At Leeds traces the DJs, venue rivalries, and athletic stompers that made Northern England a haven for obscure soul music.
Turns out not every “Cruisin’” collection album takes you down memory lane -some just drop you off at the corner of Cheap and Confusing.
In a cautionary joyride, Contributing Author Chuck Small discovers that when nostalgia gets re-recorded, it occasionally forgets the lyrics.
Contributing Author DJ Professor Dan takes us back to October, 1995, when the most ridiculous named bands ruled the charts. It was a month of beer‑clinking energy and side-eye feminism – and one very awkward love song that probably should’ve come with a trigger warning.
A Perfect Playlist for An Autumnal Mood
It’s that peculiar time between summer nostalgia and winter dread: ideal for songs where heartbreak meets meteorology.
In this leaf-strewn roundup, Contributing Author JJ Live At Leeds unpacks the peculiar charm of tunes best heard with a cup of something warm, and your expectations gently lowered.