Chuck Eddy
@chuckeddytor.bsky.social
I write about stuff (books = Stairway to Hell, Accidental Evolution of R&R, R&R Always Forgets, Terminated for Reasons of Taste.) Here's where I mostly write now:
https://chuckeddy.substack.com/
https://accidentalevolution.wordpress.com/author/edcchucky
https://chuckeddy.substack.com/
https://accidentalevolution.wordpress.com/author/edcchucky
NEW!! 5000 words on rock cracking, Frankenstein festivals, 4-D geometry, Detroit's peak year, reggae's roots, riverboat gospel, folk fission, pud rock, teenage riots, self-titled debuts, one-and-done bands, Ted Nugent gender switches, getting back to 1957 or '65, and my 150 favorite albums of 1970.
150 Best Albums of 1970
It sure seems like a lot of people paying close attention to rock music in 1970 thought it was falling apart — or at very least, cracking in half.
chuckeddy.substack.com
November 20, 2025 at 5:52 PM
NEW!! 5000 words on rock cracking, Frankenstein festivals, 4-D geometry, Detroit's peak year, reggae's roots, riverboat gospel, folk fission, pud rock, teenage riots, self-titled debuts, one-and-done bands, Ted Nugent gender switches, getting back to 1957 or '65, and my 150 favorite albums of 1970.
1800 words on the Chuck Eddy who wrote for Car Craft magazine in the '50s, the Chuck Eddy who ran for Kentucky state senator, the Chuck Eddy who owned a shady Youngstown-area auto dealership and says his niece Casey Anthony never hid out there, the chiropractor leader of the Chuck Eddy Band, etc...
Other Chuck Eddys
Back in the ’80s I think it was, or possibly even before that in high school, somebody somewhere decided there was something intrinsically drag-racey about my name and I should therefore from hereon r...
chuckeddy.substack.com
November 19, 2025 at 6:30 PM
1800 words on the Chuck Eddy who wrote for Car Craft magazine in the '50s, the Chuck Eddy who ran for Kentucky state senator, the Chuck Eddy who owned a shady Youngstown-area auto dealership and says his niece Casey Anthony never hid out there, the chiropractor leader of the Chuck Eddy Band, etc...
4 years ago. Main requirement is I heard them as standalone entities, apart from whatever album they wound up on. I almost never found out about them while listening to the radio, much less in dance clubs. But “Ballerman” compilations of songs young Germans trinken bier to on ski vacations? Sure!
35 Best Singles of 2021
I tend to live in my own bubble, if not on my own planet, when it comes to singles these days.
chuckeddy.substack.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:27 PM
4 years ago. Main requirement is I heard them as standalone entities, apart from whatever album they wound up on. I almost never found out about them while listening to the radio, much less in dance clubs. But “Ballerman” compilations of songs young Germans trinken bier to on ski vacations? Sure!
Reposted by Chuck Eddy
There are bad cover versions and….There are covers that sound wrong on paper, until you hear them. If you haven't heard the 25 records here, there's a good chance you'd scoff at them. But sometimes it takes disreputable artists to bring classics back down off Mount Olympus and into the real world.
25 Excellent "Bad" Cover Versions
There are bad cover versions and….There are cover versions you only think are bad, because they sound wrong on paper, since they come from artists or genres who get even less respect than Rodney Dange...
chuckeddy.substack.com
November 17, 2025 at 4:31 PM
There are bad cover versions and….There are covers that sound wrong on paper, until you hear them. If you haven't heard the 25 records here, there's a good chance you'd scoff at them. But sometimes it takes disreputable artists to bring classics back down off Mount Olympus and into the real world.
There are bad cover versions and….There are covers that sound wrong on paper, until you hear them. If you haven't heard the 25 records here, there's a good chance you'd scoff at them. But sometimes it takes disreputable artists to bring classics back down off Mount Olympus and into the real world.
25 Excellent "Bad" Cover Versions
There are bad cover versions and….There are cover versions you only think are bad, because they sound wrong on paper, since they come from artists or genres who get even less respect than Rodney Dange...
chuckeddy.substack.com
November 17, 2025 at 4:31 PM
There are bad cover versions and….There are covers that sound wrong on paper, until you hear them. If you haven't heard the 25 records here, there's a good chance you'd scoff at them. But sometimes it takes disreputable artists to bring classics back down off Mount Olympus and into the real world.
