Sometimes great tunes happen to bad times, and when the bad time is over, not all the tunes get to move on with you.

There are all kinds of mix tapes. There is always a reason to make one.

Nothing connects to the moment like music. I count the music to bring me back, or more precisely, to bring her forward.

Every mix tape tells a story. Put them together, and they add up to the story of life.

In their heyday, the Pet Shop Boys were the Interpol of the Eighties, dressing up to sing really weird pop songs about lust and loneliness in the big city. They're low-pro now, not retro-worshipped in the manner of Depeche Mode, New Order, or The Cure, but you can hear the reason why - these guys are too sad.

One nice thing about growing up Catholic is it makes you open-minded about other people's religions, since ours is nuttier than yours.

Seeing Taylor Swift live in 2013 is seeing a maestro at the top of her or anyone's game. No other pop auteur can touch her right now for emotional excess or musical reach - her punk is so punk, her disco is so disco. The red sequins on her guitar match the ones on her microphone, her shoes and 80 percent of the crowd.