On Summit

Is it too late to make these into some kind of promo for Record Store Day? Maybe next year. In any event, props to The Christopher Rendition , Call the Midwife , and The Girls for supporting vinyl and all those who peddle it.

I occassionally find myself having to explain to people what censorship is. So, for easy reference I've compiled a number of definitions from authoritative sources. Please feel free to link and share as needed: Oxford World Encyclopedia (Oxford University Press) Censorship: System whereby a government-appointed body or official claims the right to protect the public interest by influencing the release of any item of mass communication. The World of Criminal Justice (Facts on File) Censorship occurs when a government, business, or individual suppresses speech, writing, art, or any other form of communication. The New Oxford Companion to Law (Oxford University Press) Censorship commonly refers to the determination by a public official that certain material is unsuitable for publication or performance on grounds such as morality, religion, politics, or national security. The material may be banned outright or its circulation restricted to those thought less suscep...

Yes, Bruce Springsteen has found his way into consecutive blog posts. Coincidentally this is another "Johnny come lately" tale from my life as a middling music fan. I say "Johnny come lately" because the fan culture I grew up in (New Wave -> Punk -> College -> Alternative -> Indie -> Whatevs) placed an extremely high value on discovery; on being the first to discover a band, on knowing about a band before your friends and peers did, on seeing a band before "they got big". This "will to discovery" is summed up perfectly in the (usually) condescending and (always) pedantic observation that "Their early stuff was better" (See Also, "They were better with the original line-up", "They were better before they signed to a major" "They were better two years ago at [insert name of small venue here]). None of this should be too surprising. Information is power after all, and people will wield it accordin...

THE PARTY I'm late to the party. Again. Two parties, actually. HOW LATE? A couple decades when it comes to the feminist critique of Bruce Springsteen. That may have peeked in 1992 with the publication of Pamela Moss's Where Is the "Promised Land"?: Class and Gender in Bruce Springsteen's Rock Lyrics . And Lydia Loveless? Late again, this time by a few years. While my tastemaker friends (who are legion) were enthusiastically extolling the virtues of 2011's Indestructible Machine , I was still in the throws of a prolonged summer crush involving Kelly Clarkson's pop masterpiece All I Ever Wanted (which I'd been listening to more or less on infinite repeat for two years). It wasn't until last fall that I waded into what is arguably the shallow end of the Lydia Loveless pool. I was at Lost Weekend Records , having recommitted to the idea of "supporting the scene" by purchasing local music from a local store. Truth be told, I don'...

So I touched on some 2014 resolutions when I wrote this post . Well, I got to thinking that a list of resolutions deserved their own post. I also thought they should be bulleted, checklist-style, for easy referencing. Then, upon further reflection, I thought of a few more things I'd like to add. So without further adieu, here's my complete and reformatted 2014 Resolution list: Read 52 Books Paint 52 Paintings Exercise Every Day Eat More Fruits and Vegetables Write at Least Eight Reviews for Columbus Underground Keep Up With My Social Medias Record With Jim Diamond in Detroit Take a Continuing Education Class at CCAD Fix My Scooter Rake Leaves Get a New Car Paint the Living Room Dining Room, Stairwell and Hallway Enroll in a Krav Maga Self-Defense Class Establish a Primary Care Physician Get All Those Horrid Tests Men My Age Get Listen to More (New) Music Buy More Local Music Take My Lovely Wife Out More Talk My Lovely Wife Into a Trip To Ireland Barring...

I don't know if anyone else was keeping track (besides me), but you might recall at the start of 2013 I challenged myself to read 52 books and paint 52 paintings in 2013. Well, here's how that worked out: The Good News The good news is I read exactly 52 books in 2013! A full accounting of thos books can be found here: Jeff's 2013 Reading Challenge Recap.   As I reflect on the year's reading I'm struck by the fact that I didn't really read a single OMG THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING!!! book. Don't get me wrong, I read a lot of books that I really liked ( The Rage , The Shining Girls , Colin Fischer , The Dog Stars , and Flora & Ulysses were among the standouts). I just don't think I read anything that was a real game changer. I'm struck too by how few really popular adult fiction titles I read last year. Popular young adult fiction was pretty well represented ( The Hunger Games ,...

"So Jeff, how are those paintings for your November show at the Faculty Club coming along?" Funny you should ask. I was just working on them today. It should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me that I'll be taking this deadline right down to the wire. I've got six more paintings I need to finish, and about a six weeks to complete them in. That should be just enough time provided I can stay on pace and finish one a week. Today's visit to the studio sees the following works in progress. I've been doing mostly sketching and underpainting right now, though we did see one painting completed and two stalled.    These are the undepaintings for Midst Steam and Smoke (after Adamson) (left) and Master Keim (after Eugene) (right). So far so good, though it's still early. Good underpaintings are nothing more than a promise. This is the finished underpainting for The Ring Toss (after Whit...