StillDoinCDs One of the ironclad classics of metal-influenced rock, System of a Down’s 2001 2nd album “Toxicity” opened at #1 and wolverine-chewed its way to 3X platinum in the US, 2X in Canada. Opener “Prison Song” about prisons for profit is prophetic; it’s 1 of multiple widely-revered tracks.
August 15, 2025 at 4:16 AM
#StillDoinCDs Rough & Ready, 1971, was the 3d solo group album of eminent rock guitarist Jeff Beck (from the London area) after hitmakers The Yardbirds broke up. Unusually for him, he wrote most of the rather complex, jazz-influenced but definitely rock-oriented tracks himself. Highly influential.
September 27, 2026 at 3:26 AM
#StillDoinCDs Rough & Ready, 1971, was the 3d solo group album of eminent rock guitarist Jeff Beck (from the London area) after hitmakers The Yardbirds broke up. Unusually for him, he wrote most of the rather complex, jazz-influenced but definitely rock-oriented tracks himself. Highly influential.
#StillDoinCDs Matt Steady is a top indie musician I support with advance purchase of new projects, & I’m delighted with “Velvet & Gold,” a collection of often Celtic-inflected rock done with multi-instrumentalist & vocalist Sally Minnear. Yes, daughter of Kerry Minnear, ex prog band Gentle Giant.
September 25, 2026 at 3:32 AM
#StillDoinCDs Matt Steady is a top indie musician I support with advance purchase of new projects, & I’m delighted with “Velvet & Gold,” a collection of often Celtic-inflected rock done with multi-instrumentalist & vocalist Sally Minnear. Yes, daughter of Kerry Minnear, ex prog band Gentle Giant.
#StillDoinCDs Sons of one of the first-recorded “Senior Dagar Brothers,” Ustad Zahiruddin & Faiyazuddin Dagar, as the “Junior” Dagar Brothers, brought the family tradition of 2-singer, meditative dhrupad music through the mid 20th cent. Their Rag Miyan Ki Malhar (2000), is pure rainy-day bliss.
September 24, 2026 at 2:14 AM
#StillDoinCDs Sons of one of the first-recorded “Senior Dagar Brothers,” Ustad Zahiruddin & Faiyazuddin Dagar, as the “Junior” Dagar Brothers, brought the family tradition of 2-singer, meditative dhrupad music through the mid 20th cent. Their Rag Miyan Ki Malhar (2000), is pure rainy-day bliss.
#StillDoinCDs Splendor Solis (Splendour of the Sun) (1993) was the defining introductory masterpiece of guitar wizard Jeff Martin & The Tea Party, a journey from hardest Zep-rock to lyrical to ominous to Silk Road. ‘Save Me’ was an iconic use of bowed guitar. Platinum sales & 2 Juno nominations.
December 4, 2024 at 12:37 AM
#StillDoinCDs Splendor Solis (Splendour of the Sun) (1993) was the defining introductory masterpiece of guitar wizard Jeff Martin & The Tea Party, a journey from hardest Zep-rock to lyrical to ominous to Silk Road. ‘Save Me’ was an iconic use of bowed guitar. Platinum sales & 2 Juno nominations.
#StillDoinCDs The “Best of the Year” rack in the Princes Street HMV shop in Edinburgh potlached me a copy of the 2026 Adam Lambert outing, called “Adam.” The gay superstar’s sterling mercury voice soars through an ever-more-satisfying range from near-dubstep to dance to rock. Biggest in Australia.
September 16, 2026 at 2:14 AM
#StillDoinCDs The “Best of the Year” rack in the Princes Street HMV shop in Edinburgh potlached me a copy of the 2026 Adam Lambert outing, called “Adam.” The gay superstar’s sterling mercury voice soars through an ever-more-satisfying range from near-dubstep to dance to rock. Biggest in Australia.
#StillDoinCDs “Outta Sight” (2022) is the deliberately 70s-toned title of album 7 from Saskatoon’s Rolling-Stone-magazine-cover band The Sheepdogs, & advances their tasty and firm but non-strident prairie rock into the 2020s. Got a Juno nomination; new classic song “Didn’t I” is not to be missed.
