Tag Archives: family

Happy Birthday, Graham Parker

My first boyfriend was super into Graham Parker, and basically introduced me to his music. He was a constant in our (super unhappy and stressful) “household”. It was my brother, though, as always, who contextualized Parker for me, who got … Continue reading

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“If you feel blocked, do not turn to others, but look inside, in silence, for the enemy of your progress.” — Jeff Buckley

I saw him just before Grace was released. The groundswell had started, which was why we were there. He basically hit the following month. We saw him in the moment before. I will never EVER forget that night. Jeff Buckley … Continue reading

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On This Day: October 27, 2004

And nothing was the same ever again. Here is a beautiful essay by my brother Brendan about the family tradition of the Red Sox, as embodied by my crazy godfather, Uncle Jimmy. My stomach still clenches in anxiety when I … Continue reading

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Today, the Sheila Variations turns 22. wtf.

The above pic of me – taken by Michael – graced the top of my original blog, when I set it up 22 years ago today. I never should have put my picture up on my site – it led … Continue reading

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“I mean, that’s the community of what we do, the difference between me and a streaming service. You actually know it’s me.” — Bob Mould

For about a year, I posted all the music writing my brother Brendan O’Malley did on his old blog, because my brother is such a good writer, and these pieces are all so great I wanted to highlight them. I … Continue reading

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“I grew up believing that I was fundamentally powerless.” — Thom Yorke

It’s his birthday today. My associative memories involving Radiohead are a little bit too intense and specific, and so I find it difficult to listen to them anymore. Some music is like that. It’s so associated with something specific you … Continue reading

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“The problem with taking amps to a shop is that they come back sounding like another amp.” — Stevie Ray Vaughan

It’s his birthday today. It’s a bonus he came along in an era of TV specials, and televised performances, and video-taped blah blah blah, because there are tons of live performance clips – and you can’t really get the totality … Continue reading

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“I’ve been to every big city and many little towns in the USA. I really try to soak it in. I love all these little towns – the people and the places. I feel so lucky to see all these places and I truly have a hunger to see and experience them.” — G. Love

G. Love It’s G. Love’s birthday today. Naturally, it was through my brother that I discovered G. Love and the Special Sauce. Bren has a way of discovering people not on my radar at all and then passing on the … Continue reading

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“Morpheus comes into our dreams…and we woke up and started this band…we’re all wrapped up in these dream messages, and we were compelled to start this band.” — Mark Sandman, lead singer of Morphine

It’s almost too perfect that the man who spoke those words in the title of this post is named SANDMAN. I was never on the Morphine train, although I had one of their albums, and they were ubiquitous in the … Continue reading

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This Could Be A Total Bust, or Mickey Rourke Inside The Actor’s Studio, by Brendan O’Malley

My talented brother Brendan O’Malley is an amazing writer and actor. He maintained a blog for many years (he doesn’t blog anymore) -in 2020 I posted links to his 50 Best Albums essays, as well as all of his music … Continue reading

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