Now available for purchase from Excitable Press, Andy Anderson's Help! There's A Fire (Reflections on Nashville's '80s New Music Scene) featuring early interviews w/members of R.E.M., The Bangles, The English Beat, Jason & the Scorchers, among others! Edited by me! #booksky tinyurl.com/3b2yyxma

Here's an oldie but a goodie from the Rev's archives, this 2007 Alt.Culture.Guide™ review of issue 7 of the Galactic Zoo Dossier zine... tinyurl.com/3r85kw7e

Listening to Bob Vylan makes me want to run headfirst through a brick wall like the Kool-Aid man with a flaming torch in my hand... youtu.be/VFqhJyvly1g?...

The Rev's second & final "best of list" for 2025, this one of my favorite reissue and archival releases of the year... #rocknroll #bestof2025 tinyurl.com/4wwj2sbm

It's the end of the years & that means lists, lots of "best of" lists, everywhere you turn. I only have two lists & they're the only two that matter! Today, it's the "best" new albums of 2025, or at least my own personal faves... #bestof2025 #rocknroll tinyurl.com/3fy6zyvz

My last record reviews of the year discuss new music from a couple of old friends, Nashville musicians Richie Owens and Steve Boyd. #rocknroll #Nashvillerocks tinyurl.com/mub7r57b

Coming soon from Excitable Press, Andy Anderson's Help! There's A Fire, a collection of interviews, etc from the Music City's first rock zine, Nashville Intelligence Report. Early career interviews w/R.E.M., The Police, The Bangles & English Beat as well as Iggy, Rollins & Joe Strummer! #booksky

I dunno what it says about me, but Toni Storm's matches -- no matter the gimmick -- regularly rank among my favorites on AEW Dynamite... #AEWwrestling #AEW

Please add "puppy killers" to your proposed travel ban. WE DON'T WANT THEM. NOT ONE.

It's your Monday Morning Bootleg Playlist, post-Thanksgiving edition & this time around we have steamin' hot flapjacks from Jethro Tull (West Germany 1972), Talking Heads (Berkley CA 1979) & Syd Barrett (studio outtakes & live tracks, many with David Gilmour, a couple with Pink Floyd). #bootlegs

Since I'm digging into the archives, what about this 2012 review of the fourth and final album by the late, great Michael "Iron Man" Burks, Show of Strength, released by Alligator Records? #bluesmusic tinyurl.com/4ces7wwu

Here's a good 'un from the Reverend's archives, this vintage review of the classic 1986 Alligator Records album Roughhousin' by Lil' Ed and the Blues Imperials! #bluesmusic tinyurl.com/43kj37c2

My tribute to the late Nashville troubadour Todd Snider, who passed away over the weekend... #ToddSnider #Americana tinyurl.com/59nz4zy9

Living in Detroit circa 1978-81, punk rockers Cinecyde were one of the more exciting bands on a thriving Motor City rock scene alongside outfits like Destroy All Monsters, Flirt & Sonic's Rendezvous Band. This 2015 Italian import LP collects all of Cinecyde's singles & included a bonus 45!

A golden oldie from the deepest nooks 'n' crannies of the Reverend's bottomless archives, this vintage 1986 review of the Smithereens' classic LP Especially For You, originally published by The Metro magazine in Nashville. #albumreview #classicrock #smithereens tinyurl.com/yznjkf45

Lemme see if I got this right...after 15 years of trying to "replace" the ACA (a/k/a "Obamacare") with an-eternally imminent "better" GOP program, great Grandfather Blockhead's plan is to replace Obamacare with...well, #Obamacare but with more paperwork? (Thanx to @jefftiedrich.bsky.social!)

