Author Archives: Daniel J. Willis
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REWIND: Sick of Christmas music already? Well, here’s five of the worst
The man is a songwriting legend, but Bob Dylan is no Al Yankovic with accordion-led Christmas music. Welcome to the second RIFF Rewind Hater Special! That special time when I get to let all the pent-up vitriol out of my system by ripping on things I specifically dislike. You…
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REWIND: Recap the decade with our editor’s top Spotify song of each year
Andrew WK gave everyone the permission to party hard. Yes, even to Cat Stevens. This week Spotify rolled out its annual Year in Review app, for subscribers to see what their top songs and artists of 2019 were. This year, since 2020 is right around the corner, they stretched…
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REWIND: You don’t feel old enough, so let’s put music in perspective
We decided not to show you Mark Wahlberg’s most famous photograph from back in the day, because it makes us feel insecure. I’m sorry I have to be the one to tell you this, but you’re old. You’re so, so very old. For example Friends is making a nostalgia-fueled…
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REVIEW: The Chainsmokers bring their circus act to Chase Center
The Chainsmokers perform at Chase Center in San Francisco on Nov. 29, 2019. Photos: Gary Chancer. SAN FRANCISCO — Near the end of The Chainsmokers’ show Friday at Chase Center, three members of the Urias family entered a Globe of Death on dirt bikes and performed one of the…
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REWIND: The best of the 2020 Grammy nominees, including Lizzo and Gary Clark Jr.
Lizzo performs at The Fillmore in San Francisco on Nov. 9, 2017. Staff photo. As regular readers of my column are well aware, I don’t much like the Grammys. Sure, occasionally Fantastic Negrito or Weird Al wins a trophy, and they absolutely deserve it. But they win the non-televised…
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REWIND: It’s mashup week, featuring Girl Talk and Amerigo Gazaway
Choo choo, let Ice Cube guide you on this list of great mashups. This week’s column has five entries, but far, far more songs. That’s because this week’s column is about one of the best but most under-appreciated genres: The mashup. The history of the mashup is a bit…
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REWIND: Celebrate my birthday with five of my favorite songs
The night George Michael saved the world. Editor Daniel J. Willis submits his script for “Bill and Ted Face the Music.” My birthday is Tuesday. So in honor of me this week’s column theme is… me. That’s right, rather than picking five songs I like with a common theme,…
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REWIND: A tribute to PG&E, featuring Billy Joel and AC/DC
Billy Joel didn’t start the fire. It was probably PG&E. A trigger warning for our Bay Area and Northern California readers: This column is an ode to PG&E. As our non-Californian readers may have heard, California was recently in the midst of a full-blown apocalypse. There were hurricane-force winds,…
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Interview: Spinal Tap’s Derek Smalls on gardening and television, and also music
Derek Smalls really would appreciate you giving him some more of your money. You may not have heard much from Derek Smalls, bassist of the legendary band Spinal Tap, aside from the occasional reunion concert when enough of the band members simultaneously run out of money. But that doesn’t…
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REWIND: It’s Halloween! Time to listen to Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson
Rob Zombie gets festive. We’ve made it! Halloween is less than a week away and after columns about horror punk and horrorcore we’ve finally reached the main event: Metal. Horror metal is a thing, of course, but why limit ourselves to that narrow box? There are so many Halloween-appropriate…
