Bloggerhythms

I'm not surprised if you're unfamiliar with Victor V. Gurbo . That's because he's another one of the innumerable spokes caught in the wagon wheel of talented, but sadly unknown musicians who deserve a larger audience. The singer-songwriter's website describes him as " a Brooklyn-based roots revivalist musician " who has built a solid reputation on his home turf. Gurbo's Outrun the Invisible Man is a ten-song album he recorded at home during the COVID lockdown with his multi-instrumentalist friend and collaborator, Mark Caserta, who is the only other musician on this set. After meeting on Craigslist, they worked together during the unfortunate lockdown by sending iPhone recordings to each other for overdubbing. Together, they recorded over a hundred songs. Gurbo's six original songs on Invisible Man were inspired by the pandemic and feature themes the lockdown made people th...

It should come as no surprise to those of you who know the song that Steppenwolf's "The Pusher" is among the more controversial rock records in history. It was released in 1968 on the hard rocking quintet's debut album - and for reasons we'll be discussing here - the backlash it received because of its lyrics overshadowed its powerful, well-meaning message. The song was written by multi-talented Hoyt Axton (1938 - 1999), who found success in Hollywood as a folk singer, a composer and as an actor. Axton suffered from a cocaine addiction that he was fortunate enough to overcome, but he was also a big proponent of medical marijuana. The composer wrote a lot of songs in addition to "The Pusher." Among them are "No-No Song," another anti-drug track made famous when it became a hit for Ringo Starr off of his Goodnight Vienna LP. The Kingston Trio recorded Axton's ...

Chrissie Hynde's Pretenders have always rocked hard despite her ability to compose easily accessible melodies with introspective lyrics that listeners normally would find on albums released by more placid singer-songwriters. This fact is abundantly clear on the band's recently released, limited edition, live, double LP, Kick 'Em Where It Hurts that has already sold out after its June 13, 2025 release. Fortunately, you can still stream it or download it at many well-known online outlets like Amazon and iTunes. Hynde told Ultimate Classic Rock  that she prefers playing smaller venues - where all of these songs were recorded in 2024 - even though she knows there is more money to be made playing large arenas. The Ohio native believes theaters are more hospitable places to play because the band can see the the audience - and in turn - the fans can see the quartet working hard for them on stage. The rock star can still kick butt at age 73, and ...

Regular visitors to Bloggerhythms should be very aware by now that I've always considered most rap/hip-hop distasteful. Only a couple of exceptions come to mind: " My Definition of a Boombastic Jazz Style " (1991) by Canada's Dream Warriors and much of Gil Scott-Heron 's work that - to me - sounds like rap in an embryonic state. Just because I'm featuring Beastie Boys today doesn't mean my tastes have changed. But, when an artist - any artist - creates work that I believe is worthwhile I like to spread the word. The critically acclaimed trio released two instrumental albums during their career, and neither one is a rap record although you can hear elements of the genre in both of them. The older one,  The In Sound From Way Out!  (1996), is a compilation of previously released tracks. It contains five instrumentals from the Brooklyn outfit's  Check Your Head  LP, six from  Ill Communication  and two b-sides. You'll hear Stax and...

It's a good thing that I don't live within walking distance of a used record store or I'd have to enter rehab to wean myself off of a potentially deadly addiction. Last week I visited  Siren Records  - in the small but very hip town of Doylestown, Pa - a well-known and much-loved retail outlet that has been in business at least thirty years, probably longer. The establishment is so popular that you need reservations to shop there on Record Store Day . I've found some good stuff on Siren's shelves in the past, and my visit there last week was no exception. They charge $5.99 a piece for used CDs that are in very good to mint condition, but if you buy five of them you'll pay only $20 for the whole pile. So much has been written about Elvis Presley's legendary, eponymous, major label debut for RCA that anything I add will most likely be redundant, but here are some thoughts on this gem I found in the store's abundantly stocked shelves. Even t...

I was hoping to come up with a unique post to honor Sly Stone, but so much has already been written about him that now I'm simply hoping that my words aren't going to be redundant. I'm late to the fair because I wanted my two tributes to Brian Wilson to go online quickly. Even if uniqueness is no longer a possibility I want this post to be - at the very least - worthy of such a talented musician. To this day, there has never been any greatest hits album that I've played more than the one Epic Records issued for Sly & The Family Stone in 1970, and I've been spinning records and CDs for a long, long, long time now. It's almost been a permanent fixture on my ipod. We were all taught in English class that a superlative should never be used with the word "unique" because it means "one-of-a-kind" and something can't be more "one-of-a-kind" than anything else. However, if I ever wanted to add a modifier like ...

How great was Brian Wilson? If you listen to At My Piano -  the late star's final, solo, studio album of fifteen unadorned piano tracks played by The Beach Boys' resident genius - you'll quickly understand the extent of his talent as a melodicist. The simplicity of this set allows the listener to fully appreciate the beauty of Wilson's creations performed on a musical instrument that is truly irresistible when played by a great talent. Some critics have said that Wilson took the easy way out, that these songs have been redone too many times to be appreciated again, but I counter with this: how many artists have issued multiple live albums with arrangements played very close to their original records or released remixes of old songs just to sell more product? At least Wilson offered listeners something quite different, although he admits that the original idea belonged to his record label, Decca. However, it was a request he willingly undertook. T...

Sadly, Brian Wilson has passed away. In only eight days he would have turned 83. He was born only two days after Paul McCartney, so maybe there is something to astrology after all. After The Beatles, the California band and Terry Kath era Chicago were always either number two or three on my list of musical loves. It often depended on my mood. My introduction to The Beach Boys was during the Summer of 1965. It will be sixty years ago next month when I heard "California Girls" for the very first time. It was among the first five records I ever bought with my own money. I've always loved vocal harmonies and nobody was better at creating them than The Beach Boys. To me, that fun, summer single was the most astounding piece of music I had ever heard at the time. I remember it well because it gave me goosebumps. Below this video is an old post I wrote in 2018 about my love for the band. It was originally titled In Defense of The Beach Boy...