In Defense Of… – Spinning Platters

In Defense Of: Imagine Dragons, in Response to Spin‘s Slam

Defending Imagine Dragons isn’t that hard.

Earlier this week, I woke up to an email from one of my editors, asking my thoughts on Anna Gaca‘s ruthless take on Imagine Dragons‘ recent College Football Playoff Championship Game halftime performance. I was offered the opportunity to rebut the claims Gaca made that, among others, “to listen to Imagine Dragons is to be a victim of circumstance.” Why was I the one asked to tackle this? Because anyone who knows me knows that I love Imagine Dragons. More importantly, I couldn’t care less if that makes me uncool. Continue reading “In Defense Of: Imagine Dragons, in Response to Spin‘s Slam”

In Defense Of: No Jack White, The White Stripes Weren’t “Like A Solo Project”

I’ve been a fan of Jack White for a while now… While working at Wherehouse Music in the early ‘00s, I made sure we were the first chain store to stock The White Stripes in the Bay Area, and I’ve been following White’s career closely ever since. And, yes, he’s a little idiosyncratic. He can be a bit of a jerk. Heck, he took his kids out of a school because his arch rival, Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, also sent his kids there! But, despite these quirks, I’ve always had a bit of respect for him. He always elevated female musicians, especially female side players. Most importantly, he would always defend his original drummer, Meg White.

Well, he always did, until now. Continue reading “In Defense Of: No Jack White, The White Stripes Weren’t “Like A Solo Project””

In Defense Of: The New Lilith Tour

Once upon a time, in the late 90’s, a struggling singer-songwriter was finding it difficult to get her music heard. She was too edgy for Adult Contemporary radio, but too light for Alternative Rock radio. She also noticed that both of these genres were awfully male-centric. So, her solution was to find a group of like-minded female musicians and take them on the road with her. The basic idea is that there is strength in numbers, and with the marketing push of several artists, it could be good for everyone, much like Lollapalooza managed to accomplish in the early 90’s. That artist was Sarah McLachlan, and the tour was called The Lilith Fair, named after Adam’s first wife. Continue reading “In Defense Of: The New Lilith Tour”