I apologize for the radio silence this past week. Public schools had Veterans' Day off, and on Sunday I decided I'd simply ignore any and all obligations. That meant lots of work for my real job on Monday and catch-up for the rest of the week.



Meanwhile, it appears that my laptop has crashed. I'm forced to use my Department of Ed-issued laptop at home. Doing without my music collection has been difficult.



Fortunately, I received a press copy of Sonia Tetlow's latest album,…

It's Election Night and I'm virtually biting my nails here. Good thing I have the Creole String Beans to calm me down.

Co-founded by ex-Cowboy Mouth bassist Rob Savoy, the Creole String Beans have reportedly won a Grammy nomination (or first-round, anyway) for their latest album, Shrimp Boots & Vintage Suits.



I don't profess to know much about swamp pop, but I do know this is a great time bottled into a compact disc…

[Note: This was written a few days ago.]

Hurricane Sandy's finally starting to make her mark here in upper Manhattan. By a stroke of serendipity, the winds have set off a car alarm that just so happens to be in the same key and tempo as MONARCH's "Keith's Heartbreak." I'll be less amused, though, when the damn thing is still going off at 2 AM.…

Thanks to The Civil Wars, the alt-Americana scene seems to have seen a resurgence (or at least a renewed interest) in male-female duos: Shovels and Rope and The Parlor Soldiers, to name two, have started to garner critical acclaim. But they should all step aside for Miss Shevaughn & Yuma Wray.

I earmarked the duo a couple of months ago after watching their video on Couch by Couchwest. I kept pushing them to the back of…