Michael Little

1 week ago | thevinyldistrict.com | Michael Little

Celebrating Tom Petersson on his 75th birthday. —Ed.What a cheap trick. Here Rockford, Illinois’ finest put out Heaven Tonight which I considered the coolest album in the galaxy, only to follow it up with Cheap Trick at Budokan and the heinous “I Want You to Want Me,” which I’ve had to suffer through like 80,000 times over the years. Every single person I know loves the damn song. I’d sooner listen to the death rattle of a unicorn.

1 week ago | thevinyldistrict.com | Michael Little

Look: Unless you’re a resident in, or owner of, an English retirement home, I cannot in good conscience recommend that you purchase a copy of early Seventies English novelty act Lieutenant Pigeon’s 2023 compilation album The Decca Years. It’s the kind of album you should listen to with antimacassars, not headphones. The smell of overcooked roast beef should be in the air.

1 week ago | thevinyldistrict.com | Michael Little

Celebrating Bob Seger on his 80th birthday. —Ed.Through no fault of his own—or maybe it is his fault, I don’t know—Bob Seger has never gotten any respect. He’s the Rodney Dangerfield of rock, and this despite the fact that he’s written his fair share of memorable, and even great, songs.

1 week ago | thevinyldistrict.com | Michael Little

Celebrating Bill Ward, born on this day in 1948. —Ed.Is Black Sabbath the dumbest band in rock history or what? Even as a wee lad “Iron Man” struck me as the work of a band that was slow, and I don’t mean slow as in sluggish in tempo but slow as in dim in cerebral wattage—heavy metal half-wits who wore boots because the alternative was those shoes with Velcro straps on them.

1 week ago | thevinyldistrict.com | Michael Little

Want to know exactly how many times I’ve heard the Fall played on American radio, AM, FM, for-profit, not-for-profit, college, high school, guy down the block who sticks his speakers out his windows and considers himself a radio station because he shouts “The next song is by Oingo Boingo!” etc? Zero. And do you want to know how many American Fall fans I know? Don’t even get me started.