Poetic Wax: Music History Hidden in the Grooves

Conflict and creativity. Connection and chaos. Love and hate. These all defined Blonde Redhead in their early days, and the themes continue to drive them after more than three decades. This is the st…

Before the Dawn Heals Us by M83 was a big departure from the band's first two records. We know M83 as a synth-heavy electronic pop outfit centered around Anthony Gonzalez, made famous the world over …

How and why did David Bowie, one of the most iconic musicians of all time, create such an embarrassing song? And why does it keep rearing its head? This is the story of Bowie's 1967 single "The Laugh…

On David Bowie's "Hunky Dory" is a track titled "Andy Warhol" which Bowie wrote about the pop art icon, whom he admired. But what did Warhol think of it? Not much... so goes this week's episode of Po…

Before Modest Mouse achieved critical acclaim with their 2004 album "Good News for People Who Love Bad News" on Epic Records, the band had become indie rock darlings of the Pacific Northwest. In 2000…

In December of 1974, an Island Records A&R exec out of London put together a demo session for punk pioneers Television. They were joined in the studio by Brian Eno, formerly of Roxy Music, who had go…

These are my picks for the 10 best albums of 2024, mostly spanning the indie rock genre. What's missing, and what's not worthy? Visit my channel on YouTube and share your thoughts!

Poetic Wax: Music …

In January of 2000, Songs: Ohia, the project of Jason Molina, released The Lioness. Ripe with metaphor and deeply personal lyrics, this album is among the many pillars of Molina's vast career. This i…

Between the chaotic recording of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and the success that followed, Wilco had a meeting of the minds with The Minus 5, a collaborative effort from Scott McCaughey (pronounced McKoy, …

In the early days, My Bloody Valentine was far from the iconic shoegaze band they'd become know as. Today we look back at "This Is Your Bloody Valentine." Released in January of 1985, it was the band…

In October and November of 1964, The Kinks released their debut studio album, "You Really Got Me." The title track was raw and gritty with an enormous sound that caught the world off guard. This is t…

Released in November of 1964, The Beach Boys Christmas Album saw America's biggest pop band blend their signature sunny surf rock with a California holiday. Over the last 6 decades, this album has co…

The Stooges are pioneers of the proto punk movement, with Iggy Pop often hailed as the Godfather of Punk. In this album story, we explore the origins of the title, and trace it back to a bad decision…

In the fall of 1999, Le Tigre released their self-titled debut album. The band stemmed from Riot Grrrl pioneer Kathleen Hanna's desire to create music more playful and light-hearted than that of Biki…

In 1973, legendary Krautrock band CAN lost their charismatic lead singer Damo Suzuki. A year later, in November of 1974, they remade themselves and gave us Soon Over Babaluma. This is the story of th…

This is the unlikely story of how the sun-soaked sounds of The Beach Boys struck a cord with the cold, electronic stoicism in post-war Germany and influenced Kraftwerk's breakout hit "Autobahn."

Poet…

The Smiths are among the most influential indie bands of all time. Led by confrontational artist Morrissey, the controversial frontman has never been one to keep quiet. He seemed to know this as far …

On November 18, 1993, Nirvana took the stage for MTV’s Unplugged series—a moment in music history that no one could have predicted would become one of their most defining live performances. This is t…

The success of "Blue Monday" by New Order was a mistake. The song was a joke. New Order never intended for it to be a hit. In this week’s episode of Poetic Wax, we pull out the 1988 reissue of "Blue …

When people ask The Beatles or The Rolling Stones, I push back and say give me The Kinks! This troupe began as mod rockers in the 1960s and came to weave theatrics into their music by the turn of the…