The Flaming Lips Heady Nuggs 1994-1997 – 20 Years After Clouds Taste Metallic (Warner Brothers Records) As most fans know, The Flaming Lips had already gone through a few semi-seamless transitions by the time they were ready to begin making Clouds Taste Metallic. By then, they’d already been DIY Okie punks and goth-y pseudo rockers, and had even managed to sort of put together an arresting estimation of their first genuinely golden sound (see Transmissions From The Satellite Heart, released...

Live at the Fillmore San Francisco, CA Friday, January 14, 2016 Review by Ted Silverman On Friday night, January 14, I headed over to the Fillmore from my house in the hills of San Francisco in order to attend the 50th Anniversary of Bill Graham Presents and the 85th Birthday Celebration of Bill Graham. It was a rainy night but plenty of tickets were available at the box office. I got in the hall around 8pm and missed the always...

A critical evaluation of Feminist Theory from Margin to Center by Bell Hooks. Without knowing the context in which Feminist Theory was written, it’s hard to distinguish whether it was written as a response to feminism today or thirty years ago – but that doesn’t matter, really. What does matter is that there are many things we (feminists or not) can learn today from this book. Now I’m going to avoid writing Bell Hooks’ name after this sentence because I...

How do I even begin to write about David Bowie, who I have claimed as my favorite musician for forty years now? It’s not that I lack things to discuss, it’s that there are too many of them. Do I talk about my favorite albums, the shows I saw, how he connects to most of the music I listen to? Or do I try to write about his genius, all the great music he created? But which great music? Again,...

This is the first installment of a new series I’m trying to bring to Ground Control Magazine called “Driving with Darko”. Doing interviews with musicians, artists and writers in which we have a conversation together while driving around in my SmartCar, all the while recording the conversation with a Ricoh Theta S (which records in 1080p 360 degree video). Michael was visiting Northern California for the winter holidays. We both had a couple of hours free, so I drove up...

From a Deadbeat to an Old Geezer 003: Memories of visiting the Oracle – David Bowie   Two of David Bowie’s best live recordings were concerts I actually got to attend; 1978’s David on Stage, and 2004’s A Reality Tour. On hearing the news that David Bowie left his physical body today, I’ve been reflecting on how much his personality and his music has affected my own life. I started listening to Bowie in the mid-70s, Young Americans was the...

Album Review – Brian Eno – Discreet Music; two new interpretations In February of last year, writer Liam Carrol wrote the best explanation and interpretation of Brian Eno’s Discreet Music album that I’ve ever read. Rather than try to rehash his words, please read his article, ‘Fullness of Wind: 40 Years of Brian Eno’s ‘Discreet Music’ yourself. This is important background information to understand if you want to fully appreciate the incredible beauty of this album by Eno. I want...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into a vinyl copy of Sore by Dilly Dally. As music in general, Dilly Dally’s debut album, Sore, is incredible (not for nothing did it end up appearing on this writer’s Top Ten of 2015 list) – but the vinyl presentation of the album transcends such praise and offers listeners an experience several steps beyond that of the compact disc. It’s unbelievable. It’s a game-changer. Such claims may read as unlikely, but it’s...

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It was one of those moments that I can say I remember perfectly – in spite of the ungodly hour. It was 4:30 AM Eastern Standard Time; I had just come back to bed after attempting to get my youngest daughter back to sleep (it would work for about an hour, before the whole process needed to be undertaken again). My wife, who had been awakened by the baby too, turned to me and said, “I just read it on...