December 1, 2024 at 4:05 AM
#StillDoinCDs “Outta Sight” (2022) is the deliberately 70s-toned title of album 7 from Saskatoon’s Rolling-Stone-magazine-cover band The Sheepdogs, & advances their tasty and firm but non-strident prairie rock into the 2020s. Got a Juno nomination; new classic song “Didn’t I” is not to be missed.
#StillDoinCDs American Woman was a rocket of a #1 album (Canada; #9 US) with a #1 title track (both countries) that moved the Guess Who from pop stars to rock stars in 1970. “No Time” was a 2nd #1 (Canada) track that was my Canadian rock gateway drug in Grade 8. Chills forever!
September 26, 2026 at 2:32 AM
#StillDoinCDs American Woman was a rocket of a #1 album (Canada; #9 US) with a #1 title track (both countries) that moved the Guess Who from pop stars to rock stars in 1970. “No Time” was a 2nd #1 (Canada) track that was my Canadian rock gateway drug in Grade 8. Chills forever!
#StillDoinCDs Charlotte Cardin from Mount Royal, Montréal, is a songwriter and sometime model who had a huge hit with 2023’s “99 Nights,” and its première single “Confetti,” an electro dance pop favourite that must have been a club mainstay. Won best album Juno & best English album ADISQ awards.
November 11, 2024 at 2:53 AM
#StillDoinCDs Charlotte Cardin from Mount Royal, Montréal, is a songwriter and sometime model who had a huge hit with 2023’s “99 Nights,” and its première single “Confetti,” an electro dance pop favourite that must have been a club mainstay. Won best album Juno & best English album ADISQ awards.
#StillDoinCDs Charlie ‘Bird’ Parker from Kansas City was a lofty pioneer of free-form bebop jazz improv on his alto sax, notable too as an artist with mental health issues who nonetheless excelled. This 1999 “Bird of Paradise” collection of tracks from 1945-48 records the thrush of genius.
December 19, 2024 at 2:27 AM
#StillDoinCDs Charlie ‘Bird’ Parker from Kansas City was a lofty pioneer of free-form bebop jazz improv on his alto sax, notable too as an artist with mental health issues who nonetheless excelled. This 1999 “Bird of Paradise” collection of tracks from 1945-48 records the thrush of genius.
#StillDoinCDs “New Morning” (1970) was Bob Dylan’s 11th album, featuring the often-covered standard “If Not for You,” & an extensive array of Americana including the old-style country of “Winterlude” & the eccentric jazz of “If Dogs Run Free,” ft. scat-singing by Maeretha Stewart.
November 7, 2025 at 2:36 AM
#StillDoinCDs “New Morning” (1970) was Bob Dylan’s 11th album, featuring the often-covered standard “If Not for You,” & an extensive array of Americana including the old-style country of “Winterlude” & the eccentric jazz of “If Dogs Run Free,” ft. scat-singing by Maeretha Stewart.
#StillDoinCDs Bette Midler, a Honolulu native moved to New York, started a musical career by singing in a gay bathhouse & acquired the nickname Bathhouse Betty. This became the title of her 1998 9th album, a gold record with a cabaret mix of dance & show tunes, humour & panache.
February 23, 2025 at 2:55 AM
#StillDoinCDs Bette Midler, a Honolulu native moved to New York, started a musical career by singing in a gay bathhouse & acquired the nickname Bathhouse Betty. This became the title of her 1998 9th album, a gold record with a cabaret mix of dance & show tunes, humour & panache.
#StillDoinCDs Pat Metheny, from NYC via Lee’s Summit, Missouri, is a jazz guitar wunderkind who’s won 20 Grammy awards in 10 categories, some with his eponymous band. Secret Story, 1992, is solo album 5 of 13 so far, & features melodic songs with filmic orchestration & exotic tones.
October 13, 2025 at 9:32 PM
#StillDoinCDs Pat Metheny, from NYC via Lee’s Summit, Missouri, is a jazz guitar wunderkind who’s won 20 Grammy awards in 10 categories, some with his eponymous band. Secret Story, 1992, is solo album 5 of 13 so far, & features melodic songs with filmic orchestration & exotic tones.
