This version of “The Christmas Song” by #Duffy is one of my favorites… youtu.be/GBX97sbWhwI?si

Here’s a sublime Christmas-themed song from last year by British singer-songwriter #LucyRose. Worth a few dozen listens. youtu.be/5mqwdt7O_L0?si

One of my #5albums25 picks is a sublime set from Irish songstress Laura Elizabeth Hughes, Knots and Echoes. oldgreycat.blog/2025/10/04/f...

I was between my website and blog in 2008, but felt the need to share my favorite albums of the year - and did so on Facebook. It was a solid year, with great releases from #Duffy, #TiftMerritt and #JulianaHatfield. (I since moved the essay to my blog, obviously.) oldgreycat.blog/2008/12/31/a...

My favorite album of the year, Kassi Valazza's From Newman Street, should come as no surprise to those who know me, I think. It's a wonder pressed to wax. The same can be said of the runners-up.... oldgreycat.blog/2025/12/15/r...

Five years ago, I dove deep into the history of, and many renditions of the classic Christmas song, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." At that point, there were - at least - 1575 recorded versions. oldgreycat.blog/2020/12/20/a...

Here’s another of my favorite albums of the past year. On the one hand, it’s pop art set to song, light, bright and even brash; on the other, it evokes the weighty emotions many of us can’t quite articulate. oldgreycat.blog/2025/09/07/f...

It’s been a great year for music. One of my favorites of 2025: My Light, My Massage Parlor by #CassandraJenkins. It’s a calm-inducing collection of minimal instrumentals with ambient sounds mixed in, perfect for late nights, early mornings, and relaxing afternoons. oldgreycat.blog/2025/08/15/f...

My favorite platter of 2013 - by #SusannaHoffs and #MatthewSweet - celebrated the music of the #1980s. It remains a great listen. oldgreycat.blog/2013/12/18/1...

Here’s a trip through the pop charts of December 1979… oldgreycat.blog/2019/12/07/t...

Ten years ago about this time, I stepped into a time portal and arrived in the 1970s, when I couldn’t wait to grow up. oldgreycat.blog/2015/12/06/t...

Look, Ma, I’m a songwriter! (Not really!) I wrote the words quick, channeling Stephen Stills circa “We Are Not Helpless,” and asked #Suno to create an uptempo, acoustic-driven folk-rock backdrop… suno.com/s/C42Gev6TwH...

I share my top 25 albums & EPs of the year on my blog today. If all goes as planned, in a few weeks I'll whittle them down to my much-ballyhooed Album of the Year and a handful of runners-up. oldgreycat.blog/2025/12/01/r...

Thirteen years ago tonight, 11/29/13, #NeilYoung and Crazy Horse delivered one cacophonous epiphany after another at the Wells Fargo barn in South Philly. And Patti Smith, who opened, was on fire… oldgreycat.blog/2022/08/28/o...

Wee Three ad from Nov. 27, 1980…

Here's a flashback to when #TheStaves were three. youtu.be/54d7eLVeCjo?...

A year ago tonight the Staves delivered a spellbinding show in Carrboro… oldgreycat.blog/2024/11/13/t...

Happy birthday, #NeilYoung! Thanks for the music, including this behemoth of an album… oldgreycat.blog/2019/09/07/t...

Here's another of my #5debutalbums1014 contenders: Natalie Duncan's remarkable Devil in Me, which was released in 2012. This is one of its key tracks... youtu.be/iuEB2xMX0-M?...

Here's another of my #5DebutAlbums1014 contenders: Anna Calvi's self-titled set from 2011. It's a little Bowie, a little Sergio Leone, and a lotta fun. youtu.be/PEt0odB7ljg?...

Received my vinyl of #WingsDeluxe by Paul, Linda & pals today. Don’t think it’ll supplant the Wingspan set, but it is a solid collection. oldgreycat.blog/2025/11/06/f...

I will be at Hideaway Music in Chestnut Hill Friday with my book, Graham Parker’s Howlin’ Wind (grahamparkershowlinwind.net). Stop by for a chat about how @thegrahamparker.bsky.social created this acclaimed album. #singersongwriter #rockandroll #pubrock #britishrock #music #nicklowe

Among my #5DebutAlbums1014 contenders: Loveless Unbeliever by the School, a retro-flavored band from Wales. It’s an addictive listen. youtu.be/YMZyepKutns?...

Here's an old voyage through time to November 1984, when #BruceSpringsteen was planning to "register and vote my conscience" in that year's election. #LindseyBuckingham #U2, #RickieLeeJones and the #EverlyBrothers are also featured. oldgreycat.blog/2016/04/10/t...

Heartbreaking news. Pierre was one of Philly’s preeminent deejays - a true icon. www.inquirer.com/entertainmen...

Sometimes I hear a song and just know that artist behind it will be contributing to the soundtrack of my life for the rest of my days. Such is the case with Ella Haber, an Australian R&B/soul singer-songwriter, whose "Don't Let It Die" is akin to slipping into a warm bath. youtu.be/CBNAEBg0Q0I?...

