Live and Loud: Seeing Metallica with My Kids

Back in 1988, or maybe it was ’89, the sentiment was clear. Do not listen to that music. Heavy metal was dangerous, they said. Corrupting. The devil’s music. But I was ten years old, curious and alive, and I noticed who listened to Metallica. The older kids. The ones who seemed to understand something the […]

Short Story Base on the Song “Mad World”

The buzzing of fluorescent lights above the table feels like static in my brain. I sit there, eyes half-shut, staring at the food that I’m not even sure I ordered. The waiter asked me if I wanted the chicken or the salmon. I think I said chicken, but it doesn’t matter. Nothing does. I haven’t […]

A Short Story Based on the Song, “Ballad of Jayne” by L.A. Guns

Ballad of Jayne I heard Jayne died last week. They didn’t say how, but everyone’s whispering it was the usual way—too many pills, too much booze, or maybe the fall. The details blur, like her life did toward the end. She’d been gone for a while, checked out in every sense. I hadn’t seen her […]

A Short Story Based On “Mr. Brownstone”

Mark stared at his reflection in the grimy bathroom mirror, eyes hollow, skin stretched tight across his face. The man looking back at him seemed like a character actor in a zombie show, a shadow of who he used to be. A laugh bubbled up in his throat, dry and humorless. He looked ridiculous. Like […]

A Short Story Inspired by “Nothing Compares 2 U”, by Sinéad O’Connor

Nothing Compares 2 U It had been 15 days since she left, and JM still felt the echo of her absence in every corner of his life. The calendar marked the time, one day after another, each number mentally crossed off in thick, frustrated lines. But it didn’t matter how many days passed. It didn’t […]

A Short Story Inspired by Counting Crows, “Goodnight Elisabeth”

The old motel sign flickered, casting a dull, buzzing glow across the parking lot. Andrew sat on the hood of his car, watching the neon letters blink in and out of existence, a perfect reflection of the way he felt inside—fading, uncertain. The bottle in his hand was half-empty, the whiskey warming his veins just […]

A Story Inspired by “Letters to Elise” The Cure

Letters to Elise The letter sat on the table, untouched for days, a pale envelope edged with creases from where his fingers had traced the outline. It had been weeks since he’d written it, but he couldn’t bring himself to send it. The words inside were a tangle of emotions, regrets, and apologies—too much and […]

Jane’s Addiction: Unpredictability Was Part of Their Magic

Jane’s Addiction has canceled their tour, and honestly, it’s hard to watch. There’s something unsettling about seeing the bands we idolized in our youth struggle to keep the same energy that made them so iconic. Back in the ’90s, Jane’s Addiction wasn’t just a band—they were something more. They were cool, mysterious, and they didn’t […]