I’m happy to say that my initial posts for TLR comes merely days away from a date in musical history that bears some small responsibility for most or all of which I’m about to say for the next few months/years/decades on this blog. 131 years of incredible and terrible recorded music, and the live spectacles and sermons that represented these recordings before audiences, all owe their existence to Thomas Edison’s raging version of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”, recorded for the first time ever on December 6th, 1877. It was the first ever sound recording, and most say that Edison never recorded another single quite as good. And thus, music critics were born. In fact, critics are born every time you clap your hands, in conjunction with angels and/or wood sprites not dying. Strange science.

Full disclosure: I’m a musician, and so I’ve been taught to not really care about what critics have to say, if not to despise them on principal alone. So, having been asked to write for what I consider an excellent source of music knowledge and review, a diamond in a sand-sea of musical talk and brouhaha, a blog with impeccable dedication to spreading new and independent music…I of course am filled with fear, insecurity, self-loathing, and Rolaids. How can I grasp what everyone will want to read about and discover? How will my pre-dispositions to what I enjoy affect what I can bring to you? Do my deepest, inner thoughts bear any relevance to your very existence? Did I use the right HTML code to get that picture of Wilco small enough to fit?

Now, the good news is, I’ve formulated a plan that should get all of us through this, safely, with no permanent injuries, and in the end, I think you’ll gain 3 things.
For one, I’m going to keep bringing up history, in relation to popular music, and what it means today. I’ll talk about the impact of grunge, shoegazer, industrial, electronic, punk, hardcore, thrash, hip hop, new wave and more, and why they’re just as important as music from the 50’s-70’s. Additionally, there’s lots of music from any decade that just bears mentioning when it’s relevant again.

Second, I’m gonna review new albums and bands fairly, keeping in mind the circumstances which face that band, and how that affects the music. I’m not necessarily the nicest guy in the world, but I love music in a way that shapes my every move. And who doesn’t love someone telling you why Of Montreal is stealing from the jambands they probably claim to hate?

Finally, I’m going to give you a glimpse into the often boring but sometimes notable life as a working musician in the Northeast, and wonder aloud (and in type) how and why my experiences matter to me, my band, my friends, and our dozen or so wonderful fans. As in life, sometimes they’ll be rants, and sometimes they’ll be melodramatic flirtations with optimism. Enjoy both responsibly!

So I’m in…please let me know what I’m doing wrong, and if I’m right…keep listening.