So, here’s the deal.  I don’t listen to most modern music.  All of my favorite musicians are dead: Edith Piaf, Bob Marley, Otis Redding, Hank Williams Sr., Django Reinhardt, Skip James, Elvis, Fela Kuti, Dock Boggs, John Lennon, etc.  I could, ostensibly, present you with a list of the obscure world and ethnic folk music [...]

Dear President-Elect Obama,
I’m very happy that you won the election.  I voted for you, and spent a good deal of time on the phone with other people trying to convince them to vote for you as well.  As someone who works in the arts and specializes in international music, and who travels abroad fairly regularly, I [...]

Thinking about the upcoming Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings concert at the State Theatre (November 1 – it’ll be the highlight of your year, I promise!), I’m reminded of a hot summer day when the boyfriend and I were ambling about Manhattan, looking for something fun to do.  New York in the summer is a [...]

It had been four days since I checked my MySpace page – my personal one, not the one connected with any festival or bands who I work for – and I had 14 new “friend” invites.  One was a girl I knew in high school, 13 were from bands I’d never heard of.  Some of [...]