A couple of weeks ago, when I ended up writing about the only Dave Matthews Band album that I actively enjoy, I had intended to write about “The Frame I: Betrayal in the Watchtower,” the finale from I the Mighty’s 2015 album Connector. I love “Betrayal in the Watchtower.” It’s narrative and epic and overwrought in all [...]
Tag: Saves the Day
Chris Conley and the Paper Gods
I don't know what exactly bands owe their fans or what exactly those fans owe the bands they love. The same things we all owe one another, I suppose: compassion, respect, generosity. The songs that engender fandom are not the same as the people who make them, even though the nature of fandom is such [...]
The 100 Best Albums of the Decade: 80-61
The fast approaching end of 2019 means not only the end of the year but also of the decade. Ten years ago, in a similar situation, I was new to blogging and felt obligated to make clear that my decade-spanning retrospective was no more than one man's personal opinion. In 2019, there's no need for [...]
What’s It Worth?
During the summer of 1999 I spent an inordinate amount of time inside, hiding from the heat by playing a computer game called Total Annihilation and listening to Silverchair's Neon Ballroom on repeat. I learned about Silverchair when I saw the video for 'Ana's Song (Open Fire)', a grinding confessional about singer Daniel Johns' battle with [...]
In Defense of…In Reverie
Coming off of what is widely - and rightly - considered to be their finest achievement, 2001's Stay What You Are, Saves the Day was in a difficult position. How do you follow something that magnificent without seeming second rate or derivative? It's a difficult question to answer and one that a great multitude of bands have [...]
Songs & Stories 