Charlie Recksieck

Sturgill Simpson: The Outlaw Who Outlawed Himself

At some point, Stephen King needed to write as Richard Bachman to give his books a fresh start with readers; the name “Stephen King” began to mean too many things to too many people. It’s perhaps even more so in the world of music, where confining expectations and conventions are everywhere. We can call Simpson’s name change a “reboot”, but it sure seems like what he wants to do as Johnny Blue Skies and with JBS albums is too expansive even for outlaw country or whatever “Sturgill Simpson” started to mean.

What Musicians and Critics Get Wrong About Each Other

The longer I’ve done both jobs, the more I realize how easily both sides misread each other. If I'm making music, my job isn't to impress reviewers. If I'm reviewing music, my job isn't to flatter musicians. In both cases, my responsibility is to the audience, the listener and reader.

Seinfeld Movie Guide (Leonard Maltin Style)

ROCHELLE, ROCHELLE (1993) — ★★★ — A+ (Mature) — THEATRICAL - Erotic Drama The film that inspired the hit Broadway musical starring Bette Midler. Billed as being “about life, love, and becoming a woman,” young Rochelle resides in Milan and visits relatives in Minsk which becomes a strange, erotic journey. Characterized by extensive sidal nudity and a straightforward narrative structure. The film achieved significant box-office performance relative to its genre.

The San Diego Padres in 27 Games

We had unusually good seats for this one, 4th row which I remember because we had a perfect straight-ahead view of the 3rd base line. So, when universally-loathed slugger Dave Kingman crushed a HR that hooked enough that it went fair past the pole but landed 15 seats in foul territory – we had an ideal view. This game was over after 10 minutes, and my father was the first guy I heard do the 1st-inning post-homer joke, “There goes the no hitter.”

Clippy

Clippy was supposed to make writing Word documents easier. That was it. His job was to anticipate what you were trying to write and then make suggestions. This idea that seemed intrusive and dumb years ago is being reused at Microsoft in the form of Copilot - except with more computing power, greater access to information, and less honesty about its role.

Neil Young Left Spotify. Then Came Back. Then Left Again. Let's Assess.

If a high-profile artist like Young is having trouble deciding on the right path, at least having second thoughts about morality versus making a living, what hope do indie artists such as yourself have? Especially when the headlines don't roll in when you take a stance.

If You Don't Like Performing for 20 People ...

I used to live next door to another musician who was young and had ambitions. One time I asked him to join me at an open mic night, figuring it’s easier for us both to hang with a friend than doing that by yourself all night. My neighbor demurred, saying he didn’t think it would be good for his image. Just then I first thought: he’s never going to make it.

Defining Yacht Rock

The "Yacht" Test — Would you tolerate doing a couple of lines of cocaine with a douchebag on a great boat party with that song blasting? Yacht rock needs to be smooth and polished — less crunchy than folk rock or soft rock. It’s about sophistication: jazzy chords, tight production, and often those legendary LA session musicians like Jeff Porcaro and Steve Lukather.

In Defense of the Accordion

Historically, the accordion is a kind of musical punch line—symbolizing everything cheesy and corny for nearly a century. From your great grandmother’s music through Weird Al Yankovic’s ironic takes, it’s often dismissed. But the accordion is only as good or bad as the people playing it. From French musette to Zydeco, Tejano, Klezmer, and Gypsy Punk, the accordion shapes rich musical traditions.

Lawrence Welk: Revisiting the Counter-Counter Culture

Welk was the ultimate counter-counter-culture, offering a comforting oasis of old-fashioned, wholesome music through decades of social upheaval. While Hendrix and Elton John transformed music at a neighboring theater just yards from his TV studio, Welk entertained Nixon’s “silent majority” with cheerful accordion tunes and tap dancing.

How Money Actually Flows Through the Music Industry in 2026

All of us in the industry don’t need to panic that there’s no money in music anymore. There’s still money, just in different places. Music money is still flowing, but it’s flowing down different rivers and streams than it did before.

Fantasy Life

It would be easy to say that this demonstrates that people say they want sophisticated movies, but they don’t put their money where their mouth is. Not only would it be easy to say that, but it would also be lazy to say that. It’s a cliche. People have online personae, and they have their real lives. Those two things are less and less related. Or at least mutually predictive. Every tweet, post, or reel is like a press release submitted to an algorithm.

Is Technology Making Us Stupid? Maybe, But What Is ‘Smart’ Anyway?

Modern technology has undeniably increased efficiency, speed, and access to information. It has also quietly changed what we mean by being “smart.” Tools that once required memory, precision, and effort now outsource those traits entirely. The question stops being whether technology makes us smarter or stupider, and becomes whether the brain was ever designed to process this much acceleration.

Disruptors: A Stupid Term In Stupid Situations

The majority of people who claim they are a disruptor do so before they’ve actually disrupted anything. “Innovating” is not the same thing as “disrupting.” If you call yourself a disruptor, four out of five people in the room are rolling their eyes.

Is ChatGPT A Search Engine?

Is ChatGPT a search engine? Not really. But ChatGPT, voice assistants, and other search methods are reducing Google’s importance for finding answers and changing what websites need to do for SEO. People increasingly want answers, not links. Local, specific, experience-based content wins.

Upcoming article in Plannedscape Postings

AWS Outage of October 2025: Lessons For Them And You

The takeaway is simple: a single regional fault can ripple globally when dependencies are centralized. Companies should test how outages affect their systems, plan for multi-region resilience, and accept that cloud infrastructure reduces effort — but does not eliminate risk.

The George Michael Sports Machine

The George Michael Sports Machine was peak 1980s/early-90s sports television, where highlights met giant blinking buttons and industrial sound effects. George would stare intensely into the camera, announce a sport, then slam a button with the enthusiasm of a kid setting off a bottle rocket, "LET'S FIRE UP ... THE SPORTS MACHINE!"

Let Tiki Oasis Be Your Umbrella

That may be the secret of tiki’s longevity: everybody doesn’t need to experience it the same way. For some, it’s the cocktails. For others, it’s the music, the art, the clothes, the craftsmanship, or simply a place to meet old friends once a year. Tiki is in the eye of the beholder — and that might be exactly why it has lasted.

25 Fake Bands I’d Actually Pay to See Live

"The Clash at Demonhead – Scott Pilgrim vs. the World"
I like them so much better than Scott Pilgrim’s band Sex Bob-Omb, it’s not even funny, and I resent him for breaking up The Clash at Demonhead. In reality, their music was written by real-life band Metric, so this band almost does exist.

Is Michael Scott From The Office Good At His Job? Great Salesman, But As a Boss?

Michael Scott is an easy target because he’s loud, needy, and frequently inappropriate. But the show is surprisingly consistent about one thing: he was promoted because he was excellent at sales. Judged against standard management traits—clarity, empowerment, trust, and psychological safety — Michael performs better than his reputation suggests.

Satire Is Not a Dirty Word: Interview with Spud Davenport

“I got to have martinis with David Lee Roth in the front of the Troubadour, the front bar. The Ringmaster. He came in because I was hanging with a buddy of mine who did engineering on all those early Van Halen records and Terry and I asked him to come in and Terry says hi. So, he came over and he said ‘martinis all around.’ You know, I don’t even like martinis, but hey, you do what Dave says.”

Music Industry Exec: Roy Elkins

Even at the highest levels, rejection is constant. Being told no happens over and over. A friend, a successful composer, pitches 10 - 15 songs a day and gets licensed almost once a day. He doesn't get upset about the rest. That's the mindset you need. Selling art is like selling donuts: someone buys one donut, not all 100 on display.