I’ve mentioned Watership Down in this blog before. I, like many a person of a certain age, was caught unawares by its deceptively benign-looking VHS box. Little did I know that it, much like my first exposure to Dali, would shatter my vision in a way I feared at first but would come to love... Continue Reading →
I read Dune (the first book, which is all this entry is focusing on) when I was twelve or thirteen. I would love to say I stumbled upon it myself, but no, like so many throughout history, I picked up a particular cultural staple because a crush was reading it and I wanted to burrow... Continue Reading →
Here's two more repackaged throwbacks for ya. These are a couple lovesick puppy songs from my higher ed. days, so I decided to release them as companion pieces. The second one, "Cake," I performed for y'all as part of my Wayback Weekends earlier this year. Keep in mind I've been a ravenous poet my whole... Continue Reading →
Over the past week or so, I’ve been repackaging and releasing some vintage material on BandCamp. Here’s a rundown: 1. Catch-22 (single, 2008) I recorded this under the Alexandra Rising moniker in mid-2008. It was shortly before I moved to Charlottesville and put much-needed perspective-enhancing distance between myself and my hometown. Of course it was... Continue Reading →
I re-learned basic guitar after fifteen years AND collaborated with my Domestic Partner, all on the same project! This is a B-side by Philly shoegaze band Nothing. In my view it's about the failed attempt to hide or modify one's true self in an intimate relationship. I hope its creators will forgive my couple of... Continue Reading →
In the middle of the workday Friday, I tuned into my local indie radio station and heard an unfamiliar song by a band I’ve known for ages. Something about the sound grabbed me - probably the bluesy lilt and the attention-demanding smacks to the guitar in the intro - but what really sealed the deal... Continue Reading →
Admittedly that’s a strange title for an entry. But, it’s a quote from Domestic Partner related to what I’ve been working on lately. You’ll notice that my last nostalgia post mentioned the Bee Gees among adult contemporary artists I grew to respect and enjoy as a kid, disengaged as I was from concerns about what... Continue Reading →
I think my first exposure to the term "juvenilia" was in a Sylvia Plath anthology (she did the poem "Bitter Strawberries" when she was a kid - and no, I don't think if I were stone cold sober right now I ever would have remembered that). I know some folks are mortified when they revisit... Continue Reading →
Creating has always been a solitary process for me. Truthfully, I envy those folks who are adventurous and mentally unfettered enough to throw innovation spaghetti at the wall alongside other people, and watch the non-viable strands flop unattractively to the floor without a second thought. So I'm ending my string of Wayback Weekends with what... Continue Reading →
Everyone has their own personal legends. On my next Wayback Weekend, I revisit one of mine: the only true 50/50 collab I’ve ever done. https://youtu.be/rHmlEYRssaI
The Sold Kingdom 