Posts From Jim Sullivan

Jim Sullivan

As a high school baseball player growing up in Maine, I used to pump myself up for games by playing Raw Power by Iggy & the Stooges –the ultimate adrenaline rush. My friends and team mates didn't quite get it. They liked Chicago (the band). But that was OK: the punk rock revolution was around the corner, and that's where my musical taste locked in with many others, bored with corporate rock. Yes, I had Slade, Mott, Bowie and Roxy to get me there, too. That punk (and post) period was a time of extreme excitement (friction, joy, conflict) that inspired me to write about what I loved. And it opened the doors to even more worlds. I wrote about pop music and other arts for the Boston Globe for 25-plus years, with more than 10,000 stories to my credit before leaving in 2005. Since then I’ve freelanced for the Boston Phoenix, Boston Herald, Where magazine, Boston Common, Yankee magazine online, Time Out Boston, US News & World Report, the Cape Cod Times. I host the XFINITY on Demand music/interview show “Boston Rock/Talk,” and write and edit www.jimsullivanink.com, which serves as a critical guide to arts and events around metro Boston.

‘Dylan Goes Electric!’ Book Author Talks Newport 1965

Author and folklorist Elijah Wald explores the myths, context and events surrounding the famous electric live debut at the Folk Festival

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Producer Jack Douglas on John Lennon, Cheap Trick

After producing classic albums by Aerosmith, he helped a band from Illinois get its start and oversaw production of 1980’s Double Fantasy album.

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10 Classic Punk Rock Songs

Any list of top songs of any genre are going to be subjective. But, says its author, here are ones by Blondie, Devo and more for punk rock

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Mark Farner Interview: Grand Funk Railroad’s Highs & Lows

In a wide-ranging conversation, GFR’s guitarist recalls the band’s early days, peak years and the often bitter aftermath.

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Glenn Tilbrook Interview: Squeeze Then and Now

When they first arrived, he and songwriting partner Chris Difford drew comparisons to Lennon and McCartney. Our interview…

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Interview: Santana’s Michael Shrieve on Playing Woodstock at 20

The drummer had a big moment at the ’69 festival – at age 20. When that lineup reunited for a 2016 album and concerts, the chemistry was there.

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Tommy James Interview: The Music, Mob & ‘Mony Mony’

“We’re looking up into the New York sky and first thing my eyes fall on is the Mutual of NY insurance company sign. It just flashes MONY MONY.”

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J. Geils Talks About His Former Band: Last Interview

The guitarist, born John Geils, Jr., left the band several years before he passed. “I wish them well. I don’t know how they feel about me”

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10 Unusual and Surprising Cover Songs

Our writer veered toward songs that might have some oddball elements but really reinvented the song, or made you hear it in an altered state

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Tom Scholz on Brad Delp: ‘Best Male Studio Singer I’ve Ever Heard’

From our interview: “The two of us would go on all day and into the night and start again the next day. It was mental telepathy”

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