Pioneering Seattle indie label C/Z Records has launched a long-overdue web shop featuring various label collectibles from the earliest days of grunge, some cheap, some not...the Rev sez "check it out!" tinyurl.com/yr3nefuk

The Reverend dips his toe in the dark waters of death metal with this vintage archive review of "Fenriz Presents The Best of Old-School Black Metal" from the old Alt.Culture.Guide zine circa 2008... #heavymetal #blackmetal tinyurl.com/2u4pbpc2

I'm not sure how I missed this video, which shows blues artists from around the world playing Robert Johnson's classic "Crossroads," but I guarantee that this is the coolest thing that you'll see all day! Blues music is THE international language! #bluesmusic #blues youtu.be/RCisGFYDrKQ?...

The oddity here is that of all the gambling scandals that could have followed the explosion of legalized, league- and media- connected game gambling, this one seems to have the least possible connection TO gambling on games. That'll be the defense used for game gambling.

The 40th anniversary deluxe box set of Dream Syndicate's underrated Medicine Show album is being released today & the Reverend has thoughts about it in this new review... @patthomashistorian.bsky.social tinyurl.com/2pcfpaah

It's been a couple of months since I posted one of these, so here's your Manic Monday Moanin' Bootleg Playlist: The Byrds' Eight Miles High (Holland 1970), The Rolling Stones' Live at Silverdome (Michigan 1981), and Last Defender of the Faith from R.E.M. (1995 Monster tour).

From my former lifetime as an editor specializing in blues music for a NY Times property, this 2007 review of blues great Tommy Castro's Painkiller album... #bluesmusic tinyurl.com/3m6ysbkx

Another deep dive into the archives with this 1995 review of Faith No More's King For A Day, Fool For A Lifetime LP, originally published by Nashville's Bone music magazine... tinyurl.com/2frnkps6

The Reverend remembers the almighty Tony McPhee and British blues-rockers the Groundhogs with this vintage 2008 DVD review, originally published by Blurt magazine... #bluesrock tinyurl.com/yesxfyx9

“WE MAKE, THEY TAKE” From @moreperfectunion.bsky.social — 50 billboards across 8 states are driving home the message that working Americans (teachers, nurses, etc) keep 🇺🇸 running, but billionaires keep taking more & more. Share if you agree. More: perfectunion.us/wemaketheyta...

Here's a deep dig into the Reverend's archives, a 1997 review of the Frank Zappa bootleg album Kreega Bondola, which documents a 1984 concert... tinyurl.com/3cc4nxdw #frankzappa #classicrock #bootlegs

I dunno, seems to me that too many Democrats are spending waaayyyy too much time re-litigating and jawboning about the election they lost (spectacularly) almost a year ago and not nearly enough time trying to figure out a working-class oriented populist message for 2026...

Remember the 1980s with this 2001 archive review of Modern English's Life In The Gladhouse LP, a compilation of the often-forgotten British rocker's best songs... #rocknroll tinyurl.com/4twmw3yn

Blues-rock from the often-overlooked Irish guitarist, the late great Gary Moore...this 2002 review from the Rev's archives... #bluesmusic #bluesrock tinyurl.com/yh2a8ush

Pro Football on TV was created by Beelzebub as an infernal advertising delivery system; the mute button is a divine invention to combat such evil... #NFL #ProFootball

Peter Green's talents as a guitarist are often overlooked, but even if you dismiss his Bluesbreakers and/or Fleetwood Mac tenures, you gotta admit that his work w/Splinter Group was pretty spiff! From the Rev's archives... #bluesmusic #bluesrock tinyurl.com/yu7yyp84

Another Alt.Culture.Guide review from the Rev's archives circa 2001, this one of the Dead Kennedys' Mutiny On the Bay live LP! #punkrock #deadkennedys tinyurl.com/mr3cj3as

Something else from the Reverend's archives, this 2001 review of the Fabulous Thunderbirds' Live album, originally published by Alt.Culture.Guide zine... #bluesmusic #bluesrock tinyurl.com/2jwhmn8y

In Pro Wrestling, if you set somebody on fire INSIDE the ring, it's opera. If you tie someone up & light 'em up backstage, it's attempted murder. Don't insult my intelligence with these heel hijinks... #aew #bookbetter #mjfsucks

It's been a while since I've done the Manic Monday Moanin' Bootleg Playlist, so here 'tis! Today's list is narrow but deep, with the Who's "Live On Air 1965-1967" (early radio performances) & "Live In Holland 1969" along w/Pink Floyd's "Montreux 1970" & "Live In Germany - Eclipsed" (1972).

