Category Archives: music

Big and Bad

Posted on July 20, 2024 by hnbjr

Recent events — or the media imagery thereof — put in my mind an old Thomas Pynchon article, “Is It O.K. To Be A Luddite?” from nearly forty years ago. There’s a photo that could go with this, but it’s … Continue reading →

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Long Live the Experimental Pollen

Posted on July 10, 2019 by hnbjr

Back in 1996, fans of lo-fi music, Crain, and Louisville’s particular brand of homegrown rock might’ve been following Experimental Pollen, a short-lived Jon Cook project.  As it looked like Crain was about to split up, that small community might’ve paid … Continue reading →

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O King

Posted on January 13, 2018 by hnbjr

On the occasion of the 89th birthday of Martin Luther King this coming Monday, the second movement of Berio’s Sinfonia. Recent headlines, some from my own hometown, remind us America has a long way to go to realize Dr King’s … Continue reading →

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Evergreen – On Another Dimension in Indiana

Posted on September 1, 2016 by hnbjr

Several years ago, I wrote about an Evergreen show at the 1995 St. Francis Battle of the Bands at the Grand Theater in New Albany in which drummer Britt Walford (Slint, many others) was lifted off the throne, practically still playing. … Continue reading →

Posted in kentucky, music, punk rock | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

The Miss – Live in Louisville

Posted on September 20, 2015 by hnbjr

Back in 2000, I was living in Baltimore and fronting a band called The Miss. We were invited to play in my hometown of Louisville at a birthday party for local musician and man about town, Chad Castetter. Being the … Continue reading →

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The Point of the Jesus Lizard

Posted on July 27, 2013 by hnbjr

Once in a while you see an example of rock music that makes you realize exactly what that well-worn exercise is all about. The Jesus Lizard and David Yow were to me always the supreme exemplars of rock music: a … Continue reading →

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Some Jon Cook Music

Posted on March 27, 2013 by hnbjr

I didn’t make it to Louisville in time for Jon Cook’s memorial on March 9th, but I was in Louisville recently and I did extract some Jon Cook gems from my archives. The first two feature Jon’s collaborations with a … Continue reading →

Posted in kentucky, music | 3 Comments

Goodbye, Jon Cook

Posted on February 9, 2013 by hnbjr

You can’t revisit your childhood, because it no longer exists, I told myself. — Thomas Bernhard, Extinction Jon Cook from Crain and Rodan, two of my favorite homegrown bands, was finally taken off life support tonight, ending two days of … Continue reading →

Posted in kentucky, music | 9 Comments

Zombie Rock and the Duke of Hazard

Posted on August 26, 2012 by hnbjr

What’s going on with hipster music? It’s an interesting question. About ten years ago I wanted to write a piece for my local weekly, Baltimore City Paper, on how the fuzzed-out, overdriven indie rock of my youth, largely springing from the … Continue reading →

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Goodbye, Jason Noble

Posted on August 6, 2012 by hnbjr

I knew Jason Noble was sick about two years ago, and I knew it was a nasty cancer, and I knew he’d beaten it for the moment. I didn’t know he was sick again so I was surprised this morning … Continue reading →

Posted in art, kentucky, music | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments