The emergence of the internet and, specifically, bloggers like me, has brought with it criticism and concern that the tasks of such things as music commentary and criticism is shifting from the domain of real journalists to Any Old Joe with a computer and a broadband connection. But that assumes that said real journalists are in some way more qualified than A.O.J. to write on these topics. In my experience, this is actually rarely the case.

I went to college with the career goal of being a music journalist. I loved music and had confidence in my writing. I was not deterred by the fact that there was no such thing as a degree in "music journalism." My plan was to major in journalism while taking a solid regimen of music theory and history classes. I believed that one should approach one's writing subject with a wide breadth of knowledge about its mechanics, and about what came before it.

How loud is too loud?

How quiet can music still sound good in a space like the Cedar?

Mama E. and her sore eardrums are looking forward to Oreka Tx next month.

Monday's Rhythm Devils show will mark the official end of our extended 21st season, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to list my five (or so!) favorite moments from the shows of 21. Mind you, I probably attend less than a quarter of the shows we stage... since my duties largely obligate me to be in "the office" for the bulk of the normal business week and I do value having a life outside of work, I can't possibly even see all of the shows that I want to see (and I know I've missed some good ones), so this is a heavily filtered list. And they are not ranked in a particular order... Read more »

What's inside the head of "the guy in the suit?"  Jeremiah Lockwood,  of Balkan Beat Box and Sway Machinery, sits down with Mama E Dub to talk Timbuktu, Jewish history, the border between the sacred and secular in music and lots of topics in between.