Photo by Jason Gonulsen Somewhere inside where it all lives and dies I know There lies a heart unbroke in the dark where love still grows So follow the roads that make you feel old and brand new If you remain kind yet aware of the signs then you’ll know what to do Ryan Bingham … Read more
Photo by Jason Gonulsen When Sufjan Stevens brought his tour supporting Carrie & Lowell to the Peabody Opera House in St. Louis, the question was: how low key and quiet would the show be? The songs on Carrie & Lowell deal mostly with death and forgiveness, and do not sound anything like Stevens’ breakthrough album, … Read more
Photo by Jason Gonulsen I remember darkness, and then I remember Glen Hansard. I remember “Grace Beneath The Pines” performed sans amplification. I remember Glen urgently singing “I’ll get through this…” just a few minutes into the show. I remember him breaking away from the microphone at the end of “Bird of Sorrow,” with words … Read more
Matthew Ryan by Tim Bottchen From The Pageant in St. Louis to Lollapalooza in Chicago to Forecastle in Louisville to Austin City Limits Music Festival, here are our favorite photos of 2015. Thank you for being there with us. Metallica by Bridgette Aikens Neil Young by Jason Gonulsen Carrie Brownstein by Nate Burrell Brandi Carlile … Read more
On the last day of each year, I like to tell a story that happened to me during the year, so can I remember a lesson for myself, and to perhaps pass it on to a few more. This year, I asked one of my favorite bands, HONEYHONEY, to write this essay, which is titled … Read more
Photo by Jason Gonulsen Taylor Swift. I never took her seriously until I saw this. Of course, her pop album, 1989, sounds nothing like that. So why did I care? Because I love (some) pop music, and Swift took her onslaught of hooks on the road in 2015. It was absolutely amazing. There were so … Read more
Photo by Jason Gonulsen Each year since 2013, we’ve held a special concert to celebrate another year of Speakers in Code. And in 2015, we were so excited to welcome Kopecky and Geoff Koch to Off Broadway. Kopecky released Drug For The Modern Age in May, and they played most of the album — they … Read more
All Photos by Jason Gonulsen If a band can come of age during one show, then Houndmouth achieved that feat during their rousing Forecastle set this past summer in Louisville. Technically, the band isn’t from Louisville, but they hail from across the Ohio River in New Albany, Indiana; so, it felt like a homecoming, and … Read more
All photos by Jason Gonulsen When it happened, or, rather, when it started to happen, I was stunned. Neil Young walked out in the darkness, stage right, sat down at his upright piano, and began playing “After the Gold Rush.” A few days before the tour opener in Milwaukee, a plan was conceived. Via Rolling … Read more
Photo by Jason Gonulsen I’ll follow you down ’til the sound of my voice will haunt you This Fleetwood Mac tour was different as it included Christine McVie, which meant they played more of her songs, which meant a better Fleetwood Mac show. She and Stevie and Lindsey traded moments from the opening “The Chain” … Read more
Here we are again. Another year is in the books, and we’ve settled on our 60 Best Songs of 2015. We thank you, once again, for following along throughout the year. As always, you can subscribe to the SPOTIFY PLAYLIST. Or, you can countdown with us below… Love, Speakers in Code 60. “Welcome Home” – … Read more
Earlier this week, we posted our 60 Best Songs of 2015. You can find that here. Picking albums are trickier, though, because, frankly, it’s hard to keep our attention for 10 or so songs. But these are the ones that did it so well. So much, that we couldn’t get enough. Here are the 20 … Read more
Paul McCartney at Lollapalooza | Photo by Jason Gonulsen When I was a kid, I loved Michael Jackson, even though”Thriller” terrified me, as did the album cover for Bad. And even though my mom is the biggest Beatles fan that I know — she saw them live, twice (!) — for some reason, when I … Read more
All photos by Tim Bottchen I wish you were here I wish you could see this First off: “The Queen of My Arms.” Matthew Ryan didn’t include this on Boxers, the superb album he released in 2014. But he played it in my living room, and you can now buy it and listen to it, which … Read more
Welcome to our favorite Speakers in Code list of the year. The 10 Best Sad Bastard Songs of 2015. It’s our highest honor. In years past (2012, 2013, 2014), we’ve chosen 20 songs, but this year we’re trimming the sad. And this year, I wrote about every song. You can listen to each individually below, … Read more