It's been a rather active decade for Joy Division considering the band have been out of order (so to speak) for almost 30 years. Their influence created a genre of its own in the early 2000s with bands like Interpol, She Wants Revenge and others owing quite a bit of their sound to the band, while branding of the band hit fever pitch as Peter Saville's iconic Unknown Pleasures logo was splashed across scores of products and people (who probably...
For those of you who didn't catch Bloc Party along their massive 2007 world tour, the British lads are hitting the road for a short jaunt across the country in late July and early August. They'll be accompanied by Does It Offend You, Yeah? at all the dates, and who knows, you may be in for a surprise. And by surprise, we mean new songs, since Bloc Party is currently in the studio writing and recording their follow-up to A...
As with Prince, Depeche Mode, Led Zeppelin and countless other bands that have shaped our musical collections over the years, Duran Duran can comfortably live within that same realm of influential bands. Listening to songs from a couple of decades ago like “Planet Earth,” “Girls on Film,” and “The Chauffeur,” to songs off their latest album, Red Carpet Massacre (Epic Records), you get the feeling that this band is just as powerful as they have ever been. Now on the...
I have wanted to see Behemoth live for years. For some reason though every time they rolled into San Francisco the stars were not aligned, and inevitably something would always come up that would prevent me from witnessing their brutal assault. Not tonight, however. After more than a few missed opportunities I was finally able to experience a Behemoth show, and needless to say, it was well worth the wait. Walking into an already packed Warfield, I made my way...
“Crazy” is still the best and worst thing to have happened to Gnarls Barkley. A smash hit two summers ago, the single made it possible for vast audiences to simply ignore any of the other songs on the Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse’s debut L.P., St. Elsewhere. At concerts, thousands would wait around for the whole set, just to hear the words, “I remember when, I remember when I lost my mind.” I always thought this was a shame, as I...
Having never seen The Sword before, and not really realizing how dedicated their fan base is, I was quite surprised when I entered Slim's and found myself having to push through the sold-out crowd to get to the bar for a beer, especially considering the two support bands hadn't even taken the stage yet. The room was already buzzing with excitement, and as I struck up a random conversation with a Sword fan who showed me (unasked) his 2006 Sword...
There's something about Hunter S. Thompson that has affected so many people I know in a way not unlike a monumental politician or religious leader. Most of my friends can recount how they first learned of him, the impact he had on their lives and the sadness they felt at his unsurprising self-inflicted passing. For writers in particular, he managed to elevate our field to almost rock-star status in such a way that probably led more than a few to...
I know it's been a while since we've posted a grip of free music, but I hope this gift of freebies is enough to diminish your anger and frustration toward Ground Control in any way. This is a pretty sweet list actually, especially if you're a fan of more than one genre. Two of our favorite hip-hop artists—Common Market and Atmosphere—have resurfaced with new albums, while My Morning Jacket and The Black Angels are giving everyone a taste of what's...
In the realm of indie rock, many bands are regarded as peerless in their approach to music making, but few were so far ahead of their time as Mission of Burma. The band pioneered effects and ideas that rock groups are only now beginning to catch up with and emulate. In addition to cranking their amplifiers up louder than personal safety levels would allow (they wound up going on extended hiatus when guitarist Roger Miller’s tinnitus got so bad that...