Reposted by Chuck Eddy
25 songs 1926-2013: Margaret Berger, John Cooper Clarke, Controllers, Kevin Coyne, Cravats, Dehumanizers, Hollywood Brats, Insect Trust, Dee D. Jackson, Kano, Los Iniciados Sam McGee, Mikki, Steve Miller (early), Wazmo Nariz, ONO (not Yoko!), Really Red, Robey, Seawind, Sandie Shaw, Twink, more!
Speed Goys and Pigeons for Life
Blindfold Test #10
chuckeddy.substack.com
November 16, 2025 at 2:03 PM
25 songs 1926-2013: Margaret Berger, John Cooper Clarke, Controllers, Kevin Coyne, Cravats, Dehumanizers, Hollywood Brats, Insect Trust, Dee D. Jackson, Kano, Los Iniciados Sam McGee, Mikki, Steve Miller (early), Wazmo Nariz, ONO (not Yoko!), Really Red, Robey, Seawind, Sandie Shaw, Twink, more!
25 songs 1926-2013: Margaret Berger, John Cooper Clarke, Controllers, Kevin Coyne, Cravats, Dehumanizers, Hollywood Brats, Insect Trust, Dee D. Jackson, Kano, Los Iniciados Sam McGee, Mikki, Steve Miller (early), Wazmo Nariz, ONO (not Yoko!), Really Red, Robey, Seawind, Sandie Shaw, Twink, more!
Speed Goys and Pigeons for Life
Blindfold Test #10
chuckeddy.substack.com
November 16, 2025 at 2:03 PM
25 songs 1926-2013: Margaret Berger, John Cooper Clarke, Controllers, Kevin Coyne, Cravats, Dehumanizers, Hollywood Brats, Insect Trust, Dee D. Jackson, Kano, Los Iniciados Sam McGee, Mikki, Steve Miller (early), Wazmo Nariz, ONO (not Yoko!), Really Red, Robey, Seawind, Sandie Shaw, Twink, more!
Reposted by Chuck Eddy
PAZZ & JOP PRODUCT REPORT - late November 2025
YEAH: Scúru Fitchádu: Griots I Riots (NubianRiot! Portugal) 7; Chicks On Speed: HEARandNOWtopia (Grönland Germany) 7; Yalla Miku: 2 (Les Disques Bongo Joe Switzerland) 7; Paul St. Hilaire: W/ The Producers (Kynant Germany) 7...
[continued]:
YEAH: Scúru Fitchádu: Griots I Riots (NubianRiot! Portugal) 7; Chicks On Speed: HEARandNOWtopia (Grönland Germany) 7; Yalla Miku: 2 (Les Disques Bongo Joe Switzerland) 7; Paul St. Hilaire: W/ The Producers (Kynant Germany) 7...
[continued]:
Pazz & Jop Product Reports, 2025
This post is a tool; it’s how I keep track of new music I hear — thus enabling me, for one thing, to put together long lists of albums I like when the year comes to an end.
chuckeddy.substack.com
November 15, 2025 at 2:10 PM
PAZZ & JOP PRODUCT REPORT - late November 2025
YEAH: Scúru Fitchádu: Griots I Riots (NubianRiot! Portugal) 7; Chicks On Speed: HEARandNOWtopia (Grönland Germany) 7; Yalla Miku: 2 (Les Disques Bongo Joe Switzerland) 7; Paul St. Hilaire: W/ The Producers (Kynant Germany) 7...
[continued]:
YEAH: Scúru Fitchádu: Griots I Riots (NubianRiot! Portugal) 7; Chicks On Speed: HEARandNOWtopia (Grönland Germany) 7; Yalla Miku: 2 (Les Disques Bongo Joe Switzerland) 7; Paul St. Hilaire: W/ The Producers (Kynant Germany) 7...
[continued]:
Reposted by Chuck Eddy
A snapshot of my listening when I was 21½ years old. Given the date (“one third of 1982 gone” = at least May 1, and pretty sure I got my Army commission May 15), quite likely my last contribution to University of Missouri's student weekly. And far from my worst even if my thesis is full of baloney.
10 LPs I Liked in Early 1982
A snapshot of my listening, when I was weeks shy of 21½ years old.
chuckeddy.substack.com
November 15, 2025 at 2:20 PM
A snapshot of my listening when I was 21½ years old. Given the date (“one third of 1982 gone” = at least May 1, and pretty sure I got my Army commission May 15), quite likely my last contribution to University of Missouri's student weekly. And far from my worst even if my thesis is full of baloney.
A snapshot of my listening when I was 21½ years old. Given the date (“one third of 1982 gone” = at least May 1, and pretty sure I got my Army commission May 15), quite likely my last contribution to University of Missouri's student weekly. And far from my worst even if my thesis is full of baloney.
