Note: This entry and the accompanying single were supposed to come out on New Years '21 - a sort of Prohibition-era vibe - but for various reasons that didn't happen. Now here we are, past the first quarter, but the kind of quarter it's been makes this feel even more appropriate. In 1980, John Huston... Continue Reading →
Consider this an epilogue to the last entry. Been listening to a lot of Aimee Mann this weekend; to me she's always been the sound of stiffly picking yourself up after a fall. (Photo: My new and improved jars - see yesterday's entry to get what I'm on about. Note: I usually have a distaste... Continue Reading →
Everyone knows what the Wizard yells. Don't look at me, in here fiddling with these controls! See only the finished product, not the fumbling. I'm not a malfunctioning, fallible human - I am Great and Powerful! If you all haven't noticed from my sporadic fits of bellyaching, my MO in this blog of late has... Continue Reading →
It’s impossible for me to talk about having a rough time without giving thanks first. In the scheme of things, I am NOT having a rough time. I am in a good place. As much as anyone really can be, I am safe from harm. But, given my frame of reference… Guys… I am having... Continue Reading →
Let’s face it: for better or worse, humans compare things to other things. And even though my music has changed a lot since my debut as Alexandra Rising, I still think it’s most likely to be compared (by those of a certain age, anyway) to the music of one Ellen "Tori" Amos. These days, I’m... Continue Reading →
But I'm telling myself it's all right because lots of people will be able to relate to it, and it also ties into my pet theme of control. [Album, you ask? What's this about an album? Ohhh, yes, THAT album. I promise it will drop eventually.]Ahem. One thing that makes a person feel pretty out... Continue Reading →
[In September 2020, I began a series of blog entries discussing the themes and inspirations of my dark chamber-pop album Best Dead Masterpiece, scheduled for release on BandCamp in January 2021.] Well, Everyone - there have been some unforeseen delays, but the album should be out in the next few days. So this will be... Continue Reading →
Full disclosure: I’ve never really liked “The Little Matchgirl” as a story title. It sounds diminutive and sentimental and tailor-made for someone's romanticized notion of a quintessential “girl-child.” That said, HTV’s The Little Matchgirl (1986) is bursting with things that that title would never suggest. As much as a made-for-TV movie musical can be, it’s... Continue Reading →
I had no intention of writing about Charlie Kaufman's I'm Thinking of Ending Things, which I watched over the weekend. In fact, having been discouraged by the trailer with its seemingly affected aesthetic and almost comic timing, I nearly didn't watch the film at all - but acquiesced after some new information reignited my hope.... Continue Reading →
I just kicked off a long weekend by falling down a YouTube k-hole. The result being that I watched the 2019 documentary Scary Stories. Like many millennials of a certain age, I remember Alvin Schwartz's iconic horror anthology Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (SSTTIND), that irresistible fetish object, as a staple of our... Continue Reading →
The Sold Kingdom 