1/8/11: With a small measure of regret, I've joined Twitter. Follow me if you want! And please remember to keep tabs on my 140+ character ramblings at AHB's Teenage Kicks, a sister blog to this writing archive.

9/25/10: I've more or less stopped updating this site in favor of this site's sister blog AHB's Teenage Kicks. However, I've just updated this site with some of my recent activities in music, including a new role with the singer Alexi Murdoch and the band !!! (aka "chik chik chik"). Click "Music" for details.

4/18/09: I have started a blog under the name AHB's Teenage Kicks. You can find it at ahb.brassland.org. For now on that's where I will post any updates. This site will continue to serve as my writing archive & internet CV. The blog -- currently in "beta" -- will always be a work in progress.

12/24/08: I submitted top 10s for 2008 to a few critics' polls this year but won't bother telling you all of my picks. Rather I'll list the eight records I was truly obsessed with at some point this year: Portishead's Third, TV on the Radio's Dear Science, Vampire Weekend's s/t, Toumani Diabate's Mande Variations, Max Richter's 24 Postcards in Full Color, She & Him's Volume One, Bon Iver's For Emma, Forever Ago, and Nick Cave & the Bad Seed's Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! I think any reasonably adventurous listener will like every one of them.

Tracks that got to me this year include The Kills' "U.R.A. Fever," Sarah Siskind's "Lovin's For Fools," Nico Muhly's "The Only Tune," Santogold's "L.E.S. Artistes," These New Puritans "Navigate, Navigate," Sholi's "Dreams Before People," the Walkmen's "In the New Year," Son Lux's "Tell," and TV on the Radio's "Family Tree." Coming soon is a link to download them from iTunes. Note: A few of the songs are not available on commercial download services but can be found floating around the interweb.

10/27/08: I am launching the first in a round of improvements to this site, all made to reflect current realities. I am making the updates in concert with my NY friends at Project Projects & Ohio friend Hal Hixson. The site should be "improved" by year end. I hope you notice.

9/22/08: Today I am celebrating the (small) role I played in pulling off the innagural ATP/NY event in Monticello, NY. Pitchfork's reviewer called it "the most enjoyable festival experience I've ever had in my life"; the New York Times reviewed it twice (1, 2) calling the festival "an engulfing live experience."

6/23/08: I curated the weekend music program for this year's CitySol festival, including performers Dan Deacon, So Percussion, The Acorn, Shilpa Ray, Burkina Electric & Ecstatic Sunshine. It takes place Saturday, June 28th at Solar One, 23rd Street & East River. I was entertained by this BrooklynVegan post about the event.

5/10/08: Yesterday I played guest DJ with Hallogallo (aka Brian Long) on his EastVillageRadio.com show. Download the two hour session as an mp3, but note that it's a 100mb file and might take awhile. My set includes jams by La Tordue, Yellowman, Lil' Wayne, Mary Margaret O'Hara, Mt. Eerie, Sam Amidon, David Lang (as played by Sentieri Selvaggi), Takka Takka, Void, The Virgins, The Normal, New Violators, The Kills, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, and Nick Lowe. It was real.

3/31/08: On Wednesday, April 2nd I will be reading at Joe's Pub. It's part of the Happy Ending Music & Reading Series in collaboration with my friends at Asthmatic Kitty. The other performers will be My Brightest Diamond, Rob Sheffield (Rolling Stone, author Love is a Mixtape), and Daphne Carr (editor of Da Capo's Best Music Writing series). POSTSCRIPT: The event sold out in advance! I was humbled, amazed, confused! I dressed as the devil! Here's some pictures, from the night.

3/8/08: It's been a very busy 2008 so I have been delinquent in updating this site. What has been going on you ask?

* I am now representing the lovely and visionary All Tomorrow's Parties in America. Keep your eye on the internets for some exciting announcements about their future US plans...

* I've replaced my LA Weekly column, The Psychic Hipster, with a deeply indulgent blog known as Teenage Kicks, where I plan to catalog my various musical obsessions. Check it out and indulge with me. If you enjoy, add me to your RSS reader, and please leave a comment.

* Finally, Brassland, the label I started with members of The National and Clogs, has just launched its new website.

There's a lot more, but that's what seems worth sharing at the moment.

1/8/08: My writing teacher, novelist Robert Stone, has honored me by including my essay/interview with him in an addendum to the paperback edition of his recent memoir, Prime Green: Remembering the Sixties. It's a reprint of this piece which originally appeared in the LA Weekly.

