Author Archives: olneyce

It’s that time of year again, when all the “best of” lists begin to make their appearances. As usual, I’m going to wait until the year actually ends (or at least until Christmas) to post my list. Partly because I … Continue reading →

Dear God – XTCOpiate – ToolAtheist Peace – Bad Religion So the movie for The Golden Compass, the first book of Philip Pullman’s magnificent His Dark Materials trilogy is out, but you can count me as one guy who is … Continue reading →

Today I’m going to do something a little different. I propose to randomly go through unread promo e-mails listening to songs until I find something worth posting about. And here, on only the 11th e-mail, I encounter something intriguing. The … Continue reading →

New Paltz Waltz – Owen Roberts Easily one of the best songs I’ve heard this year. Totally lacking in pretension, rich with an unhurried love. You can almost feel the gentle clasp of a hand, the way the hair sits … Continue reading →

A kind reader recently tipped me on an artist that I’ve been enjoying a great deal. A Fine Frenzy is the stage name of singer-songwriter Alison Sudol. And it’s perhaps a sign of just how idiosyncratic my music-gathering process is … Continue reading →

I’ve been a casual fan of The Real Tuesday Weld for quite a few years now, but never got super into them. Their new record The London Book of the Dead isn’t quite going to change that, but it’s certainly … Continue reading →

I’m not entirely sure why, but the new record from the unheralded king of folk-rock Josh Ritter is vaguely disappointing. The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter is by no means a bad album – it’s probably one of the 15 … Continue reading →

Today’s post is the 400th here at Heartache With Hard Work. I never would have guessed when I started all this two years ago that I would still be going strong now. But it’s been a lot of fun, and … Continue reading →

I really ought to have posted about today’s band a few months ago, when it was still a dance between the hot end-of-summer days and the cool autumn evenings. As it stands, the chill of late November and the dirty … Continue reading →

I’ve alluded several times to the Springsteen show I saw last weekend without going into detail. Well, after a long day working on grad school applications and watching my Royals lose the game deep into added time I’m finally ready … Continue reading →