The whole Backbeat soundtrack is just a gem of a project. It’s all early rowdy Beatles tracks (mostly their R&B/rock covers) translated by a killer alt-rock supergroup. Greg handles vocals on the John songs and Dave handles the Paul songs. So raw and melodic and glorious!

Monday morning kickoff with my boys! “Vacation in Athens is calling me” (though not at all during the summer heat, yeesh)

The single-most ‘90s moment within the uber-‘90s tableau of Nirvana playing MTV Unplugged has got to be Kurt drinking tea from a jazz paper cup.

Late morning jams from one of my all-time favorite musicians (and her guitar player ain’t too bad either!) ❤️🤍🖤

Some voices just create entirely new galaxies to swim around and get lost in. Dolores forever 💚

Kicking Thursday off with the majestic Alicia Keys! Come for the amazing Aaliyah tribute, stay for the Gladys Knight and Isaac Hayes covers. Tony! Toni! Toné! and John Legend even drop in to play. What a killer album! (Plus Bob Dylan told me he was thinking about her and couldn’t keep from crying!)

The “physical media rules” fandom is certainly a big room but I think revisiting old @thisamericanlife.org episodes via CD/USB might warrant its own special corner of lovable weirdos. (And if anyone has any of the old ‘90s TAL yellow-label cassettes they’re looking to unload, hit me up!)

Really stoked to hear about Grandmaster Flash’s next book (Birth of a Culture) coming out in September. His 2008 memoir was a super insightful read and I can’t wait to read more of his stories about hip-hop’s endlessly fascinating early days.

Really happy a new season of the The Bear is out and I can’t wait to binge it tonight! Everyone’s getting called “cousin” today!

Whenever the afternoon head bobs hit and a nap’s not in the cards, “Daysleeper” always feels extra dreamy and warm blanket-y. Plus, I’m always in the mood for “At My Most Beautiful” and “Sad Professor” 💚

Thursday morning level-up from Pearl Jam’s absolute finest. No skips, no notes.

Dude, SAME! The first time I ate one my wife was like “How easy would it be for you to get the label cleanly off those jars?” 😂

Stoked to hear that Save Ferris’ ‘97 debut ‘It Means Everything’ is finally getting its first vinyl pressing via Enjoy The Ride Records (pre-orders open)! Gonna celebrate by spinning their early Starpool single of “Come On Eileen” (the “Night Mix” version) and the unreleased b-side “For You” 🩵💛

Right?!? It’s always a good day to be serenaded by Cornell’s peerless pipes! Dude was a one-of-one vocal talent. I also dig this specific variant because they split it over two discs for better fidelity. Since the songs only covered three sides, they did a pretty cool etching on side four.

Breaking Monday morning’s rusty cage with one of the most superhuman voices in the game.

Jamming on some stellar Breeders singles with phenomenally cool b-side covers of Hank Williams and Aerosmith (plus a little J Mascis guest spot). Also stoked to remember that somewhere in the world @robinjames.bsky.social is working on her forthcoming Last Splash book for @3313books.bsky.social!

Sweet! I’ll light a candle for us both!! 🕯️🕯️

Friday vibes on lock! I give this flawless debut a… *takes off sunglasses* …perfect ten.

Juliana Hatfield has remained on my musical Mount Rushmore for like 30-plus years. She’s so consistently great and keeps churning out fantastic albums (like last year’s Lightning May Strike). I feel like she even does covers better than most artists (her ONJ and Police LPs are otherworldly)!

Kicking off Monday morning with some early Cyndi Lauper. Blue Angel was her new wave/rockabilly band that sadly only released one album before she pivoted to her incredible solo career (and her all-too-brief stint in the WWF managing Wendi Richter and feuding with Captain Lou Albano 😂)

Oh man, ALWAYS happy to chat Dylan! I’ve been lucky enough to get to write about him for a few different outlets and I even wrote my master’s thesis about his tricky navigations (adapting vs. borrowing vs. stealing without crediting) as a multi-masked folk traditionalist. Love the man and the myth!

My afternoon spin in honor of the most recent @popculturebasement.bsky.social episode on the awesome ‘77 Rankin/Bass Hobbit cartoon. Shout-out to @mikejamison.bsky.social and @henrybernstein.bsky.social for a super enjoyable episode! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/p...

As someone who really begrudges late-spring and summer (and it’s only high-70s in Chicago right now), music is a crucial heat grumpiness regulator for me 😂 Thankfully this gem has perfectly met the challenge for three decades of mood-lifting summer survival. Pre-gaming for another sweaty season! 🍊

1988, third grade playground, everybody wanted to imitate Rakim. Most could keep up with “Microphone Fiend” but “Follow the Leader” was definitely the dividing line. We also made sure to swap out “I fiend for a microphone like heroin” to “Marilyn” so Mrs. Grady would be none the wiser 😂

Happy birthday to the great Siouxsie Sioux! She sounds so bewitching on this Kiss in the Dreamhouse era live album from ‘83, which has two killer Beatles covers and Robert Smith on guitar for the whole set!

Afternoon jams with even more Vaselines-by-way-of-Nirvana goodness (not to mention the Devo cover is phenomenal)

Who needs coffee when you can wake up with some cranked up Lenny Kravitz? Fun fact: Cindy Blackman iconically steals focus like a boss in the music video but it’s Lenny playing drums on the actual song (though not any guitar!)

YES! Was that like ‘01 No Wings era Hopesfall? If so, time-traveling high five to you from the pit! Got my first concert concussion at Pterodactyl (Spudgun/MxPx) and if you don’t already have this Strand live comp, it’s worth picking up (Squad, LSU, Mortal, Prayer Chain, Dear Ephesus, etc.)

Great read from @markchappelle.bsky.social about this solid album! It’s brand new, not even out yet, but he’s a friend of mine, so you know I can get that.

As far as ‘90s alt-rock bass lines go, “In the Meantime” is an all-timer that never fails to spark up a warmly specific small corner of my brain.