12/22/07: I've submitted my musical top 10s of 2007 to various critics' polls. Albums which made the cut in no particular order: The National's Boxer, Yeasayer's All Hour Cymbals, Feist's The Reminder, Dirty Projectors's Rise Above, Allison Krauss/Robert Plant's Raising Sand, Panda Bear's Person Pitch, LCD Soundsystem's Sound of Silver, R. Kelly's Double Up, Wilco's Sky Blue Sky, CocoRosie's The Adventures of Ghosthorse & Stillborn

Individual songs: Tay Zonday's "Chocolate Rain," Vampire Weekend's "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa," Radiohead's "Videotape," Justice's "D.A.N.C.E.," Feist's "1234," LCD Soundsystem's "All My Friends," M.I.A.'s "Bird Flu," Robyn's "Konichiwa Bitches," Devastations's "The Pest," Amy Winehouse's "Rehab"

Also quite nice: Daniel A.I.U. Higgs, Michael Harrison, Modest Mouse, Arcade Fire, St. Vincent, Spoon, Once: Motion Picture Soundtrack, Gogol Bordello, Battles, Simian Mobile Disco, Bruce Springsteen

10/21/07: Yesterday I DJed a Doveman-curated party BrooklynVegan.com threw for CMJ. If you're baffled by all those proper nouns, just download the tracks from iTunes. (Note: that iMix is missing songs by Glissandro 70, Moondog & Nico Muhly not available via commercial download services.)

10/17/07: Today LA Weekly published a roundtable discussion I convened between Alex Ross of The New Yorker, Ronen Givony from Wordless Music, and Owen Pallet of Final Fantasy and other adventures in arranging. Read "Awesome Music" -- subtitle "What might the classical music establishment learn from pop?"

9/26/07: Earlier tonight I co-DJed Kevin Bronson's "Buzz Bands" show on LittleRadio.com. I played Nico Muhly, St. Vincent, Baby Dayliner, Devastations, Harlem Shakes, New Violators, The National, Sufjan Stevens, The Maps & Yeasayer.

7/10/07: I helped compile OKX, Stereogum.com's 10th anniversary tribute to Radiohead's OK Computer. It contains covers by "it" indie artists like Twilight Sad, Doveman, Vampire Weekend, My Brightest Diamond, Slaraffenland, and Cold War Kids. (Plus a semi-disguised David Cross!) It's quickly become something of an internet sensation. Thanks to Scott, Amrit, Brandon and all those at the 'Gum for letting me participate in this project.

5/18/07: Thursday, June 7th at 4pm, I will be speaking on a music panel at the Newport International Film Festival. Drop me a line if you'll be there or want more details.

3/03/07: I guest DJ'd East Village Radio yesterday. Here is the setlist. You can also download or stream the program to hear world premieres by The National, Sufjan Stevens, and Baby Dayliner or classics by Big Star, Bob Dylan, and Crass.

2/03/07: Thurs February 8 to Sun February 11 I will be in Trondheim, Norway for By:Larm, Scandinavia's largest music conference, much of which takes place in a former Nazi submarine bunker. POSTSCRIPT: I was interviewed by the Norwegian national paper Dagbladet; and here is a travelogue I wrote for LA Weekly.

1/24/07: Almost in time for my birthday - which happens today - LA Weekly ran an interview I conducted with my former writing professor, Robert Stone.

12/01/06: 24-hours later Gawker's new music blog Idolator.com took issue with my declaration in LA Weekly that yindie (aka "yuppie indie") is on the decline. Am I officially a pundit now?

11/30/06: Today's NY Times quotes me as an authority on music criticism. Check out the headline: "Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bloggy: An Online Poll Covets the Territory Once Owned by Pazz & Jop" Say that 3x fast!

10/26/06: Brassland is participating in CMJ next week. Several of our artists are playing. On Thurs Nov 2nd, Baby Dayliner hosts a dance party/concert at Piano's.

06/28/06: My label Brassland has been picked as Insound's first "featured label." And, this week only, the site has my sentimental favorite records on sale.

04/16/2006: I will be in Seattle, WA from April 27th - 30th for the Experience Music Project's Pop Convention. I'm not presenting but I hope to make at least one intelligent comment.

02/22/2006: I am participating in a panel at the SXSW Music Festival in Austin, TX. If you're in town, please drop by and say hello:
Wednesday March 15 @ 4-5pm
Crash Course #5: Press & Publicity
Room 12, Austin Convention Center

02/20/2006: Welcome to my new website. It is currently a work in progress, as I'm still populating it with "content."