I Finally Got Around to Recording an Album

This record is a true labor of love.

Love lost. Love that never was. Love found. Love beyond imagination.

It’s the love of working with my nephew to take the music I’ve had in my heart for years and working it out of me into something we could record. He took all my notes — the descriptions of music and sounds I don’t know the technical terms for — and put into the world exactly what was in my head.

Josh Nolan’s Kind Heart to Follow is a must-play album

Josh Nolan looked like he was in his mid-20s and acted like he was in his early teens. For this particular summer weekend trip to Chicago in 2006 to see dozens of bands at Lollapalooza, both would see prominence. Thanks to the older side (plus the long, curly hair and the general overall demeanor of a rock and roll star), Josh would get stopped by would-be adoring fans, convinced he was in a band playing the festival. Thanks to the younger side, Josh would freeze at the attention, then tell them he was meeting friends at Taco Bell (TACO BELL!) before scurrying off down Michigan Avenue.

Oh, Josh.

Reason to Believe: In search of the Ultimate Bruce Springsteen Playlist

Bruce Springsteen performs April 17, 2012, in Cleveland. Photo by Kevin Hall

With all apologies to Reese and his Cups, there are no wrong ways to listen to Bruce Springsteen.

Want to hear a story, with themes uniting the music from beginning to end? Pop in a full album. More interested in checking out singles, bouncing from rock to pop to folk to beyond? Put your iPod on shuffle and move through his individual songs. Hits? He’s got them. Obscure tracks? Those, too. Fan favorites? Duh.

No matter your mood, there’s Springsteen.

A record-sitting day, or Why We Waited in Line on National Record Store Day

The store owners thought we were a tad overzealous, perhaps even a touch crazy.

I cannot dispute either of those claims.

No, really Hammer, we’re on our hands and knees asking you to to stop inflicting harm

Eighteen years ago, I entered the world of music.

On Christmas morning in 1990, I received my first stereo and CD player, which at that time was a gigantic beast of machinery. Compact discs were cutting edge, with a sound that blew the doors off cassette tapes (not so much albums, though, but those can’t be easily played in a car).