Leonard Cohen ~ You Want It Darker [2⊘16]

A good friend of mine taught me a valuable lesson when I was a younger man. As he knew I had a predisposition towards the new and perfect, he instead encouraged me to seek beauty in the ill-used and oft-damaged. He showed me how scarred things display their flaws freely … Continue reading Leonard Cohen ~ You Want It Darker [2⊘16]

Depeche Mode ~ Stripped [1986]

Martin Gore famously paraphrased co-producer Daniel Miller’s shellacking of his demo tape, stating, “The songs aren’t good enough, there aren’t any singles and it’ll never get played on the radio.” That demo tape would become the basis of Depeche Mode’s fifth studio album Black Celebration. Lead single, “Stripped”, would be described as an “ominous and intriguing pop song”, reaching the top ten in five European countries (Finland, Ireland … Continue reading Depeche Mode ~ Stripped [1986]

Grizzly Bear ~ Neighbors [2⊘17]

Sadly, when a relationship ends with a significant other, it is often the end. The end of shared dreams shared memories and sometimes even friendship. At times, this is due to lingering anger, yet other times it is simply borne of a necessity for self-preservation. If we were close, really close, it can be difficult to extricate ourselves and reestablish our own autonomy … Continue reading Grizzly Bear ~ Neighbors [2⊘17]

The Golden Palominos ~ Holy [1996]

Welcome to the world of Anorexia Nervosa, on display and bitingly in your face. This spoken word narrative, provided in a simple yet potent textual fan-made video, reveals life from the anorexic’s (skewed) viewpoint. There will be rules that only the most disciplined (ill) are capable of following. Rules like cutting each admittedly tiny meal into tinier minuscule bites … Continue reading The Golden Palominos ~ Holy [1996]

Puma Blue ~ Hounds [2⊘22]

An apt portrayal of limbo, the sunless land between heaven and hell. The nether-region inhabited by those no longer bouncing betwixt, rather buried between, love and loneliness, pain and pleasure, life and death, where time’s pendulum has ceased movement, laid still upright and lifeless, awaiting a gesture of strength as an awakening. “Feels like no angels Follow where I tread
Made to make a home, but I’m Lost in wilderness instead … Continue reading Puma Blue ~ Hounds [2⊘22]