TITLE: "Tupelo" ARTIST: Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds ALBUM: Live Seeds RELEASE: DATE: 1995 A common complaint among tinnitus-sufferers like myself is that the irritating sensation (in my case, a ceaseless ringing in my right ear) seems much worse in the morning just as you're waking u...

TITLE: "Mars Bar" ARTIST: The Undertones  ALBUM: The Undertones  RELEASE DATE: 1979 Last week, a colleague asked what I thought the quintessential, classic Punk Rock single of all-time was. I responded immediately with "(I'm) Stranded" by The Saints because .... w...

TITLE:  "The Moose" ARTIST: Woody Allen  ALBUM: Standup Comic  RELEASE DATE: 1979 I unwittingly inserted myself into a heated debate recently. Some friends of mine were arguing over the merits of the late comedian Bill Hicks in contrast with the more celebrated (and compa...

TITLE: "Sweet Jane" ARTIST: Lou Reed ALBUM: Take No Prisoners RELEASE DATE: 1978 Somewhat ironically, I first heard the Velvet Underground – arguably the most New Yorky of all New York bands ever – while sequestered as a college student out in the verdant environs of rural Ohio. They w...

TITLE: "Back in N.Y.C." ARTIST: Jeff Buckley ALBUM: Sketches for My Sweetheart The Drunk RELEASE DATE: 1998 While running a variety of banal errands last weekend, I popped into Shakespeare & Co. on Broadway for a quick look-about. While I'm strenuously trying to lift my reading tas...

TITLE: "My Beach" ARTIST: Surf Punks ALBUM:  My Beach RELEASE DATE: 1980 From an unwieldy pile of indefensibly crap music that I shall absolutely never part with, I give you "My Beach," the title track of the 1980 album by the Surf Punks. I vividly remember buying the...

TITLE: "Code of Honor" ARTIST: Code of Honor ALBUM: Code of Honor/Sick Pleasure RELEASE DATE: 1982 It's early Saturday morning. The kids were up before the sun. The wife is sleeping in. The coffee is on. I needed something to get the blood flowing, so I dialed up some vintage hardcore ...

TITLE: "Helden" ARTIST: David Bowie ALBUM: Sound + Vision  RELEASE DATE: 1989 Around midnight last night, one child threw up. At 6 am, the other one had a disquieting bout of diarrhea (aren't you glad I'm here to share these things with you? You're welcome!) As such, the ...

TITLE: "We Gotta Know" ARTIST: The Cro-Mags ALBUM: The Age of Quarrel RELEASE DATE: 1986 My son, as it's turning out, is not a morning person. From the moment he woke this morning, he behaved like an obstinate little bastard. After throwing several moany tantrums, making his big sister repeatedly cr...

TITLE: "Mayday" ARTIST: Tomahawk ALBUM: Mit Gas RELEASE DATE: 2003 Given the current tenor of the times and the fact that more and more of my friends seem to be getting laid off by the day, this song seems entirely appropriate for this very day. Even though the title information probably i...