May 24, 2005
Demos from 1996 -- a year before his tragic passing -- made by Soundtracks and fellow musical depressive Kevin Junior are suitably intimate and melancholy with bright melodies that bely the underlying sadness. Once you've digested the three studio albums released during his short solo career, give this a spin and marvel at the bottomless depth of Epic's songs and the fragile beauty of his haunting voice
The Absurd Nightclub Comedy of Eugene Mirman
October 12, 2004
With its knowing Mort Sahl-era album title and cover photo, this 2004 set is a deliberate return to the glory days of the standup comedy LP, those records that were hipster totems in the hi-fi days and a constant presence in Goodwill bins since. Mirman's observational humor is mostly born out of his everyday life, but he's also a gifted verbal satirist in the Carlin tradition, best shown in the sidesplitting "Shapes for Sale" or a brief bit on challenging people who parrot made-up statistics.