Here's another gem from the Rev's archives, a 2001 review of the legendary Peter Tosh's Live & Dangerous Boston 1976 album, originally published by the infamous Alt.Culture.Guide™ zine... #reggae #reggaemusic tinyurl.com/2jspt6td

Album of the Day: Luke Haines & Peter Buck's Going Down To the River...To Blow My Mind. Veteran British rocker Haines mines a musical vein similar to Robyn Hitchcock, Martin Newell, and The Jazz Butcher), falling somewhere in the middle with his own psych-drenched and folk-influenced rock sound.

I'm the sort of geek that reads Smithsonian magazine, but I'm also the sort that writes letters to the editors of Smithsonian, like this recently-published (and yes, edited...) missive ("Harmonica Wizard") touting Country Music Hall of Fame member & first star of the Grand Ole Opry, DeFord Bailey!

Here's another one from the Rev's archives, this 1998 review of underrated bluesman Blind Willie Johnson's Dark Was the Night CD, originally published by Alt.Culture.Guide zine... tinyurl.com/ycy2zyxn #bluesmusic

The Reverend remembers British folk-rock innovator Dave Cousins of the Strawbs today with this tribute on the That Devil Music website... #folkrock #progrock tinyurl.com/cvs8dvfr

I'm a sucker for these "Nuggets" styled comps of psych & garage rock bands (I wrote a book about 'em!), so I gleefully grabbed a copy of Psychedelic Unknowns, Vol. 1 featuring obscure rockers from The Calico Wall, The Sound Sandwich, The Evil I, Spaced & others, exclusive from Get Hip Records...

It's Manic Monday Moanin' time again & another "Bootleg" AM playlist with CDs by R.E.M. (Madison WI 1982), the Waterboys (live 1989?), the Pretty Things (original 1967 Emotions tapes & live tracks), & the New York Dolls (NYC 1973 demos). Sound quality varies, but all are above average sonically...

Here's a goodie from the Rev's archives, this 1999 review of a vintage Roy Buchanan bootleg LP, originally published by Live! Music Review... #bluesmusic #blues tinyurl.com/bdfhjwmd

It's summertime and the Rev has posted his seasonal playlist, featuring white-hot singles from the Big Ol' Nasty Getdown, the Low Spirits, Nervous Eaters, and the Shitkicker Rebellion (featuring Greg Prevost)... tinyurl.com/y5sypcu8

New review alert! The Reverend reviews the fantastic new live LP from Chicago blues guitarist Dave Specter this morning, only on That Devil Music! #bluesmusic tinyurl.com/4rh5j3ta

Another deep pull from the seemingly bottomless and possibly anecdotal old "box in the attic," this fashionable Metro magazine 5th anniversary t-shirt with design by the peerless Tim Shawl! The Metro was a groundbreaking Nashville music mag in the '80s that I wrote for & occasionally edited...

More stuff found in a box in the attic: my well-worn (well, ragged) Jason & the Scorchers Fervor tee-shirt circa 1981 or '82, likely given to me by Jack Emerson, the band's manager... #tshirtlife

Stuff found in the attic: my worn-out vintage Cat's "Last Chance Dance Party" t-shirt from Labor Day 1982. This is the infamous show featuring Jason & the Scorchers and the White Animals where Jason climbed up a billboard pole beside the stage in the Cat's parking lot in Nashville... #tshirtlife

Dug out of another old box in the attic...a vintage '70s Prairie Sun t-shirt that I grew out of decades ago. Prairie Sun was a cool counter-culture zine distributed through a Midwestern record store chain that I wrote for sporadically (I was VERY sporadic in the late '70s). #tshirtlife