Five thousand miles from home and not so fresh from a midnight discussion of drastically under appreciated soul genius — mainly Luther, Teddy and Donnie — I entered my hotel room and snapped up the iPad to check the headlines from home. Something whispered not to forget the obits, so I checked. And then I […]

Dave is Saying:
A STANDING OVATION
Tuesday, June 4th, 2013Tags: Iron Throat, Marvin Junior, Philly-style soul, The Dells, doo-wop
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To Set Our Souls Free: A different view of Bruce Springsteen’s Wrecking Ball
Friday, August 10th, 2012by Dave Marsh and Danny Alexander You might wonder, for good reason, why we are writing about Springsteen’s Wrecking Ball five months after its release. Some of the reasons have been personal. But there are better reasons why we’re speaking up now, and speaking in the way that we are. Part of it is that […]
Tags: Bruce Springsteen, Danny Alexander, Dave Marsh, Death to My Hometown, Easy Money, Jack of All Trades, Land of Hope and Dreams, Rock & Rap Confidential, Rocky Ground, Shackled and Drawn, This Depression, We Are Alive, We Take Care of Our Own, Wrecking Ball, Wrecking Ball song, You Got It, music and politics
Posted in Saying, Hearing, Writing, Thinking | 20 Comments »
JUSTICE AND DONNA SUMMER
Sunday, May 20th, 2012“Ther is absolutely no doubt that the extraordinary Donna Summer belongs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Regrettably, despite being nominated on a number of occasions, our voting group has failed to recognize her–an error I can only hope is finally and permanently rectified next year.” — Jon Landau, chairman, Rock & Roll […]
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AUSTIN HOPES AND DREAMS
Monday, April 9th, 2012I wrote this for Rock & Rap Confidential, the (now online) newsletter about music and politics I’ve edited with Lee Ballinger for thirty years–we started right about this time of year, too, I think. I’ve said very little at RRC in recent months, and this topic (suggested by Lee) seems a good place to get […]
Tags: Bruce Springsteen, David Alvarez, Eliza Gilkyson, Jimmy LaFave, Joe Ely, Juanes, Kiss, Lester Bangs, Little Richard, Low Anthem, RRC, Rock and Rap Confidential, SXSW, Smokey Robinson, Steve Earle, The Animals, Woody Guthrie, Wrecking Ball album, alejandro escovedo
Posted in Saying, Hearing, Writing, Thinking, Linking | 1 Comment »
A Letter to My Daughter on the Nineteenth Anniversary of Her Death
Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012Dear Kristen, Can I tell you a secret? It’s ridiculous but I didn’t even know it was a secret until I heard Lady GaGa’s “Hair” this morning and then I realized that I’d kept it even from myself. In my ears, it’s a record where I always find you. “I’ve had enough, this is my […]
Tags: Kristen Ann Carr, Kristen Carr, Lady GaGa, cancer, chemotherapy, children, children and cancer, death, hair, parents, parents and cancer
Posted in Saying, Writing, Thinking | 12 Comments »
KICK OUT THE JAMS MOVES TO THE SPECTRUM (Channel 28) BEGINNING THIS SUNDAY, DEC. 4 2011
Friday, December 2nd, 2011Effective December 4, 2011, my Sunday morning SiriusXM program, Kick Out the Jams, which covers the world of music, with an emphasis on music and current events (or music and politics, if you prefer) moves from the Loft (channel 30) to The Spectrum (channel 28). The first show on The Spectrum will be the pre-recorded […]
Tags: Dave Marsh, Kick Out the Jams, Sirius, SirusXM, The Loft, The Spectrum
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Who’s Demonizing Who?
Monday, October 17th, 2011President Obama said yesterday that Dr. Martin Luther King would want “us” (whomever that may be) to “challenge the excesses of Wall Street without demonizing those who work there.” Talk about raising more questions than you answer! Let us ask: 1. For what reason should the proscription against “demonizing” apply to Operation Wall Street and […]
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Music on Kick Out the Jams for July 31, 2011
Friday, July 29th, 2011We’re pre-recorded this weekend so I can be sure that what I wrote down is what actually plays. We usually change several pieces of music every week–pieces get removed because we’re out of time (talked too much, or I miscalculated), or because I had a brainstorm on Sunday morning before the show (at home–good, I […]
Tags: Booker T & the MGs, Booker T. Jones, Clarence Paul, Dave Marsh, Dedicated: A tribute to the Five Royales, Eddie Floyd, Five Royales, Kick Out the Jams, Live from the Land of Hope and Dreams, Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Stax, Steve Cropper
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Music from Kick Out the Jams July 17 and July 24, 2011
Monday, July 25th, 2011Kick Out the Jams 7 17 2011 Howdido, Woody Guthrie CD: Nursery Days Do Re Me, Bob Dylan CD: The People Speak soundtrack Pastures of Plenty/This Land is Your Land, Lila Downs CD: La Linea This Land Is Your Land, Bruce Springsteen CD: Live 1975-1985, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Buffalo Skinners, Jim […]
Tags: Artificial Gardens, Dave Marsh, Kick Out the Jams, Maren Parusel, The Loft, Turn Off the Dark, Woody Guthrie
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Why I have no need to write fiction
Friday, July 15th, 2011From the Rock & Rap Confidential mailing list (www.rockrap.com). Letter to the Baltimore Sun July 7, 2011 Sen. Benjamin Cardin’s recent letter defending Bono and his ONE foundation puts him in direct opposition to President Obama’s appeal for “corporate jet” owners to pay their fair share of tax (“Cardin: ONE Campaign works,” June 27). U2 […]
Tags: Bono, U2 tax dodge, overpaid rock stars
Posted in Saying, Hearing, Thinking | 26 Comments »