Left to my own devices

It was the mid-1990s. I walked into the record store (aptly-named Record Service), and took stock of where I was. It was situated in an old building on Green St., in campustown. The immediate thought I have when remembering it is 'brown.' I remember the walls as being brown, the shelves were brown, it was just... brown. It felt cozy. There was a sign on one of the walls for a place upstairs called Figaro's. It specialized in classical music. My heart fluttered slightly, as I was partial to classical music, and so seeing that there was some place devoted to it seemed pretty awesome. But, I didn't go there, as I wanted to primarily focus attention on what was on offer at the main record store. It was my first time in that shop. I was familiar with classical music. I was not, it turned out, familiar with what a lot of what Record Service had to offer. There was so much to take in. A few items I remember that stood out were: the greatest hits collection (the best of...

We're on the last day of 2024 and, in addition to that, we're also closing-out the first quarter of the 21st century. Twenty-five years (2000-2024) in the can. They've certainly been.... interesting. If there's one thing we can say about the 21st century so far, it's that it hasn't been boring. Personally, I could stand a little boredom for awhile, but ah well. The music of this century has also not been boring. I decided to choose my Top 25 songs of the first 25 years of the century so far, and it wasn't easy. I had to whittle-away a lot, having decided to include only one song per artist, and to exclude instrumental tracks (of which, I like several). Here, then, in alphabetical order, are my 25 favorite songs of the 21st century. Because I don't feel like writing essays about each song, I'm only going to leave them with one word or sentence. It could be about why I like the track, or it could just be a favorite quote from the lyrics. Ok, here we go...

The venerable band KISS have made the news for selling their music catalog, brand name and IP (intellectual property) to Pophouse Entertainment Group. Apparently, KISS and Pophouse have already been collaborating. The company is responsible for the digital avatars that ABBA used during their recent(ish) concerts, and now it sounds like that may be where we're headed with KISS. The band already debuted digitized avatars of themselves back in December 2023, and that may be a sign of things to come. From the article:  The ways in which Kiss' avatars will be utilized has yet to be announced, but Pophouse CEO Per Sundin says fans can expect a biopic, a documentary and a Kiss experience on the horizon. That bolding was from me. I'm not sure what a "KISS experience" refers to, but out of what was mentioned, it sounds the closes to something akin to a music concert. And this gives me the springboard to talk about a topic I've been thinking over for awhile -- namely...

The rom-com Bros debuted in theaters over the weekend. It was projected to open with $8.8 million at the North American box office. Instead, it stumbled with $4.8 million. The movie's co-star and co-writer, Billy Eichner, has made headlines after tweeting about the film's lackluster opening. He seems to blame homophobia for the poor showing for the movie about two gay men who attempt to navigate their attraction toward one another. Maybe he's right? Maybe not? Full disclosure: I haven't seen Bros yet. Not sure if I will. I didn't find the trailer to be all that amusing. And, for the record, I've gone to see a lot of movies featuring gay characters over the years. This one just didn't grab me. Maybe it didn't entice others to go, either? Gay or straight. I'm not the only who thinks there may have been other reasons why folks didn't go see it.

Almost five years ago, I wrote about all of the music concerts I'd been to over the years (well, going back to the late-1990s, which is when I began going to live shows in general). Given my penchant for lists, of course I ranked the experiences. It was fun revisiting those times and, because I've been to nine more music events since that blog post, so figured it was time for an update. 2019 saw Ashley & I attend seven(!) concerts. We were really on a roll. The last one we went to was The Ocean Blue at Lincoln Hall in early November of that year. Then, of course, the pandemic happened in early 2020, and the world shut down. It was only at the very end of last month that Ashley & I ventured out to a concert venue again and enjoyed a live performance ( Suzanne Vega ). In total, I've gone to nine more shows since the last time I wrote about concert experiences, so there is an updated list, for anyone who cares. The 29 concerts I've been to, ranked.

We're late - later than we've ever been - in putting out a 'top 10 songs of the year' list. Of course, that's usage of the royal we. It's me - I'm late. Music has been an important part of my life for nearly four decades. As long as I've had this blog, I've shared what my favorite songs of each year have been. So why am I dragging my feet on doing it now? I dunno, reader. It's been a weird year, hasn't it? Sometimes, not even the music can help. But, I don't want to lose a tradition, so, here goes... 

Have we done the review of my favorite songs from last year yet? No? Right, here we go...

We're counting down my 100 favorite songs of the 2010-19 decade, ten at a time. You know the drill by now....

Alright, it's been a few weeks. The holidays, and adjusting to the new year sort of put things off-track with the countdown, but let's get back to it and finish this! Up next in our list of Matt's 100 favorite songs of the (last) decade, we crack the Top 50. Let's see what we find...

We're back with the third installment of Matt's favorite songs of the 2010s! It's beginning to become a little bit difficult start ranking these (something I didn't think would happen 'til the Top 50), so here they are, the next ten...

We're back with the next round of songs in my countdown of of the Top 100 songs of the decade! Check here for the first ten songs. Hope you find these next few at least interesting. Here goes.....

