Ask anyone who Jars of Clay is and you’ll likely hear something to the effect of, “Aren’t they that Christian band with the acoustic guitars that sang that song?” In 1995, Jars of Clay simultaneously burst onto both contemporary Christian and mainstream radio with the single Flood...

While it would be quite easy for Yeah Yeah Yeahs to use the same formula to build upon the successes of their past two albums, both of which were showered with praise from critics, the New York based trio decided to go another route. Originally characterized by gruffly intricate guitar riffs, raucous...

In the last six years — the six years I’ve been married to my wife, the organic foods queen — I have learned an indispensable lesson about healthy food: it can taste good! I know…this may not be news to you, but it was for me. Along those lines, I want to recommend a product to you that sounds...

So, I’m a new dad.  No, mom, I didn’t get anyone pregnant…I got a dog.  His name is Bear. Now, I’m not the kind of guy that will probably ever get clothes, or the like, for my dog.  It’s just not my style.  That doesn’t mean I don’t want him to be a fancy...

You’ve probably heard of the critically acclaimed series Dexter by now, but unless you have Showtime or watch a lot of TV-on-DVD, I’m willing to bet you may have never seen an episode. Michael C. Hall plays the title character, a Miami Police Department forensics expert, who specializes in...

Now that I am in the “real world,” I don’t have the luxury of taking a week off to play in the sun and sand like the good ol’ days of college Spring Break. In 2000, a big group of my friends and I migrated down to Padre Island, Texas to experience all that a quality college Spring Break had...

One thing you can rely on from a band that has been around as long as Washington-based Death Cab for Cutie is consistency. Normally a band will release an EP full of B-sides, tracks that are inadequate for the full album release, but leave it to Death Cab to buck that trend. Officially the band stated...

I bought my first pair of Smartwool socks about 10 years ago. It was springtime, and I was preparing for a summer trip to the Rockies with a group of friends. I had new boots, and needed some thick socks to help break them in so that my blisters would be minimized on the trail. Since that first pair...

I’ve always known that when I have a house some day, one room will be solely dedicated to music.  If you’ve seen High Fidelity, I want one room that is exactly like John Cusack’s apartment.  Shelves upon shelves filled with records and CDs will line the walls…maybe even a few...

Getting shaved with a straight razor by your personal barber is an experience imbued with masculinity and often reserved for mobsters in movies. While I’m no crime lord, my wife recently arranged for me to have a traditional shave at The Art of Shaving. After all, even though I work from home,...