You can now listen to my new solo album "5 Years on the B-Side" in all fine digital music stores!…well mostly.

Back in December, I started recording a solo album at home, compiling a bunch of songs that I had written over the 5 years I lived at the B-Side Brewery. Some of them have been heard intermittently by friends and at open mic nights, and through various online demos over the years — but I think I’ve just about locked in on the definitive versions of most of them, anyway. And now they’re available to listen to on Spotify, iTunes/Apple Music, BandCamp, SoundCloud, and more! (like seriously: does anyone really use Napster anymore?)

Most of these recordings fall in a spectrum of acoustic-folk-electro-indie-punk, more out of necessity than anything else (you don’t really wanna groove to that built-in Logic Pro auto drummer, do ya?). Oh, and of course, because it’s me, you’re mostly dealing with tunes about comic books, politics, and mental health. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Oh, also: the photos I’m using for the album art, et cetera, are all courtesy of the wonderful, inimitable, and multi-talented Conor Olmstead.

(PS: I am still adding songs to the album every now and then, so if you want the best bargain, buy the pay-what-you-want download on BandCamp, where you should continue getting every new song as I post it. That’s the “mostly” caveat of that there headline, see?)

KREEZUS, Your 2014 Holiday Soundtrack. Thanks, Kanye Claus!

If you're anything like me, Christmas Eve dinner has been underscored by the exact same Mannheim Steamroller album for as long as you can remember (which, after about 15 full loops, is occasionally followed by Celine Dion's Christmas album, although hopefully by then you're too drunk to care). Maybe you tried in change tradition in favor of the phenomenal Sufjan Stevens Christmas album but it didn't stick because Santa Claus is apparently really partial to symphonic synth-pop and melodramatic adult contemporary soft pop with an abusive amount of flutes. 

But all of that is that about to change. Because a comedy group called Local Business Comedy just released this Christmas-themed remake of Kanye West's Yeezus, and it is everything you need to deck the halls with Yuletide cheer, mothaf*cka. 

Sure, you might be worried that mom & dad might not be so keen on those Ye's thick distorted grooves, but think of this way: they want to be hip and in the know, right? Use Kim Kardashian's buttshot as a segue from The Interview or police brutality or whatever else you don't want to talk about, and bam. Kreezus

Don't worry. You'll thank me later.

Fathers Hide Your Synthesizers — There's New Music From The Rentals!

Normally I wouldn't hype something on my blog that I myself am not involved in, but given my new commitment to up my blogging, and the fact that I'm incredibly excited about this, please excuse my HOLY CRAP THERE'S A NEW RENTALS ALBUM COMING OUT!

MOOGS! POWER CHORDS! LOTS OF LAYERED HARMONY ON FEMALES GOING "OOOH"!

C'mon, that was catchy, right? It's like...all the power-pop goodness that we all still want out of Weezer, but sadly never get. It's simple, sure, but with these tiny artistic / experimental embellishments — which is precisely what I love about The Rentals.

Which makes sense, of course, because Matt Sharp formed the band as a side-project back when he was still playing bass and supplying quirky falsetto background vocal embellishments in Weezer (his departure marking the beginning of their steady decline), and he's remained the only consistent member of the band (as well as its lead creative force). Weezer drummer Patrick Wilson and Indie Rock Violinist Sisters Extraordinaire Rachel and Petra Haden and even actress Maya Rudolph (because I guess she has a Moog?) have been among the band's rotating members; their upcoming album includes Patrick Carney from The Black Keys. The Rentals released their first album, Return Of The Rentals, in 1995, and it's an irresistible explosion of power-pop hooks, Moog synthesizers, and enough female background vocals to make Brian Wilson cry. It's certainly reminiscent of Blue Album-era Weezer, but with less angst and pop sensibilities cranked up to 11. It's almost overwhelmingly upbeat and catchy, not to mention incredible simple and just plain fun. Here's the lead single from Return Of The Rentals:

And now you're probably like, "That was stupid. Also brilliant. It was so...simple! Why is this in my head?! Why won't it go away and why do I like it?!," to which I respond, EXACTLY. They followed that album up with Seven More Minutes, which is bit more rockin', while also drawing on some Americana influence for the folky "It's Alright." They released Songs About Time in 2009, which was a whole multimedia project consisting of three mini-albums released every three months, 52 black and white short films scored and arranged by the band and released every week, and 365 photographs released every day for one year. They compiled some of the best parts into a single album, which leans more heavily on the strings, pianos, and acoustic guitar sounds. It's a gorgeous record, but I'm also excited that their new album is sounding like a return to form for their more rock-oriented sounds.

Despite the mild radio success of "Friends of P," The Rentals haven't been hugely successful, but I wish more people were aware of them, because I find them to be an absolutely irresistibile medley of many of my favorite musical things. So check 'em out if you have the chance (or, ya know, Spotify 'em or whatever)!