Fiction

Their dinners arrived, and he ordered another beer. They began to eat in silence until she asked: “Why are you even with me then if you hate me so much?”
He shook his head: “Is that what you’ve gotten from all of this?”
“What else am I supposed to think? All you’ve done is criticize me or those close to me. You judge people. That’s what you do.”

He leaned back and took this in: “Well, I disagree with it being all I have ever done. But yes, tonight, I admit, I’ve been hypercritical.”
“Why tonight?” …

Fiction

It was their last night in Paris.

They both had been marginally sidelined all week with a bacterial infection. This meant they could never stray too far from a toilet, making one of the world’s most romantic cities a little romantically challenging.

Bacterial battles aside, they were going to make their last night count. And since she did have a propensity for control, spoke a bit of French, and was a bit of a foodie, the reservation at the swanky Parisian bistro was in her name.

The hostess greeted them and spoke in French. And since she had a cursory…

Music

When we talk about shitty music, there are two solid truths. One, crap music has been around since the inception of music. And two, it’s wildly subjective.

Some songs are “bad” but can be liked ironically. For me, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” is awful, but I still like it. Because there is real existential angst in determining who plays better — Johnny or the Devil. For me, the Devil has the groove — it’s a no-brainer, but I understand others feel differently. Discuss.

“Who Let the Dogs Out,” by the Baha Men. Unquestionably a horrid song, but it’s…

Music

Sometimes when I am a bit bummed, I don’t look for music to lift me up; I look for music that captures my mood. For some reason, I find solace in listening to songs from my sad bastard brethren.

Losing someone you love in any capacity is gutting. These songs capture those feelings of loss and/or hurt.
And each of these songs is a musical testament to loss.
And each of these songs continues to deepen its roots in my emotional psyche. And each of these songs I never get tired of hearing.

Now you may notice the songs on…

Music

As all eyes are on Minneapolis for the next month or two, I thought it was a good time to shake the tree and remind people about The Replacements.

The perennially forgotten band by most of the music cognoscenti, despite almost every album being universally acclaimed.

But The Replacements never tried to appeal to the cognoscenti; their target market was people. Just people.

I think that makes the band one of the most important rock and roll bands in recent history.

The ‘mats are a straight-ahead rock and roll band …and about as welcoming a band as you could hope…