I guess I have to start out saying “R.I.P. Pee-Wee Herman,” Paul Rubens, (August 27, 1952 – July 30, 2023). I would have written a whole post in tribute, but, like, everybody else in the world beat me to the keyboard as usual when we lose a real legend. But Pee-Wee fits into today’s topic, because of the beloved classic films “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure&rdquo... Keep reading →

Simon says the band of the day is Sparks! Sparks just this year – 2023 - released their studio album The Girl Is Crying in Her Latte, a title absolutely drenched in coffeehouse post-COVID weltschmerz. Critics from Metacritic to Pitchfork have raved about how palatable and fresh Sparks has remained over ... Keep reading →

I hope all you beautiful cosmic blueberries aboard Spaceship Earth and hanging in there! And as always, I beg the readers’ enduring patience; my schedule with this blog has been sporadic. On the bonus side, I have the best excuse for random post dates here, because my energy is spread across multiple freelancin’ gigs. Like, there’s more that I don’t talk about –... Keep reading →

It’s not often enough that I share some of my favorite music reading. Being a blogger myself (history will romanticize the era of early-21st-century blog author, mark me words, mateys!) - it seems nonsensical to devote a whole post to another blogger. If you wanted to read that other person, you’d just go there instead, right? Bloggers blogging about other bloggers gets old fast.... Keep reading →

I don’t get around to talking about They Might Be Giants often enough. With the usual apologies that I got busy tending other stuff, I do make a few sideways references here and there, such as covering their hit “Istanbul (no... Keep reading →

It’s been many a year now since Minneapolis’ legendary rock star, Prince, bowed off the world stage far too young. His legacy lives on with new generations picking up his music and memes, not to mention the tremendous influence he had on Midwest music and 80s pop in general. One of these days I need to cover the prolific g... Keep reading →

Last time on Penguin Pete’s music history rabbit-hole, we examined the 1980s UK wave of New Wave music, starting from its Brit-punk roots, and connecting it all through Adam and the Ants. This time, we’re doing the same thing, but with the other half of the New Wave genre starting from its Ne... Keep reading →

I’ve been meaning to play a new game here in the hallowed halls of Lyric Interpretations. You’re all familiar with the culture game “six degrees of Kevin Bacon,” where you movie-hop connecting actors’ careers until you marvel at the interwoven connectedness of it all. Here we’re playing something similar, but with band line-ups and musicians instead of mov... Keep reading →

The first rule of Beat-Club is that you have to seek out Beat-Club. The show only ran for 7 years, 1965 to 1972, and only in West Germany (which itself was only so-called until the Berlin Wall came down). Yet for such an obscure cultural niche in history, it attracted some top-name talen... Keep reading →

Eurovision history expedition, day 2 (day 1 here): While Eurovision isn’t everyone’s cup of international tea, the contest’s history is peppered with acts notable enough to draw passing fancy. We continue exploring the nooks and crannies of this global music phenomenon.

Now t... Keep reading →