New Column: Fifty Second Week

It's my last tm3am.com column of the year. And in keeping with six years of tradition, I've done another Fifty Second Week. The idea is this: I have a lot of music left over at the end of each year, albums I've bought and listened to but never given a full review. Fifty Second Week is my way of rectifying that.

I pick 52 leftover albums, and give myself 50 seconds to review each one. Even if I'm in mid-sentence when that buzzer goes off, the review stands. It's a lot of fun to write, and a good way for me to cleanse the palette before the end of the year. So enjoy!

I'll be taking next week off, but I'll be back on Jan. 12 with the 11th year of Tuesday Morning 3 A.M. Thank you all for reading this year, and for the last 10. Click on over to read Fifty Second Week, and head back here to tell me what you think.

The 2010 Top 10 List

This year was an amazing one for new music. Can I get a witness? How about an amen?

This week at tm3am.com I unveiled my 2010 top 10 list. It contains a couple of genuine surprises, new records from old favorites, two astounding new discoveries, and a work of absolute genius at the top. I think it's a remarkably strong lineup. And no, it doesn't include Kanye West.

So head on over to the site to read the list, then come back here and tell me what's on yours. I'll include the lists I get in my first column of 2011.

Music, as the man said, is the best.

New Column: One Year Ends, Another Begins

Keeping it short this week, since I'm running around like a crazy person trying to tie up all my loose ends before I leave the Beacon-News for good. This week's tm3am column dissects the posthumous Michael Jackson album, Michael, and takes a look at the first great album of 2011, Over the Rhine's The Long Surrender.

But the main event is my annual list of honorable mentions, albums that are worth hearing and worth buying, but for whatever reason, not quite good enough to make my top 10 list. That list is coming next week, and will signify the end of 2010, one of the best music years in recent memory.

But that's next week. For now, click on over to read this week's column, and then head back here to leave me a comment.

New Column: You Must Be This Tall to Ride

Seems like the only time I post on this blog lately is when I've finished a new TM3AM column. I apologize - hopefully next year will be less hectic than this one. I kicked off this week's column by explaining what's been happening with me - in short, I quit my newspaper job, and I've joined up with Patch.com, AOL's new online news venture.

So, big changes brewing for me in 2011. But we still have a few weeks of 2010 left, and this week I officially start my end-of-the-year cycle with a column about some great records that are ineligible for the top 10 list. One's a live album, one's an acoustic project of older songs, and one's an album recorded 20 years ago, that's just now seeing its official release.

I also talk briefly about a record that likely will be in the top 10 list, one I just heard for the first time. Intrigued? Click on over to read the column, then head back here to leave me a comment.

New Column: Ring Ting Tingling

I have a complex relationship with Christmas music.

I know, that's weird. Here's what I mean. I love Christmas music. Love it. But I only want to hear it at Christmas time, which starts, for me, the day after Thanksgiving. Hearing "Deck the Halls" in mid-October sends me into a rage. I think Christmas music should be a rare treat, available for only 30 days a year, and then quietly tucked away, waiting for the season to come round again. It's more special that way, see?

It's finally the season, though, so this week's tm3am.com column is my annual look at holiday offerings from some great artists. On tap this year are the Indigo Girls, KT Tunstall and Quiet Company, and I also took a listen to a various artists compilation prepared for Black Vinyl Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.

As always, click on over to the main site to read the column, and then head back here to leave me a comment. Fa la la la la!