Led Zeppelin : Celebration Day [ purchase ]  One of the joys of having written for Star Maker Machine since 2011 is that one week I can wri...

Hmm, a third week, a third challenge. Silly? Serious? Low-brow? High-brow? Light-weight? That’s it! Avoirdupois! Weight. Of course, as a nom...

Memphis Minnie : My Butcher Man [ purchase ]  There’s a long history in music of songs with double entendre lyrics. Now, Cardi B. and Meg...

Gretchen Menn : Scrap Metal [ purchase ]  The guitar, of course, is the signature instrument of rock music, and it should also come as no ...

Renaissance : Opening Out [ purchase ] It’s been a while since I’ve reached into my prog-rock bag, so let’s talk about Renaissance. I...

It's funny, I had never really quite appreciated this song to have actually been about a battle or, indeed, warfare at all. It had alway...

Let's get this straight, tea is so not my cup of tea. I can't stand the stuff, being an avowedly (instant) coffee man. Yet it is ...

Well is this the one to finally get me my marching orders? The 'Thanksgiving' theme is the one I generally sit out, it being a ho...

So, wait: we're doing a "steps and stairs" themed set here and no one's gonna talk about the most obvious choice there...

Donovan Leitch has the reputation for famously inventing everything in popular music, every genre, every tuning, every style. OK, I je...

Led Zeppelin : Four Sticks [ purchase ] I never knew why “Four Sticks” had that title, and until I decided to write this, I never care...

What is most elemental about summer? For me, it’s getting out on the road and being gone gone gone. Like one of our other blogg...

Led Zeppelin : Immigrant Song [ purchase ] Sometimes the right choice is the obvious one. For people of my generation, I would bet th...

[ purchase The Gathering Storm - The Album Art of Storm Thorgerson ] [ purchase the iconic Ramones T-Shirt ] They were both art...