#StillDoinCDs Rawlins Cross is a no-chanters-barred Celtic rock band from St. John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador, whose 1997 5th album ‘Celtic Instrumentals’ compiled popular no-vocals tracks from their previous 4 albums + 4 new recordings. Bagpipe, guitar, accordion, & fiddle power let loose!
October 28, 2024 at 3:06 AM
#StillDoinCDs Rawlins Cross is a no-chanters-barred Celtic rock band from St. John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador, whose 1997 5th album ‘Celtic Instrumentals’ compiled popular no-vocals tracks from their previous 4 albums + 4 new recordings. Bagpipe, guitar, accordion, & fiddle power let loose!
#StillDoinCDs Les Paul (orig. Les Polsfuss) from Waukesha, Wisc., was one of history’s most amazing guitarists & inventors. His hot jazz was influenced by Django Reinhardt, & he enhanced the sound with electric guitar & recording inventions. “Best of,” 2001, also has 3 pop hits, one ft. Bing Crosby.
April 25, 2025 at 2:25 AM
#StillDoinCDs Les Paul (orig. Les Polsfuss) from Waukesha, Wisc., was one of history’s most amazing guitarists & inventors. His hot jazz was influenced by Django Reinhardt, & he enhanced the sound with electric guitar & recording inventions. “Best of,” 2001, also has 3 pop hits, one ft. Bing Crosby.
#StillDoinCDs The Imbayakunas are the top Inca band around Toronto, with origins in Imbabura Prov., Ecuador — the name means “Imbabura people” in Kichwa language. Their ultra lively mix of Andean songs & Andeanized Latin dance is distinct. Latin Fest, 2010, is 1 of 20 albums.
June 29, 2026 at 3:07 AM
#StillDoinCDs The Imbayakunas are the top Inca band around Toronto, with origins in Imbabura Prov., Ecuador — the name means “Imbabura people” in Kichwa language. Their ultra lively mix of Andean songs & Andeanized Latin dance is distinct. Latin Fest, 2010, is 1 of 20 albums.
#StillDoinCDs Stéphane Grappelli rose from starving in a French orphanage to becoming a top jazz violinist & bandmate of Romani ‘Gypsy jazz’ guitarist Django Reinhardt from 1934-39. Four 1970s solo collabs, still hot-jazz influenced, are compiled here in Compact Jazz, 1987, incl. with Larry Coryell.
June 5, 2025 at 10:31 PM
#StillDoinCDs Stéphane Grappelli rose from starving in a French orphanage to becoming a top jazz violinist & bandmate of Romani ‘Gypsy jazz’ guitarist Django Reinhardt from 1934-39. Four 1970s solo collabs, still hot-jazz influenced, are compiled here in Compact Jazz, 1987, incl. with Larry Coryell.
#StillDoinCDs Frane Milčinski-Ježek (the last bit a tag meaning ‘hedgehog’) from Ljubljana was a much-loved, multi-talented Slovenian chansonnier, humorist & dramatist. The 1970s recordings here on Balada o koščku kruha (Ballad of a Slice of Bread, 1994) feature wrily satirical philosophy.
December 3, 2024 at 3:29 AM
#StillDoinCDs Frane Milčinski-Ježek (the last bit a tag meaning ‘hedgehog’) from Ljubljana was a much-loved, multi-talented Slovenian chansonnier, humorist & dramatist. The 1970s recordings here on Balada o koščku kruha (Ballad of a Slice of Bread, 1994) feature wrily satirical philosophy.
#StillDoinCDs “L.A. Times” is the latest (2024) album by Glasgow’s prime alt-rock juggernaut Travis, their 10th album, #1 in Scotland, #2 in UK & #15 in Germany. Introspective tunes like “Bus” & rousing anthems like “Raze the Bar” provide what critics called “honest” yet “feverish” work.