10 LPs I Liked in Early 1982
A snapshot of my listening, when I was weeks shy of 21½ years old.
chuckeddy.substack.com
November 15, 2025 at 2:20 PM
A snapshot of my listening when I was 21½ years old. Given the date (“one third of 1982 gone” = at least May 1, and pretty sure I got my Army commission May 15), quite likely my last contribution to University of Missouri's student weekly. And far from my worst even if my thesis is full of baloney.
PAZZ & JOP PRODUCT REPORT - late November 2025
YEAH: Scúru Fitchádu: Griots I Riots (NubianRiot! Portugal) 7; Chicks On Speed: HEARandNOWtopia (Grönland Germany) 7; Yalla Miku: 2 (Les Disques Bongo Joe Switzerland) 7; Paul St. Hilaire: W/ The Producers (Kynant Germany) 7...
[continued]:
YEAH: Scúru Fitchádu: Griots I Riots (NubianRiot! Portugal) 7; Chicks On Speed: HEARandNOWtopia (Grönland Germany) 7; Yalla Miku: 2 (Les Disques Bongo Joe Switzerland) 7; Paul St. Hilaire: W/ The Producers (Kynant Germany) 7...
[continued]:
Pazz & Jop Product Reports, 2025
This post is a tool; it’s how I keep track of new music I hear — thus enabling me, for one thing, to put together long lists of albums I like when the year comes to an end.
chuckeddy.substack.com
November 15, 2025 at 2:10 PM
PAZZ & JOP PRODUCT REPORT - late November 2025
YEAH: Scúru Fitchádu: Griots I Riots (NubianRiot! Portugal) 7; Chicks On Speed: HEARandNOWtopia (Grönland Germany) 7; Yalla Miku: 2 (Les Disques Bongo Joe Switzerland) 7; Paul St. Hilaire: W/ The Producers (Kynant Germany) 7...
[continued]:
YEAH: Scúru Fitchádu: Griots I Riots (NubianRiot! Portugal) 7; Chicks On Speed: HEARandNOWtopia (Grönland Germany) 7; Yalla Miku: 2 (Les Disques Bongo Joe Switzerland) 7; Paul St. Hilaire: W/ The Producers (Kynant Germany) 7...
[continued]:
Reposted by Chuck Eddy
In belated honor of Neil Young's 80th birthday 2 days ago, I am reviving more or less the only review of his music I ever got paid to write. And I like him a lot! Unfortunately, the album I review here might be the worst one he ever made. If you disagree, by all means nominate your personal choice!
Neil Young Review, 1986
Note gratuitous but arguably prescient Dinosaur Jr.
chuckeddy.substack.com
November 14, 2025 at 4:55 PM
In belated honor of Neil Young's 80th birthday 2 days ago, I am reviving more or less the only review of his music I ever got paid to write. And I like him a lot! Unfortunately, the album I review here might be the worst one he ever made. If you disagree, by all means nominate your personal choice!
In belated honor of Neil Young's 80th birthday 2 days ago, I am reviving more or less the only review of his music I ever got paid to write. And I like him a lot! Unfortunately, the album I review here might be the worst one he ever made. If you disagree, by all means nominate your personal choice!
Neil Young Review, 1986
Note gratuitous but arguably prescient Dinosaur Jr.
chuckeddy.substack.com
November 14, 2025 at 4:55 PM
In belated honor of Neil Young's 80th birthday 2 days ago, I am reviving more or less the only review of his music I ever got paid to write. And I like him a lot! Unfortunately, the album I review here might be the worst one he ever made. If you disagree, by all means nominate your personal choice!
Reposted by Chuck Eddy
Wrote about every one of my 37 favorite 2022 singles, incl. songs by people from Arnhem Land, Democratic Republic of Congo, Germany (a bunch), Ivory Coast, South Africa, Sudan, Ukraine, Zimbabwe and even a few places where English is the primary language. Bet you've never heard of most of them.
37 Best Singles of 2022
As with 2021 and 2020, a determining factor here (besides how much I liked the things) is whether I actually heard the records in question as singles — i.e., apart from an album (though lead tracks on...
chuckeddy.substack.com
November 13, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Wrote about every one of my 37 favorite 2022 singles, incl. songs by people from Arnhem Land, Democratic Republic of Congo, Germany (a bunch), Ivory Coast, South Africa, Sudan, Ukraine, Zimbabwe and even a few places where English is the primary language. Bet you've never heard of most of them.
