I put significant pressure on myself to get Christmas shopping well out of the way, striving to be finished before turning the calendar over to December. Why is that? Maybe it’s so I can get back to relaxing and immersing myself into my hobbies once again, as it’s been a while since I’ve last made … Continue reading Another Christmas Mixtape
Category: Uncategorized
When Musicians Write Back
I get such joy out of reading back issues of old magazines. This isn’t just exclusive to music magazines. I love digging through Starlog magazines to read on-set reports from movies and discovering science fiction or horror, and I occasionally enjoy combing through old sports magazines and game programs to get more historical context about … Continue reading When Musicians Write Back
Classic Lineup Cards: Nevermore
Nevermore is one of those bands that, despite not having been in existence since 2011, I will continue to fly the flag for. In fact, when I reacquired many of their albums that I used to own in college, that box set actually came with a flag that I could wave! In a noteworthy announcement … Continue reading Classic Lineup Cards: Nevermore
Prog for the Children (An Armchair Maestro mix-tape)
I love making music recommendations. How does one make music recommendations in 2025? Spotify playlists? Ha! I haven’t used Spotify to date, and don’t really plan on it. It’s not that the technology is beyond me (I’m a millennial, for crying out loud!). It’s just that I’d rather enjoy the music that I have already … Continue reading Prog for the Children (An Armchair Maestro mix-tape)
Dime
December 8, 2004. It’s twenty years to the day since Darrell Abbott was senselessly murdered in front of an adoring crowd at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio while performing with Damageplan. I won’t go over the harrowing details of that night nor will I name the perpetrator, as that information can be found elsewhere. … Continue reading Dime
Please Make My Album Cover! (Part 3)
I’ve made it pretty clear in the past that I have a great appreciation for visual artists, often demonstrated through both my Alternate Album Cover Art and these Please Make My Album Cover! posts. In fact, I do my all to straighten out my Instagram feed to stop recommending me scantily-clad women (I’m only flesh … Continue reading Please Make My Album Cover! (Part 3)
When Two Become One: Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti
AC/DC’s Back In Black. Van Halen’s self-titled debut. Guns ‘N’ Roses’ Appettite for Destruction. Deep Purple’s Machine Head. Some of the best-known (and best-selling) rock albums of all time, each of them oft-considered to be their finest respective recorded works. Led Zeppelin is one of those bands that does not have a universal “best album”. … Continue reading When Two Become One: Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti
Deep In The Discography: The Last Temptation by Alice Cooper
It’s rather common for listeners of rock music to get locked into sticking to the classics. All artists peak commercially, with the duration of that peak varying from artist-to-artist. Alice Cooper has been a memorable pop-culture reference and household name ever since he first broke into the mainstream, but from an album popularity perspective, he … Continue reading Deep In The Discography: The Last Temptation by Alice Cooper
Alternate Album Cover Art VIII
As one might get the idea from my ongoing Alternate Album Cover Art series (click here for the previous article of the type), I love looking at album covers! Despite the excess of these as an overall percentage of my posts on this site, something in recent weeks provoked me into covering more album covers … Continue reading Alternate Album Cover Art VIII
Yo! MTV Raps (Pro Set MusiCards)
Once again, it’s time to discuss some music trading cards, and today’s featured set is Yo! MTV Raps by Pro Set. For those that don't collect trading cards, Pro Set was a company that entered the trading card game as a maker of National Football League (NFL) cards in 1989, and eventually expanded to sports … Continue reading Yo! MTV Raps (Pro Set MusiCards)
Record Label Close-Up: ECM Records
ECM. My instincts after years of purchasing the label’s albums was always that the E would have stood for European, and the M stood for music. While I was half-right there, I had no clue as to what the C was for. I was leaning towards “continental” as I had thought the aim of the … Continue reading Record Label Close-Up: ECM Records
Developing a Taste for the “Extreme” (A Starter Pack)
“Extreme metal” is one of those labels that is in the eye of the beholder. To some people, bands like Cannibal Corpse or Deicide are too well-known to be labelled as “extreme”, with the shock factor of their lyrics and imagery having worn off decades ago and many metal fans have grown accustomed to the … Continue reading Developing a Taste for the “Extreme” (A Starter Pack)
Armchair Maestro 