April 1, 2026 at 2:31 AM
#StillDoinCDs “L.A. Times” is the latest (2024) album by Glasgow’s prime alt-rock juggernaut Travis, their 10th album, #1 in Scotland, #2 in UK & #15 in Germany. Introspective tunes like “Bus” & rousing anthems like “Raze the Bar” provide what critics called “honest” yet “feverish” work.
#StillDoinCDs Spinvis (Erik de Jong), from Spijkenisse, NL, waited til he was 40 to bring his attic-made 1st demo to a label, where he was signed & rose to alt electro folk rock cult star. “Be-bop-a-lula” (2023) is album 7, with fluent tunes & witty Dutch lyrics - genius really.
September 28, 2026 at 12:47 AM
#StillDoinCDs Spinvis (Erik de Jong), from Spijkenisse, NL, waited til he was 40 to bring his attic-made 1st demo to a label, where he was signed & rose to alt electro folk rock cult star. “Be-bop-a-lula” (2023) is album 7, with fluent tunes & witty Dutch lyrics - genius really.
#StillDoinCDs One of the stellar albums of my student years, “Damn the Torpedoes” by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers from Gainesville, FL came out in 1979, with instant classic rock hits “Refugee” & “Don’t Do Me Like That.” #2 album in the US & Canada; reached the top in N.Z. Got my orig. vinyl & CD!
February 10, 2026 at 2:20 AM
#StillDoinCDs One of the stellar albums of my student years, “Damn the Torpedoes” by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers from Gainesville, FL came out in 1979, with instant classic rock hits “Refugee” & “Don’t Do Me Like That.” #2 album in the US & Canada; reached the top in N.Z. Got my orig. vinyl & CD!
#StillDoinCDs Louis Mhlanga came from Harare, Zimbabwe, but works out of South Africa. He’s an ultra proficient guitarist-songwriter whose mixture of African style, jazz & erudite folk picking is classed as African jazz. Shamwari (“My Friend” in the Shona language), a 2001 CD, is instrumental bliss.
May 13, 2025 at 3:20 AM
#StillDoinCDs Louis Mhlanga came from Harare, Zimbabwe, but works out of South Africa. He’s an ultra proficient guitarist-songwriter whose mixture of African style, jazz & erudite folk picking is classed as African jazz. Shamwari (“My Friend” in the Shona language), a 2001 CD, is instrumental bliss.
#StillDoinCDs “Lonerism,” the 2012 2nd album by Tame Impala, was anything but alienated in overall sensibility, instead being mostly good psychedelic fun & exuberant exploration. It won a Best Australian Album of the Year award & much international acclaim. A breakthrough.
April 19, 2025 at 2:03 AM
#StillDoinCDs “Lonerism,” the 2012 2nd album by Tame Impala, was anything but alienated in overall sensibility, instead being mostly good psychedelic fun & exuberant exploration. It won a Best Australian Album of the Year award & much international acclaim. A breakthrough.
#StillDoinCDs “El Viejo” (The Old Guy) is the 12th & most recent (2024) album of Corb Lund, currently working out of Lethbridge AB & his ranch. The title track is a tribute to the late megastar Ian Tyson. Beyond that, there are folky country story songs about MMA fights, gigging while stoned, etc.
October 17, 2025 at 5:46 PM
#StillDoinCDs “El Viejo” (The Old Guy) is the 12th & most recent (2024) album of Corb Lund, currently working out of Lethbridge AB & his ranch. The title track is a tribute to the late megastar Ian Tyson. Beyond that, there are folky country story songs about MMA fights, gigging while stoned, etc.
#StillDoinCDs Joni Mitchell, the goddess of novel guitar tunings, was at her most experimental in 1977’s “Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter,” including a 16-minute, partly improvised modern-jazz-classical adventure. It also has her funniest song, “Talk to Me,” about try to liven up a taciturn male date.
March 10, 2026 at 1:38 AM
#StillDoinCDs Joni Mitchell, the goddess of novel guitar tunings, was at her most experimental in 1977’s “Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter,” including a 16-minute, partly improvised modern-jazz-classical adventure. It also has her funniest song, “Talk to Me,” about try to liven up a taciturn male date.