Author Archives

Ryan harbors a constant fear of losing his keys, prefers flip flops and will always choose cereal if it's an option. He maintains his own blog, Giddy Up America and hasn't gotten a speeding ticket in over the year. He has previously contributed work to UPROXX & Heavy. Ryan is on Twitter: @ryanoconnell79

• Remember the Spaghetti: See-I & the Pimps of Joytime. Union Transfer. Philly. 1.7.12

  By Ryan O'Connell on 01/09/2012 • ( 1 )

  

  There are four things to talk about: 1) the pulled pork sandwich at North Third 2) Union Transfer, Philly’s newest music venue 3) The Pimps of Joytime 4) See-I It’s best to run through this chronologically, so we’ll start at… Read More ›

• What’s up? My Legs! – praising the re-watchability of Forgetting Sarah Marshall

  By Ryan O'Connell on 01/04/2012 • ( 1 )

  

  It was nice because it had nothing to do with Iowa, as last night I realized that Forgetting Sarah Marshall had reached the ultimate pantheon of re-watchability. It had reached the Shawshank Level- a level previously only occupied by Shawshank… Read More ›

• Banana Bread Dreams & Egg Nog w/ Rum Wishes: Looking back at Christmas Memories

  By Ryan O'Connell on 12/23/2011 • ( 0 )

  

  Christmas memories are like episodes of Madmen– face it, they’re all awesome, just in their own unique ways. There was one lovely Christmas in Maine when I was working at Bay Lines and pulled the Downbay PM shift, which in… Read More ›

• Proper Rock Drums: Not To Be Denied!

  By Ryan O'Connell on 12/22/2011 • ( 0 )

  

  Last night I faced both my mortality as well as my past self at the exact same time. And yes, opening lines don’t get much heavier than that. They just don’t. Look it up…the Google machine, the email maker, the… Read More ›

• Top 5 1/2 Albums of 2011

  By Ryan O'Connell on 12/15/2011 • ( 0 )

  

  I don’t buy as much new music as I used too. For years, I made weekly trips to Bull Moose in Portland to pick up a CD or two- sometimes three. Then I got into I-tunes and for a spell,… Read More ›

• The Future of the Black Keys: two musicians, five questions, one concerned fan

  By Ryan O'Connell on 12/06/2011 • ( 0 )

  

  Are the Black Keys selling out? This question has been stuck in my head since it was announced that their March tour date in Philly was at the big joint- the Wachovia Center. Why couldn’t they play the Tower Theater… Read More ›

• Loyalty Preserved: a review of The Roots’ undun

  By Ryan O'Connell on 12/02/2011 • ( 2 )

  

  There are some albums out there that take a little while to get into. The Roots’ new album undun is one such album. The first time I listened to it I almost didn’t make it the whole way through and… Read More ›

• Constants in Consistency: My Relationship with Rustic Overtones.

  By Ryan O'Connell on 10/04/2011 • ( 2 )

  

  My right foot is numb. I just spent a half hour watching clips of Rustic Overtones on YouTube. I should have picked a better way to sit before I started watching a couple of old Bill Withers’ clips before seeing… Read More ›

• Thunderclaps of the Truth: a review of My Morning Jacket at the Mann Center in Philadelphia (8/23/11)

  By Ryan O'Connell on 08/24/2011 • ( 9 )

  

  Jim James rocks a duster! There is a gorilla on drums! After last night’s show at the Mann Center in Philadelphia, I’m sold- My Morning Jacket are the truth. They are the next great American rock band. For a hot… Read More ›