A Quick Note

Please note that many files of a certain age have vanished. Unfortunately, they are gone. Nothing I can do about it. Sorry.

RIP

The great Jay Bennett died in his sleep last night. I don't have much to say about this, except that the man was only 45, and I hope this can serve as a reminder to everyone that life is short and that it's important to appreciate what you have. Chicagoist has some great Bennett video.

The Night Air is Cold, The Freeway is Clear

Here's a couple versions of an obscure relic. Former Byrds frontman Roger McGuinn released his last electric record in 1991. I'd only ever heard the single, "King of the Hill", up until a few weeks ago, when I found an incredibly cheap copy of the album at a used CD store. It's not half bad. It's basically like a lost Tom Petty record from that era. I say that primarily because in addition to the fact that Tom Petty's whole shtick has kind of always been rockified Byrds, this record's got very similar production to classic Petty records, and Mike Campbell and Tom Petty are all the place. Also, like a Tom Petty record, it's a few killer songs plus a lot of pleasant filler. Anyway... here's two versions of the aforementioned single "King of the Hill." The first is the official music video, the second is a Letterman performance. Note how McGuinn looks like Don Henley with a mullet in this period.

Archie Bronson Outfit

The Archie Bronson Outfit are a pretty cool English band. My favorite song of theirs is a jam called "On the Shore" from their debut, Fur, but that's not online, so here's a pretty good song from their second record, Derdang Derdang. Enjoy.