The love dart (or, how to cure the common anthropomorphism)

Wherein the love dart of the hermaphroditic snail becomes the symbol of the dangers of anthropomorphism and the butt of some dumb jokes.


Party like it's 1199

Richard the Lionhearted, a lucky shot, more flaying, drowning, and Peter, Paul, and Mary.


Marsyas, the martyred satyr (or, why I don't like Tuesdays)

How Marsyas challenged Apollo to a contest, lost, and screwed up Tuesdays forever.


When the Going Gets Cold, the Cold Get Ecstatically Weird

The Animal Collective's "Merriwether Post Pavilion" starts a winter music roundup from the Martin hi-fi.


Year-End Top Album Lists are the Unwanted and Unread Products of Insufferable, Self-Congratulatory Music Snobs

Here is my top 20 albums list for 2008!


My Heart's in the Strangest Place

If Basia Bulat came to guide us into spring, and these kooks were here to take care of our summer needs, then the Walkmen have arrived to usher in autumn with a powerful new album. I could listen to this song over and over. In fact, I just did.


Summer on the Martin Hi-Fi

As the summer closes, I'm reminded of all of the great pop music we listened to all summer long:


Frightened Rabbit and the "Bring a Band to School" Program

Scotland's Frightened Rabbit has released their second album "The Midnight Organ Fight," and it may just save the anthem as we know it. You need to a flashplayer enabled browser to view this YouTube video


A Concert Film Starring Iceland

Got four minutes? Check out this trailer:


Could You Hold Down the Beat...

...on the deck of a Puget Sound ferry on a January day? Throw Me the Statue can, and it's awesome!