Earlier this year, I interviewed Ken Brown/Bundy K. Brown, musician, producer, engineer, and original member of Tortoise and Gastr del Sol, about his musical project Jungle Boogie. During our conversation, Ken shared that one of the early configurations of Jungle Boogie was Ken and drummer Britt Walford playing with their friend Tim Barnes. Brown relatedContinue reading “Tim Barnes’s Inside Energy”
Author Archives: Recliner Notes
Some Thoughts on Pavements
Pavements — the 2025 quasi-documentary which tracks the impact of the band Pavement from their beginning in Stockton, CA in 1989 through their ups and downs in the 1990s until the present — is anything but a simply-told story. Writer/director Alex Ross Perry has stuffed his film with every idea he possibly can to makeContinue reading “Some Thoughts on Pavements”
“Don’t Spook the Horse” & the Mountain Funk of Neil Young
In 1995, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam inducted Neil Young into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Vedder’s induction speech was a revelation at the time because the public persona created by the media was that he was a no fun, killjoy. Instead, the speech showed Vedder ripping jokes about Ticketmaster and telling warContinue reading ““Don’t Spook the Horse” & the Mountain Funk of Neil Young”
The Haunting Sound of Jackie Mittoo’s “Drum Song”
About 10 years ago during a late night family hangout while on vacation in an isolated cabin in Canada, my brother-in-law — the ultra-talented piano player and composer Peer Neumann — took control of the music selection process and put on a recording that I had never heard of before. Strangely enough, Peer stopped pickingContinue reading “The Haunting Sound of Jackie Mittoo’s “Drum Song””
2025 Big Ears Festival, March 27-30, 2025
At one point while waiting for a venue to open during the 2025 Big Ears Festival, a man approached the line with a sign indicating that he was selling two tickets for the rock band Heart, who would be playing in Boston next month. Everyone who saw the sign laughed since he was trying toContinue reading “2025 Big Ears Festival, March 27-30, 2025”
2025 Big Ears Preview
The season for obsessively checking and double-checking performance times, mapping venue locations, evaluating walking distances, and weighing multiple musical scenarios has returned. That’s right, it’s time to for the 2025 Big Ears Festival! Building off of Recliner Notes’ coverage of 2024 Big Ears and simply having another year of festival experience has made my prepContinue reading “2025 Big Ears Preview”
Some Other Dimensions In Yo La Tengo
In researching my Yo La Tengo’s Guitar Sculptures piece for Aquarium Drunkard, I came across a previously unknown project to me while reading Big Day Coming: Yo La Tengo and the Rise of Indie Rock by Jesse Jarnow. Between 1999 and 2003, there was a series of collaborations between Yo La Tengo and the freeContinue reading “Some Other Dimensions In Yo La Tengo”
“Bluebirds in a Fight” & the Songwriting of Ryan Davis
Listening to a song written by Ryan Davis for the first time can be an exhilarating, yet overwhelming experience. His songwriting features a cavalcade of images, wordplay, metaphors, and jokes that come in a rush. It’s similar to flipping too quickly through a book of photographs by William Eggleston. The abundance of color and outlandishContinue reading ““Bluebirds in a Fight” & the Songwriting of Ryan Davis”
A Good Year for Stephen Malkmus
Stephen Malkmus had a good year. It was also a busy one for the singer, songwriter, and guitar deity as it included the launch of a new band, more reunion tour dates with foundational 90s indie band Pavement, high-profile interviews, and the premier of a movie which featured his younger self. What follows are 10Continue reading “A Good Year for Stephen Malkmus”
Some Thoughts on A Complete Unknown
A Complete Unknown — the 2024 film about the life and music of Bob Dylan between the years 1961 and 1965 starring Timothée Chalamet, Edward Norton, Elle Fanning, and Monica Barbaro — was not made for me, at least not for people like me. Biographical films about musicians, also known as music biopics, are notContinue reading “Some Thoughts on A Complete Unknown”
Recliner Notes 