Art of the Mixtape

When I was in high school, making a private mixtape for a crush was a widespread practice. You assiduously compiled tracks from various CDs, LPs, and cassettes and recorded them onto a cassette tape. The idea was to express your passion and longing by picking the perfect song mix. Of course, being a teenager, one’s …

Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show unequivocally proven as the greatest band ever

Last night while drinking beer Astrid and I tried to determine which bands and solo artists deserved inclusion on our GREATEST EVER list. After quickly agreeing on easy shoo-ins, we soon found ourselves arguing if a given musician or group really merited inclusion in THE most critical demarcation of popular music credibility since Little Richard …

Diamond vs. Loaf

Based on the incredible popularity of my Pence vs. Quayle post I’ve decided to do another head-to-head face off. Today’s topic, however, is far more important: Neil Diamond or Meat Loaf? Who is the more bombastic performer? Who is cheesier? Who has the best lip curl? Who the most ridiculous lyrics? Who is your favorite? …

Retromania – an unhealthy obsession?

I have an insatiable urge to learn new words and observe how language develops. It is an incurable condition but one I effectively self-medicate with extensive reading and the NYT crossword. What really excites me is word genesis, when a new word spreads in the mainstream media – for example retromania. As the Google Ngram …