Wrote about every one of my 37 favorite 2022 singles, incl. songs by people from Arnhem Land, Democratic Republic of Congo, Germany (a bunch), Ivory Coast, South Africa, Sudan, Ukraine, Zimbabwe and even a few places where English is the primary language. Bet you've never heard of most of them.
37 Best Singles of 2022
As with 2021 and 2020, a determining factor here (besides how much I liked the things) is whether I actually heard the records in question as singles — i.e., apart from an album (though lead tracks on...
chuckeddy.substack.com
November 13, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Wrote about every one of my 37 favorite 2022 singles, incl. songs by people from Arnhem Land, Democratic Republic of Congo, Germany (a bunch), Ivory Coast, South Africa, Sudan, Ukraine, Zimbabwe and even a few places where English is the primary language. Bet you've never heard of most of them.
People I ran into at last weekend's Texas Book Festival reminded me I testified last February before Texas’s Senate Committee on Education K-16, against Senate Bill 13, on track to ban supposedly “indecent” and “profane” books in public school classrooms and libraries. We were allowed two minutes.
Testifying for Books and Kids, to No Avail
Last February I testified before Texas’s Senate Committee on Education K-16, against Senate Bill 13, which would effectively ban supposedly “indecent” and “profane” books in public school classrooms a...
chuckeddy.substack.com
November 12, 2025 at 2:03 PM
People I ran into at last weekend's Texas Book Festival reminded me I testified last February before Texas’s Senate Committee on Education K-16, against Senate Bill 13, on track to ban supposedly “indecent” and “profane” books in public school classrooms and libraries. We were allowed two minutes.
Reposted by Chuck Eddy
2000 or so words on my 150 favorite albums from 1986 + questionable claims I made in a famous Creem profile I wrote about the Beastie Boys back then, such as whether metal or rap had a better year & were major labels as bad as I thought, & how come I left out that Prince album everybody loves now.
150 Best Albums of 1986
I know it’s the equivalent of rock bands whining about how tired they are of always playing their biggest hit (“No way will I do that bloody wedding song!,” a solo-tour-prepping Robert Plant once prom...
chuckeddy.substack.com
November 11, 2025 at 4:30 PM
2000 or so words on my 150 favorite albums from 1986 + questionable claims I made in a famous Creem profile I wrote about the Beastie Boys back then, such as whether metal or rap had a better year & were major labels as bad as I thought, & how come I left out that Prince album everybody loves now.
2000 or so words on my 150 favorite albums from 1986 + questionable claims I made in a famous Creem profile I wrote about the Beastie Boys back then, such as whether metal or rap had a better year & were major labels as bad as I thought, & how come I left out that Prince album everybody loves now.
150 Best Albums of 1986
I know it’s the equivalent of rock bands whining about how tired they are of always playing their biggest hit (“No way will I do that bloody wedding song!,” a solo-tour-prepping Robert Plant once prom...
chuckeddy.substack.com
November 11, 2025 at 4:30 PM
2000 or so words on my 150 favorite albums from 1986 + questionable claims I made in a famous Creem profile I wrote about the Beastie Boys back then, such as whether metal or rap had a better year & were major labels as bad as I thought, & how come I left out that Prince album everybody loves now.
Reposted by Chuck Eddy
An early blueprint for my 1991 metal book Stairway to Hell, where much of this still-glam-skeptical piece wound up — though not as much as I long assumed. Only 3 albums overlap both book & article, plus 1 more band represented by different LPs in each. And an introductory snippet here and there.
Underground Metal Roundup, 1987
A sort of early blueprint for Stairway to Hell (note the headline), where much of this piece wound up — though not nearly as much as I’ve long assumed.
chuckeddy.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:05 PM
An early blueprint for my 1991 metal book Stairway to Hell, where much of this still-glam-skeptical piece wound up — though not as much as I long assumed. Only 3 albums overlap both book & article, plus 1 more band represented by different LPs in each. And an introductory snippet here and there.
An early blueprint for my 1991 metal book Stairway to Hell, where much of this still-glam-skeptical piece wound up — though not as much as I long assumed. Only 3 albums overlap both book & article, plus 1 more band represented by different LPs in each. And an introductory snippet here and there.
Underground Metal Roundup, 1987
A sort of early blueprint for Stairway to Hell (note the headline), where much of this piece wound up — though not nearly as much as I’ve long assumed.
chuckeddy.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:05 PM
An early blueprint for my 1991 metal book Stairway to Hell, where much of this still-glam-skeptical piece wound up — though not as much as I long assumed. Only 3 albums overlap both book & article, plus 1 more band represented by different LPs in each. And an introductory snippet here and there.
