At 7:59 pm on Sunday, July 20, 1969—50 years ago today—a human being first set foot on another world. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin spent two hours, 31 minutes and 19 seconds on the moon,…

Today is Mother’s Day. This presents a wealth of column opportunities. I could list songs about mothers, by mothers of other musicians; all sorts of stuff. But I didn’t do that. Rather than pick one…

The Weather Girls performing “It’s Raining Men” whilst surrounded by a scene of absolute carnage as the aforementioned men lie dead and dying around them, having inexplicably fallen from the sky. Michael Fish and Sian…

There’s no easy way to tell you this: We’ve entered the disco era. I know, I know. These are trying times. I’ve managed to keep 1976’s list disco-free, though I had to break my “try…

  This is technically a special edition of RIFF Rewind because this week I’m coming to you live from Chicago! Land of nonstandard pizza, wind way too cold for a lifelong Californian, and a disproportionate…

Things are getting sparse, you guys. Oh I found some good songs, don’t get me wrong, but it wasn’t easy. This is Gordon Lightfoot‘s prime and Bowie and Queen had hits, after all. But a novelty disco…

So you know how when I started this endeavor I set rules? Five songs per year, one song per band, qualifies in year of release, listed in chronological order? Pretty straightforward, right? For 1970 I’m…

If you’re like me—and odds are either you are or you aspire to be—you don’t really want to be associated with Valentine’s Day. Some people spend weeks festooning everything in cutesy red hearts and some spend…