When I was just out of high school, I tried to convince my friends that we should never buy the… Read more 18. Lil’ Erik’s Foster Home for Records

When we lived in Cambridge, each one of the many record shops I frequented had their own appeal. Some had… Read more 17. Riding the Coattails of Somebody Else’s Obsession

What were you listening to in 2021? As it turns out, I listened to a ton of Dub, Gospel, Blues… Read more 16. 2021 Mixes

     As long-time readers know, the rules of Scratch Ticket Radio are simple. During a trip to a record… Read more 15. Scratch Ticket Radio #5: Omens and Openings

During the mixtape era, I was fully committed to keeping up with what was coming out and sharing what I… Read more 14. 2020 Mixes

      When I was younger (sometime during the Mesozoic Era), throwing parties meant either having your own band… Read more 13. “What is This?”: The Gift of Little Mysteries

One of the pleasures of being a record and/or book collector is occasionally stepping back and taking stock of what… Read more 12. “It’s a Mean Old World To Try to Live In”: Thoughts on the Blues

For a long time I have wondered about the personal histories of crossing guards. What did they do before they retired and decided to shepherd occasionally grateful pedestrians across busy intersections? This interest was piqued even further when I heard one crossing guard ask another if they had been at a certain party where a murder had taken place. … Read more Scratch Ticket Radio #4: You Never Know

For an author whose books I have never read, William Least Heat-Moon has had a lasting influence on my ways… Read more 9. Listening