Guilty Pleasure

Yes, it’s an unabashed party album, with no aim of informing, let alone empowering the listener; yes, it’s a far, far cry from the days when they railed against the world’s injustices. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t, you know, good.

Imagine it’s 1997. Bill Clinton is serving his second term in office and Harry Potter receives his acceptance letter to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. More importantly, dance-pop group Aqua releases its debut album. 1997 is the dawning of …

“Where have all the good men gone,” Bonnie Tyler once asked. While she was clearly crying out for a different type of loving, I’m wondering why the blokes of this world are flying the vocalist flag so poorly. Over the …

In 1997, U2 released its ninth studio album, Pop. While it had strong sales at first, fans quickly realized that the album didn’t live up to the hype surrounding it. The hit singles weren’t there. The tour had many …

Although my musical tastes lean toward alternative acts such as Pixies, as well as classic heavy metal/punk bands, in the vein of early Motley Crue or Social Distortion, I’m actually quite open to a variety of styles (some would say …

I grew up Presbyterian, evangelical Presbyterian. Churched in the ’90s, as a teenager, you were handed two things – an NIV translation of the Bible and a copy of DC Talk’s Free at Last. You didn’t receive one without …

I blame my ex for this…no even she couldn’t stand them, so that’s not fair. When going in to this I looked at it by these standards, would people look down upon me if they heard me playing these songs? …

Now, listen, I want you to understand that I am above listening to this record.

Yet…even as I type out this long, mentally-overdue review and hope to god (“Hey, God!”) I’m not accidentally ghetto blasting out Nine Inch Nail’s “Head …

Two words: “Mony Mony.”

Well, that’s sort of two words. Or maybe just one. Or maybe none at all. I’m really not sure. But, anyways, Tommy James and the Shondells found a way to hit the absolute apex of keeping …

There’s no getting around that Third Eye Blind is pure late nineties alt-rock, a genre that often gets pegged with titles like “flash-in-the-pan,” “arena,” or “generic,” and rightfully so.  How many bands who rose during this period are still around? …

Wearing spiked hair and oversized black band t-shirts, I personified the classic metalhead in ninth grade. I would listen to the classics like Slayer and the newer breed of acts like Sepultura and MudVayne. But tenth grade was my transition …