First things first: the title is a bit of a misnomer. What you are about to read isn't an overview of the "best" songs of from 2010 through 2019, which would require some sense of objectivity. These are my favorite tracks of the decade, in all their varied, often stupendous, sometimes awful, upside down glory. Now that we have that out of the way, let's begin. Over the next month, I will periodically drop a 10-song chunk of the Top 100 list, in countdown order. Today, we begin with songs 91 through 100. It would be tempting to label these "the bottom ten," but that would be inaccurate, as there are a lot -- A LOT -- of songs that I listened to during this decade that haven't made the cut. So, consider these the least of the best. Hmm, not sure that sounds much better. Regardless, here we go...

The sexuality of one's friends isn't something I think about often. Well, why would you? The interests and commonalities we share with our platonic companions is enough to sate any curiosity we may have about them. We share our lives with them, talk about our days, perhaps recall moments that were shared together, and maybe discuss our plans for the future. The gender of their attraction isn't necessarily of paramount importance.

      A s the magnificent, authentic voice of Aretha Franklin rang out across the Virgina Theatre, my mind found itself drifting to thoughts of my father. The screening of Aretha's long lost 1972 concert recorded at a Baptist church in Los Angeles sounded excellent, though something about it reminded me of a vinyl record. Despite its crisp, remastered production, there were elements of the listening experience that sounded real, down to earth, and warm. Perhaps it was the visual cues to go along with the sound? Directed by a then less-experienced Sydney Pollack and his crew, the picture would sometimes zoom in and out, coming into and out of focus at a frenzied pace. We saw some banter and  discussions of the musicians between songs. And then the lovely gospel music, brought to life by Ms. Franklin and the choir and musicians sharing the stage, was, well, divine. Going back many years, roughly a decade after Aretha Franklin's  Amazing Grace recording wa...

We're in April now, so it seems rather late for my annual Top 10 Songs of the Year list , and yet, here we are. It's been a busy year so far, so apologies for the delay (though it's doubtful many of you were waiting with bated breath for the reveal). Here, then, are my favorite songs from last year, starting with... 10. I Promise You , by Ezra Koenig The lead singer for one of the best bands out there, Vampire Weekend, sings this sweet little tune from the Peter Rabbit soundtrack. It's kinder than the movie was, thankfully. 9. Chances , by Backstreet Boys The older I get, the more personal nostalgia seems to play a role (as will be evident with a few other choices on this list). Hence, the inclusion of this track off the latest Backstreet Boys album. It isn't bad, and it reminds me of the '90s, when the group was first coming on the scene, and I enjoyed so much of their music. 8. Heart to Love , by Passenger Passenger (or, re...

F or better or worse, I associate certain songs and genres of music with being gay. Or at least with me being gay. This goes to having gone to the local LGBT club after coming out in the 1990s, and enjoying the music and atmosphere there. I've never lost my penchant for synth/dance music during the intervening years, and that's the sort of stuff I listen to during LGBT Pride months. It's PrideFest weekend in my hometown, so of course I've been listening to a self-curated playlist of songs that put me in mind of the joys, sorrows, ups and downs of being an out and proud gay man. Here are a few music videos of those songs, should you care to take a gander into the world of Matt's Pride Playlist. Hope you enjoy.

It's Christmas Eve, and while stockings are hung by the chimney with care, families attend church services, St. Nick loads-up his sleigh in the North Pole somewhere, some of us are getting in the mood by listening to Christmas music. Here are are a few of my favorite holiday songs...

Some years are better than others. This is one of those years. At least, it's a better year in what is, admittedly, my narrow definition of what constitutes good music. Sometimes, in years past, I'd be struggling to come up with ten songs that really spoke to me. Not so with this go-around. It was tough to narrow my favorite songs of 2017 to just ten, but here we are. I share these lists with you once a year, dear reader, not out of any ego (well, perhaps a little), but because music has been, and continues to be, so important to me. Music is one of those enveloping  external forces that can transport us to another time and place, remind us of long ago (and current) loves, and basically warp our thoughts and emotions like very little else. Here, then, are my Top 10 favorite songs of 2017. I hope you enjoy at least some of them.

Today marks the sixth of anniversary of this blog. After six years and (counting this one) 507 posts, I thought it fitting to celebrate the day by going over the Top 25 most popular posts. This was determined by the number of views each post has had. Note: I have the settings arranged so that my own views are not counted. To be truthful, the takeaway was a tad surprising. A few things of note: - Readership-wise, the blog's best days are behind it. None of the Top 25 posts are from after 2013. - I have purposefully not included any of the Pics of the Week, mainly because they're done as kind of a joke. For the most part, this doesn't impact the list, except for a few early ones which, somehow, garnered a lot of views. - Pop culture seems to help with readership. A good half of the Top 25 are about movies, music and TV shows. - 2012 appears to have been the blog's zenith, as 8 of the top 10 entries are from that year. With those observations out of...

What a difference a year makes. Most of the time, I have trouble narrowing down the favorite songs of the year into a list of just 10, and typically delay publishing the list until late January or February. Not so with 2016. I pretty much had this list done by October, though kept a flicker of hope alive that the last two months would bring some miraculous onslaught of good tunes. Alas, it was not to be. Here, then, are my picks for the Top 10 songs from 2016, for whatever it's worth....