Tag Archives: Willie Mitchell

Romance at Random, Vol. 81: Sylvia Pillow Talk

So, tomorrow is Saint Valentine’s Day, a feast-day intended to honor early Christian martyrs who bore the name Valentinus. Thanks to a misinterpretation of a Chaucer poem, the efforts of 14th century French courtesans and the industriousness of a Massachusetts woman named Esther Howland who essentially founded the modern greeting-card industry, February 14th has […]

Records at Random, Vol. 75: Genius/GZA Liquid Swords

Back in August I marked the dog days of Summer–and the 13th anniversary of the album’s release date–by dedicating a Records at Random post to Wu-Tang Clan swordsman Chef Raekwon’s mafioso-Rap epic Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. In that post I went to great lengths to outline just some of the myriad reasons that […]

Records Reissues at Random, Vol. 70: Allen Toussaint / Wild Tchoupitoulas

A while back I was directed to YouTube video of a commercial for some body spray or another where a dude puts on the body spray and turns into chocolate. I’m pretty sure I was shown the ad because somebody I know thought it was creepy and/or potentially offensive. I could see how […]

“You Won’t Understand All This, Until You’re Sipping On the Sweet Nectar of Your Memories” © Jens Lekman

One of my favorite people extant is a member of the family who operates one of the premier Mexican eateries here in Western Massachusetts. This means I’m occasionally blessed with the opportunity to partake in the enjoyment of far more Mexican victuals than is probably healthy for one human being. The last few […]

“Gimme Some ‘Head…” © Shawnna

After a decade-plus of waiting I have to admit I was starting to think that pioneering Bristol, UK-based Trip-Hop act Portishead was never going to drop another album. In fact, it was just a few months ago when my man Emeyesi asked me if I knew what was up with another Portishead album as we […]