Reposted by Chuck Eddy
25 songs, 1966-'87: Dennis Alcapone, Cockney Rebel, Dave & Ansel Collins, Dunkelziffer, Fresh Face, Harpo, Hotlegs, Kano, Maximum Joy (x2!), National Health, Annette Peacock, Pointer Sisters, Rich Kids, Billy Joe Royal, Savage Rose, Shockabilly, Slip, Frank Soda & Imps, Unclaimed, Vogues, more!
Living in Greenland
Blindfold Test #9
chuckeddy.substack.com
November 9, 2025 at 6:33 PM
25 songs, 1966-'87: Dennis Alcapone, Cockney Rebel, Dave & Ansel Collins, Dunkelziffer, Fresh Face, Harpo, Hotlegs, Kano, Maximum Joy (x2!), National Health, Annette Peacock, Pointer Sisters, Rich Kids, Billy Joe Royal, Savage Rose, Shockabilly, Slip, Frank Soda & Imps, Unclaimed, Vogues, more!
25 songs, 1966-'87: Dennis Alcapone, Cockney Rebel, Dave & Ansel Collins, Dunkelziffer, Fresh Face, Harpo, Hotlegs, Kano, Maximum Joy (x2!), National Health, Annette Peacock, Pointer Sisters, Rich Kids, Billy Joe Royal, Savage Rose, Shockabilly, Slip, Frank Soda & Imps, Unclaimed, Vogues, more!
Living in Greenland
Blindfold Test #9
chuckeddy.substack.com
November 9, 2025 at 6:33 PM
25 songs, 1966-'87: Dennis Alcapone, Cockney Rebel, Dave & Ansel Collins, Dunkelziffer, Fresh Face, Harpo, Hotlegs, Kano, Maximum Joy (x2!), National Health, Annette Peacock, Pointer Sisters, Rich Kids, Billy Joe Royal, Savage Rose, Shockabilly, Slip, Frank Soda & Imps, Unclaimed, Vogues, more!
Reposted by Chuck Eddy
A confusing college-daily-paper trend piece from 1981, conflating at least two different kinds of music (am I talking about new wave or funk? why can’t I make up my mind?) and tossing in a questionable anti-disco subtext to make things even more disingenuous. ("DOR" was "Dance-Oriented Rock," btw.)
DOR! The Wave of the Future!
Posted more for socio-historical interest, than because it’s any good: A confusing college-daily-paper trend piece, conflating at least two different kinds of music (am I talking about new wave or tal...
chuckeddy.substack.com
November 8, 2025 at 1:58 PM
A confusing college-daily-paper trend piece from 1981, conflating at least two different kinds of music (am I talking about new wave or funk? why can’t I make up my mind?) and tossing in a questionable anti-disco subtext to make things even more disingenuous. ("DOR" was "Dance-Oriented Rock," btw.)
A confusing college-daily-paper trend piece from 1981, conflating at least two different kinds of music (am I talking about new wave or funk? why can’t I make up my mind?) and tossing in a questionable anti-disco subtext to make things even more disingenuous. ("DOR" was "Dance-Oriented Rock," btw.)
DOR! The Wave of the Future!
Posted more for socio-historical interest, than because it’s any good: A confusing college-daily-paper trend piece, conflating at least two different kinds of music (am I talking about new wave or tal...
chuckeddy.substack.com
November 8, 2025 at 1:58 PM
A confusing college-daily-paper trend piece from 1981, conflating at least two different kinds of music (am I talking about new wave or funk? why can’t I make up my mind?) and tossing in a questionable anti-disco subtext to make things even more disingenuous. ("DOR" was "Dance-Oriented Rock," btw.)
Reposted by Chuck Eddy
Sandra Jacqueline Denton aka Pepa turns either 56 or 61 Sunday, depending who you ask. So in celebration I thought I'd revive this Boston Phoenix review I wrote 37 years ago of two early Salt-N-Pepa singles -- one you almost definitely know (their best hit ever!), one you almost definitely don't.
2 Salt-N-Pepa singles
.
chuckeddy.substack.com
November 7, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Sandra Jacqueline Denton aka Pepa turns either 56 or 61 Sunday, depending who you ask. So in celebration I thought I'd revive this Boston Phoenix review I wrote 37 years ago of two early Salt-N-Pepa singles -- one you almost definitely know (their best hit ever!), one you almost definitely don't.