Author Archives: mari

I am, I am, I am Superman; and I can do anything. 'Cause I’ve got it going on like that. I think in pop culture terms and most everything I see or hear reminds me of something I’ve seen or heard before. If I'm having a conversation with you, be assured that it’s being filtered through a song, TV show or movie that is tucked into my gray matter. The last of 7 kids, I was raised in a world between my dad’s Merle Haggard and my brother’s Black Sabbath (with some Bay City Rollers thrown in for good measure). My first mix tapes were made sitting on the front porch with a transistor radio and a tape recorder; I've since moved on to CDs and playlists. I spent a lot of quality time as a kid with a stash of old 45s (we had a corner of our basement set up to look like our own little WKRP in Cincinnati) and I would lip synch to “Ballroom Blitz” and “Hooked on a Feeling.” I like my music (and I could end the sentence there & be happy) a bit gritty, and I’m happiest when the songs are a bit unpolished. I’ve seen Metallica live 5 times and cried when Van Halen broke up. I’m happily married, the mom of two young kids (8 & 6) and the editor of a local parenting magazine. I like to run, read, listen to music, knit, cook, and kick back with friends for drinks. Then I like to write about all of that stuff (names may be changed to protect the innocent).

Let there be fiver

It’s Mari! I’m posting a Fiver of random songs. You can decide whether or not that’s a good thing.

Something old, something new; was there something here for you?

Get the story behind the fiver here.

Fridays taste better with Fivers.

Happy freakin’ New Year! It’s Fiver time.

This or That: Van Halen or Van Hagar?

This post is prompted by the recent news (here via MTV) that Van Halen and David Lee Roth are reuniting (for the record, Wolfgang Van Halen will be assuming Michael Anthony’s bass & backing vocal duties, so it’s not a full reunion).

Merry Metallica

Dude. I was so excited to hear about the new Metallica / Lou Reed collaboration (Lulu)! But then, I heard the new Metallica / Lou Reed collaboration and I was much less excited. Thankfully, I was able to wash my ears out with Beyond Magnetic.

Frank Sinatra: Best of the Best

Take a journey with me. Back in time, to when autotune was something unheard of; to when popular music was wrought by big bands and bigger voices; to when the cool chicks wore kitten heels and sprayed hair and the mad men wore suits and fedoras. Everyone drank martinis (shaken, not stirred) and gimlets (vodka,…

Dave Grohl

This post should probably be prefaced with a warning: sometimes, I have a very overactive imagination. Okay, please proceed.

This or That? Live and Let Die

I was listening to this song over the weekend, and I thought about remakes and how many of them go horribly wrong. But how some remakes were just meant to be.

Details – the reveal

Here goes nothin’ … Track 1: Against Me, New Wave [Audio clip: view full post to listen] Against Me! is a Florida punk band that’s been around for a while but never has seemed to gain traction. I can’t remember where I heard of them. This is from their 2007 release of the same name,…

11-11-11 = Friday Fiver

Can you believe it? We made it to 11-11-11. Remember back when we thought that 1999 was light years away? Yeah. Good times, people. Good. Times. On with the fiver!