Author: Deborah Sprague

Alternative Rock Britpop Pop Rock 

The Quintessential Englishness of Blur’s Parklife

April 26, 2024April 30, 2024 Deborah Sprague 0 Comments 13, 1994, Alex James, Blur, Coachella, Damon Albarn, Dave Rowntree, Girls and Boys, Graham Coxon, Leisure, Modern Life Is Rubbish, Parklife, The Great Escape

Celebrating 30 years of the band’s classic third LP

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Hip Hop Rap 

How Run-D.M.C. Revolutionized Hip-Hop in 1984

March 30, 2024March 30, 2024 Deborah Sprague 0 Comments 1984, Daryl McDaniels, DMC, Eddie Martinez, Hard Times, Hollis, Jam Master Jay, Jason Mizell, Joseph Simmons, Larry Smith, Queens, Rev Run, Rock Box, Run DMC, Run-D.M.C., Russell Simmons

Looking back on 40 years of the rap trio’s seminal debut

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Garage Rock Hard Rock Punk Remembrance Rock 

Wayne Kramer: A Guitarist Supreme

February 4, 2024February 9, 2024 Deborah Sprague 0 Comments Back in the U.S.A., Detroit, Kick Out The Jams, MC5, Motor City 5, RIP, Wayne Kramer

Remembering the legendary MC5 co-founder, who lost his battle with pancreatic cancer at 75

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Music Journalism 

The Rock & Roll Globe Grammy Forecast 2024

February 2, 2024February 5, 2024 Deborah Sprague 0 Comments Billie Eilish, Brandi Carlile, Grammy, IDLES, Miley Cyrus, Olivia Rodrigo, SZA, Taylor Swift, The 66th Annual Grammy Awards, The War And Treaty

Looking at who will win and who should win at this year’s award ceremony

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Alternative Rock Post-Punk Punk Rock 

On The Surface: Pere Ubu’s Dub Housing at 45

November 21, 2023November 24, 2023 Deborah Sprague 2 Comments 1978, 45th Anniversary, Bob Mould, Cinderella Backstreet, Cleveland, David Thomas, Dub Housing, Hy Mya, Ken Hamann, Pere Ubu, Peter Laughner, Rocket From The Tombs, Scott Krauss, Tony Maimone

Reflections on the group’s precedent-setting second album

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Pop Rock 

Love Lies Bleeding: Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road at 50

October 5, 2023October 5, 2023 Deborah Sprague 0 Comments 1973, 50th anniversary, Bennie and the Jets, Bernie Taupin, Candle in the Wind, Elton John, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Grey Seal, Gus Dudgeon, Jamaica Jerk-Off, Marilyn Monroe

Looking back on the pinnacle of Reginald Dwight’s recording career

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New Wave Punk 

Uncontrollable Urge: Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! at 45

August 28, 2023August 28, 2023 Deborah Sprague 0 Comments 1978, 45th Anniversary, Bob Casale, Devo, Gerald V. Casale, Jocko Homo, Mark Mothersbaugh, Mongoloid, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!, Warner Bros. Records

Looking back on a masterwork of minimalist thought and situationist action

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Pop 

Lucky Star: Madonna’s Debut at 40

July 27, 2023July 27, 2023 Deborah Sprague 0 Comments 1983, 40th Anniversary, Borderline, Danceteria, Detroit, Everybody, holiday, Jellybean Benitez, John Sex, Lucky Star, Madonna, Mark Kamins, Michael Gira, Mo Ostin, New York City, Robert Fripp, Seymour Stein, Swans

Inside the Material Girl’s infectious first LP

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Country and/or Western Pop Rock 

Hate Her Harder: Kesha Will Not Be Silenced

May 22, 2023May 22, 2023 Deborah Sprague 0 Comments 2023, Dr. Luke, Gag Order, Kesha, Kurt Vile, Nashville, RCA Records, Rick Rubin

Why Gag Order is the pop star’s most honest work of her career

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Alternative Rock Indie Rock Pub Rock Punk Rock 

Color Me Impressed: The Replacements’ Hootenanny at 40

April 29, 2023April 29, 2023 Deborah Sprague 5 Comments 1983, 40th Anniversary, Bob Stinson, Chris Mars, Color Me Impressed, Hootenanny, Lovelines, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Paul Westerberg, The Replacements, Tommy Stinson, Twin/Tone, Within Your Reach

It might not be their best offering, but it’s definitely their most Mats-like

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Alternative Rock Punk Remembrance Rock 

Guiding Light: Remembering Tom Verlaine

January 30, 2023January 30, 2023 Deborah Sprague 0 Comments Billy Ficca, CBGB, Fred Smith, Jay Dee Daugherty, Marquee Moon, New York City, Patti Smith, Richard Lloyd, RIP, Television, Tom Verlaine

The legendary Television guitarist never stopped looking for adventure

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jazz Rock 

Dirty Work: Steely Dan’s Can’t Buy A Thrill at 50

November 25, 2022June 10, 2023 Deborah Sprague 0 Comments 1972, 50th anniversary, Denny Dias, Dirty Work, Do It Again, Donald Fagen, Elliot Randall, Naked Lunch, Reelin' In The Years, Steely Dan, Walter Becker, William S. Burroughs

Looking back on the band’s classic debut LP

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Alternative Rock Psychedelics Rock 

Poet Is Priest: Julian Cope at 65

October 24, 2022April 18, 2024 Deborah Sprague 1 Comment 65th birthday, Echo and the Bunnymen, Hawkwind, Ian McCulloch, Julian Cope, Neu!, Pete Wylie, Pylon, The dB's, The Teardrop Explodes, Vanessa Briscoe Hay

England’s king of psychedelic punk blues keeps evolving regardless of age

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Indie Rock Irish Post-Punk Punk Remembrance 

Remembering Irish Punk Legend Cathal Coughlan

May 26, 2022August 25, 2022 Deborah Sprague 1 Comment Cathal Coughlan, Cork, Fatima Mansions, Ireland, MCA Records, Microdisney, RIP, Sean O'Hagan, Viva Dead Ponies

The acid-tongued raconteur behind such acts as Microdisney and Fatima Mansions was 61

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New Wave Punk 

Lightning Struck Itself: Marquee Moon at 45

February 14, 2022April 3, 2022 Deborah Sprague 3 Comments 1977, 45th Anniversary, Billy Ficca, Brian Eno, CBGB, Elektra Records 1977, Fred Smith, Marquee Moon, Richard Lloyd, Television, Terry Ork, Tom Verlaine

The debut LP from Television remains a master class in New York Punk

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