Photos by Greg Scranton, M.F.A. gregscranton.com surviving the golden age...

There is no doubt that the Oh Sees (formerly Thee Oh Sees, and now actually just OCs) are an unstoppable force. Releasing what seems like their 40th album this year and another one already announced, it’s important sometimes to step back and assess what you’re getting with this band because their catalog can easily meld together into a metropolis of music. With all this published material, what would front man John Dwyer choose to highlight in a live set? The...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Kids In The Street LP by Justin Townes Earle. After being toasted first and then either critically maligned or flat out ignored for a little while thereafter, Justin Townes Earle has made a sound on his seventh album (first for New West Records) that any critic worth his sand simply cannot ignore. After all the hard luck, Earle had some addiction issues and he has walked on the wrong side of...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Visions LP by Able Baker Fox. The first thing that Visions, Able Baker Fox’s first album in ten years, proves is that even if a type of music has fallen from popular fashion in recent years, it can still re-emerge sounding both fantastic and timely if there’s passion powering it. Right off, as soon as “Purple Mountains”kicks the doors open on the A-side of Visions, listeners who once felt a genuine...

Artist: Various Artists Album: American Epic (5CD Box Set) Label: Legacy/Third Man/Columbia/Sony Music It might sound like a bit of a reach on the surface, but the first thing that listening to American Epic reminded me of was my university experience and how music like that which can be found on this box set changed my life. My first full-time year – in addition to the classes which were requisite for a bachelor’s degree in Communications – I took a...

Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism by bell hooks Has there ever been a better time to read bell hooks? Sure, it’s never been a bad time to read bell hooks, but you get what I mean. Even though some of her books were written decades ago, bell hooks is someone who has remained relevant even today. Ain’t I a Woman is definitely one of those books. In Ain’t I a Woman, hooks essentially discusses the struggles of...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Everything All At Once LP by Birds. It might sound contrived to someone who has yet to experience it themselves, but the idea that great music is capable of moving a listener spiritually and emotionally is a very real thing. On the right day, the first listen to a record can excite a listener, amaze them, inspire them, hook them and drag them to places that it’s possible they didn’t realize...

Education and the Social Order by Bertrand Russell It’s tough categorizing Bertrand Russell books because they tend to read like in-depth analyses but at the same time these are just Russell’s opinions and experiences that he’s recounting. The thing is of course that Russell has a very persuasive and charming demeanor to him that makes him very convincing. It’s undoubtedly why his writings brought him such success. Education and the Social Order is a perfect example of what...

Artist: Jane’s Addiction Album: Ritual De Lo Habitual – Alive at 25 CD/DVD Label: (Cleopatra/MVD Visual) As I’m confident is no surprise after fifteen years of extolling this fact, I love live concerts but find something about just focussing on a single album – a band playing that and only that at a show – a little hard to take. In that situation, what one is witnessing ceases to feel like a show or a concert and sort of feels...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the 12” Razor Stomp EP by Suede Razors. It might sound weird to say, but it’s about time Suede Razors got around to releasing more than just two songs at a time. To date, Bay area bovver band Suede Razors have managed to build a shockingly devoted following on the srength of a succession of seven-inch singles (see “Boys Night Out” and “Here She Comes” – both of which are backed by...