Author: Matthew Barlow

Teacher Protests Spread To Kentucky

Teacher Protests Spread To Kentucky

Posted by | Apr 3, 2018 | , |

It is a cliché to point out how hard teachers work.  The thing is, though, this isn’t a cliché.  And teachers are getting screwed.  When I lived in Alabama, my friends and former students who taught spent their meagre wages buying supplies for their classroom, and by that, I mean chalk and erasers.  Even in liberal Massachusetts, my friends and former students who are teachers are left to do the same.  One actually bought his class a set of textbooks, out of his own pocket, because the ones he had were falling apart and there was no money to replace...

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The Breeders: All Nerve

The Breeders: All Nerve

Posted by | Apr 2, 2018 | , |

The Breeders All Nerve 4AD I’ve never really bought into the Cult of Kim Deal.  Sure, she was a wicked bassist and all that with the Pixies.  But she did not make the band.  The Pixies still sound exactly like the Pixies without her.  She wasn’t the star of that show, Black Francis is.  And say what you will about the clash of egos there, the idea the Pixies are not as mighty without her is bullshit. BUT.  Kim Deal is a killer frontwoman.  The Breeders are one of the greatest bands of the 90s, and they continued on...

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Julian Calendar: Not Your Standard Rock’n’Roll Band

Julian Calendar: Not Your Standard Rock’n’Roll Band

Posted by | Apr 2, 2018 | , |

Julian Calendar is not your standard rock’n’roll band.  Based in Charlotte, NC, the band is led by Jeremy Fisher, who has been doing this for a bit.  Last year, after writing some instrumental music, he approached two friends to provide some lyrics to some demos.  One, Amy Bagwell, is a poet and artist; the other, Jeff Jackson, is a novelist.  As Fisher notes, they did more than provide lyrics, they brought with them melodies and other ideas about shaping the songs.  And Jackson joined the band as singer.  Neither Jackson nor Hannah Hundley, who also handles vocals, have never...

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Rock’n’Roll Don’t Pay the Bills

Rock’n’Roll Don’t Pay the Bills

Posted by | Mar 30, 2018 | , |

A couple of weeks ago, the Boston indie band Buffalo Tom released a new album.  They were one of my favourite bands back in the day.  Buffalo Tom’s 1992 barnstormer, Let Me Come Over remains, 26 years on, one of my favourite albums of all time.   Unlike so many bands of my youth, Buffalo Tom never broke up, never went away.  They’ve steadily released albums since the early 90s, except for a 10 year period between 1998 and 2007 (ok, 9 years).  They never made it big, they remained a cult band. Music is not the means to financial...

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From the Vaults: The Singles Soundtrack

From the Vaults: The Singles Soundtrack

Posted by | Mar 23, 2018 | , |

It’s never going to be a good day when you wake up with Paul Westerberg’s first track from the Singles Soundtrack in your head.  That’s right, I woke up with ‘Dyslexic Heart’ in my head yesterday and suffered for my sins, with both a sick dog and a migraine.  Good times.  I don’t like slagging artists, but ‘Dyslexic Heart’ might be one of the worst songs ever written, and this is Paul Fucking Westerberg we’re talking about here.  This one track is probably the only horrible song he’s ever written. I got to thinking back to 1992, though.  It was a...

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