We saw the Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere movie yesterday. As I said before, it's interesting yet flawed - and worthwhile. And, as all things Springsteen, it spurs what I jokingly call deep thoughts... oldgreycat.blog/2025/10/28/o...

Among my #5debutalbums1014 picks will be this one, from Rumer. Seasons of My Soul is an atmospheric song cycle that’s teeming with soulful, knowing lyrics and melodies that wrap themselves around the heart, to say nothing of Rumer’s emotive, pitch-perfect vocals. youtu.be/ERzNIzrEnLg?...

Here’s a flashback to October 1985 via the pages of Musician magazine. Among those spotlighted: John Mellencamp, Neil Young, Dwight Yoakam, and Bryan Ferry. oldgreycat.blog/2015/10/25/t...

Seven years ago this week, I was grooving to one of my favorite songs - “Rainy Night in Georgia,” which was written by #TonyJoeWhite. Although he recorded it, the definitive version is by #BrookBenton (though #ShelbyLynne does a great take on it, too.) oldgreycat.blog/2018/10/27/a...

This was another of my #885GreatestCoverSongs picks, this one guaranteed to not make the cut due to its obscurity - it's a YouTube video by a not well-known artist. But the way #DianeBirch blends Gossip with Screamin' Jay Hawkins is utterly intoxicating... youtu.be/wRQn7NfUwQg?...

Good advice, no matter one's age, from Aussie country singer Emily Lubitz... youtu.be/tN9__gwh2QE?...

Five years ago today, I spotlighted one of my favorite artists, jazz chanteuse #MelodyGardot. oldgreycat.blog/2020/10/25/t...

Here’s another #5debutalbums8084 contender: the Dream Syndicate’s full-length debut, The Days of Wine and Roses. I spotlighted the 4-CD box set version of it two years ago… oldgreycat.blog/2023/06/25/f...

This is well worth the watch. youtu.be/J5ZmLvy_Jfg?...

The Bangles’ debut is a contender for my #5debutalbums8084 picks. To my ears, it echoes the mid-‘60s, specifically the Beatles and Byrds, while sounding very much of its own time. I.e., it’s both retro and modern, and – simultaneously – ahead of the curve. oldgreycat.blog/2017/08/27/t...

The Long Ryders’ Native Sons, released in ‘84, is one of my #5debutalbums8084 picks. Taut rhythms, glissando guitars and close harmonies accent the goings-on, which conjure the hullabaloo of 20 years before when the Byrds first matched folk music to the Merseybeat. oldgreycat.blog/2024/01/21/t...

Asking me to pick my 10 favorites of anything is a fool’s errand - I have far too many. So for XPN’s #coversongs countdown I went with the first 10 to cross my mind. This is one: youtu.be/ELuAy7wMie4?...

Another day, another concert memory: #WesleyStace and #JulianaHatfield at the Ardmore Music Hall, where they let their bodies talk... oldgreycat.blog/2017/10/14/w...

Don’t understand how Nick was passed over by Rush… #FreaksandGeeks youtu.be/RBTiZn2yEcw?si

It seems like a lifetime ago, in some respects, but it’s been a mere 11 years since I saw #NeilYoung and #JacksonBrowne on back-to-back nights at the Academy of Music in Philly. oldgreycat.blog/2014/10/12/2...

Two years later and this remains one of my favorite albums of recent vintage. Just sumptuous. oldgreycat.blog/2023/10/07/f...

Wonderful new song from folksinger Hayley Reardon. youtu.be/UoEXVTxjJXo?...

I’ve seen at least two great shows on this day, October 4 - the #Bangles in 2014 and #PaulWeller in ‘17. Here’s my recap of the Bangles concert; see the first comment for the Weller recount. oldgreycat.blog/2014/10/05/t...

@richards7370.bsky.social #5debutalbums0004 marks a stretch of years when a lot of new music missed my ears. But, I loved these three then & still play them from time to time... 1. Alicia Keys - Songs in A Minor 2. Nelly Furtado - Whoa, Nelly! 3. A Girl Called Eddy - self-titled

Three years out and Chris Canterbury’s Quaalude Lullabies remains a mesmerizing listen. It’s reminiscent of dark-hued sonic tomes from Bruce Springsteen, Steve Earle and Hank Williams Jr., among others. Highly recommended. oldgreycat.blog/2022/10/01/f...

Another day, another #Springsteen memory: oldgreycat.blog/2020/07/05/a...

On this day in music history: #BruceSpringsteen and the E Street Band played the Philadelphia Spectrum… oldgreycat.blog/2019/07/06/o...

On this day in 1992: 10,000 Maniacs (with Mighty Max Weinberg filling in on drums) perform "To Sir With Love" at Madison Square Garden. I saw them perform it a week earlier, when they headlined a World Cafe/ActionAIDS benefit in Philly... youtu.be/uqZlAKc-uoM?...

Here’s a trip through the mists of time to this day in 1978… oldgreycat.blog/2019/06/26/t...