Fans all over the world were pained when Adam Schlesinger died a year and a day ago - one of pop music's first major casualties of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Dozens of musicians turned that pain into celebration over the summer with Saving for a Custom Van, a lengthy tribute album from Father/Daughter Records and Wax Nine that raised money for MusiCares' ongoing COVID relief efforts. Now vinyl lovers can add the set to their collection, thanks to a 3LP release coming from Vinyl Me,
The Bandcamp Friday train keeps rolling - a light in the darkness for music lovers if ever there was one! On March 20, as the COVID-19 pandemic was putting the world on pause, the indie music service waived their revenue share on all music and merch sold, allowing indie artists and labels a chance for some steadier income as concert tours began to halt. The event was a resounding success, and has been repeated on the first Fridays of May and June, with another on June 19 (a planned annual
It was on my 23rd (or 25th, depending on how you count it) day of lockdown when I once again had to do something we're all sick of doing these last few weeks: go on social media and see another wave of tributes to a favorite artist who's succumbed to the COVID-19 pandemic. This time, it was John Prine, an artist I freely admit is one of my many musical blind spots; but reading the tributes - some from friends, some from great writers, some from both - really underscores the profound