Posts by Benjamin
Wonderwall (Live @ Rockwood Music Hall) – MP3
I realize this is one of the most over-exposed pop songs in recent history, but I think there’s good reason for it. It’s all about the letter “A.” When Noel Gallagher rocks “Wonderwall,” the E in “maybe” is more of an A. All the better to rhyme with “save,” and — for that matter “me”…
Read MoreRose Hall, Jamaica
Starting Today – MP3
I spent a few hours trying to multi-track this one, then returned to the original demo. I was trying to write something that balances the protest of Bob Dylan or Billy Bragg or Woodie Guthrie with the romance of… well, everyone else. Which was a dangerous proposition cuz no one hates preachy, dogmatic songs worse…
Read MoreThe Tower Of Song – MP3
Somehow, at year’s end, Leonard Cohen seems to say it best: I bid you farewell, I dont know when I’ll be back They’re moving us tomorrow to that tower down the track But you’ll be hearing from me baby, long after I’m gone I’ll be speaking to you sweetly From a window in the tower…
Read MoreHow To Be Alone – MP3
Probably fifty percent of rock songs are about being alone, or feeling alone, or being left by someone you love and thus, well, you the idea. I think about aloneness all the time. One’s thoughts are different in isolation. Everything is. Anyway, I was home sick today. I’ve been sleeping, mostly, and reading Chuck Kloserman’s…
Read MoreChasing Something – MP3
I knocked this one out in no time. I was thinking about this dude in Sioux City, Chase, that I kinda know (via the internet, anyway). Best as I can tell from this fella’s website, he’s a young father of two (one his, one by marriage) wrestling with that tension between growing up, accepting responsibility,…
Read MoreHere She Comes – MP3
Phew. For a minute there, I wasn’t sure I’d ever write a new song again. Well, I guess I just needed some free time. And I got some today. I had the day off. So I picked up my guitar. And while the chords I was playing weren’t exactly innovative, they sounded new enough. So…
Read MoreChallenging Documentaries And Discussions Keep Star-Studded Sundance Grounded
PARK CITY, Utah — The barrage of images beamed and blogged from the Sundance Film Festival of Lance Bass swagging it up with Lucy Liu might lead one to believe otherwise, but for every star-studded party and A-list premiere at the festival, there is a politically charged panel discussion and socially conscious documentary. Following the…
Read MoreNeil Young’s ‘Heart Of Gold’ Concert Doc Glitters At Sundance
PARK CITY — When rock icon Neil Young was diagnosed with a life-threatening brain aneurysm last spring, the grandfather of grunge and legendary singer/songwriter responded as only he could. In the weeks between the diagnosis and lifesaving surgery, he wrote and recorded Prairie Wind, a plaintive, cohesive song cycle of love, death, family and friends.…
Read MoreBeyond The Red Carpet: Marines, Matzo Balls, Porn Have A Place At Sundance Too
PARK CITY, Utah — The Sundance Film Festival isn’t all about A-list parties, celebrity sightings and flashbulb-frenzied premieres. There are plenty of events that don’t involve a red carpet. Twentysomething Marines Robert Acosta, Paul Reickhoff and Herold Noel are half a world away from their tours of duty in Iraq. The soldiers are in Park…
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