Evan

Sing Backwards And Weep: Mark Lanegan

I posted earlier that I was listening to Lanegan reading the audiobook version of his memoir. I finally finished listening to it tonight.  It is not for the faint-hearted and it is brutally honest to a fault. I don't know if it was conceptually by design, but the

Guided By Voices: Styles We Paid For

I believe that if Robert Pollard were stranded on a desert island, not only would he find a way to lay down music tracks like an indie rock Gilligan, but he'd still be just as productive. I think Styles We Paid For is the third GBV album this

McCartney 3: Yep it's good.

McCartney III by Paul McCartneyListen to McCartney III by Paul McCartney on Apple Music. Stream songs including “Long Tailed Winter Bird”, “Find My Way” and more.Apple Music [https://music.apple.com/us/album/mccartney-iii/1536066862]One was ramshackle and rustic. Two sounded like Paul fell into a bong and

Happy Xmas (War is Over)

Dean and Britta have a new single out, a cover of John Lennon's Christmas classic which is also one of the most melancholy Christmas songs ever written and that's saying something. "I'll be home for Christmas" is the saddest of all, though.

Yes, Virginia, Keep Believing in Santa Claus

That was the premise of my article in Splice Today [https://www.splicetoday.com/writing/yes-virginia-keep-believing-in-santa-claus] . I always wanted to attack this treacly sacred cow.

Viola and Koerner: Art in Pittsburgh

This title comes from a Goya aquatint called El sueño de la razon produce monstruos or The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters. But when I first came across the title it was referencing another work that had a profound influence on me as a teenager, and that was Bill Viola&

Sing Backwards And Weep: Mark Lanegan's Memoir

I just started listening to Sing Backwards And Weep, the memoir written by Mark Lanegan and also read by him, too. I prefer it when authors read their own work and his gravelly voice is so great. His life was rough from the very beginning; it's amazing he

weekend blues

First time out for a day trip in months and what happens? Someone scrapes my parked car. Also seen: Poignant or ironic? A symbol of America, or a symbol of individualism to the most extreme? Knowing some of the Venice homeless as I do, it's a bit of

Monster Rally: Sweet Fire

Sounds like the gentle sounds of an ocean lapping against a yacht that suddenly turning to a queasy sea when the quaaludes hit a little too strong  but only for a moment before you're back to drinking chardonnay.

Vanimal: Lift Me Up

Woke up at 4am with this song in my head. Haven't heard it since it came out, probably and I've no idea how I stumbled on it. I don't know what the other mixes sound like but this one is kind of perfection with

If the kids are united....

Then we'll never be divided. Is there anything better than a rousing chorus? No. No there is not.

Nick Cave

Nick Cave: Alone at Alexandra Palace

Been listening to this album and I'm struck by how evocative Cave's voice is. He doesn't need much beyond that and his piano. "Into My Arms," is hands down my favorite Cave track and it's off my favorite album "

lou reed

Velvet Underground: Loaded

A half century ago yesterday, The Velvet Underground released their final album "Loaded." An ironic title, perhaps, in that this was their final bid for commercial respectability and as such wanted to pack an album that was "Loaded" with hits that would never in a million

fine china

John Davis: Jesus Gonna Build Me A Home

This excellent track is off an excellent album that came out almost 15 years ago now. I can distinctly remember the first time I heard it, when I was living in Atlanta and popped it on the computer at work. Of course I was familiar with Superdrag and their hit

sparks

Sparks: Lawnmower

Krautrock's Motorik meets David Byrne's middle class irony with Beach Boy's harmonies. Wrapped up in all of that pretty package is a commentary on suburban life and relationships. Jealous neighbors, men who are lawn proud, and women who have had it up to here

chillwave

BALTHVS: MACROCOSM

It's hard to make out from the photo I took this morning in Venice, but the boat on the horizon was billowing smoke, hence the jogger's head turn. This has a certain Pink Floyd cover vibe to it. Unsettling and oddly peaceful, which could also be

Halloween part 2

Bloodshot Records

Their Halloween playlist is so, so good.

writing

I wrote about inconvenience for Splice Today

Inconvenience is the last great weapon we have against bureaucracy. They inconvenience us at the post office, the DMV, filling out paper work and with  applying unemployment insurance. The systems are bloated and broken. Short of dismantling all of them, a Quixotic feat if ever there was one, at least

Fewer clowns. More jugglers.

Sure, clowns can make you laugh. But they are also scary and so much so that there's a word for people who have a fear of clowns: Coulrophobia. There's also a word for fear of jugglers. Tachydaktylourgosophobiaophobia. One reason why you've never heard of

Hiroshi and Eddie

I'm really enjoying Soundscape 1 Surround. Music for chilin' before Apple create a radio station of music that all sounds exactly the same. Shame about Eddie Van Halen. I loved their musicianship and his guitar playing. Out of everything they did, Fair warning is one of my

lou reed

Lou Reed: New York

The deluxe reissue of one of Lou reed's greatest albums is a treat to listen to and sadly its theme hasen't aged a bit since it first came out in 1989. I'll take Manhattan in a garbage bag with Latin writ on it that

advertising,

Cars, advertising, and podcasts about cars and advertising

I just wrapped a three-month freelance contract making ads at the agency whose sole client is Mazda. Having spent a longer stint as a creative director at the same shop last year, I have an affinity for the brand. I got to know it so well. And I was a

I was interviewed about writing and advertising

If you like either one of those topics, you might enjoy what I had to say. Thanks to Emily Collins (a fantastic writer, by the way) for the interview. Literary Copywriter Spotlight: Evan Brown — Emily CollinsWelcome back to The Literary Copywriter Spotlight where I feature professional writers and copywriters with

Fumes and plumes

Woke up this morning to another yellow sky and black billowing smoke coming from the apartment complex where I used to live. Disturbing on so many levels. In Spring of 2018 we had to evacuate the building because a moron on the ninth floor rented out their space illegally on