Which prominent Nineties band was the first to tour one of their classic records? Sonic Youth did some scattered shows playing Daydream Nation; Slint toured their seminal record Spiderland in 2007; The Pixies, who haven’t released a new album in fifteen years, seem to have been touring old material non-stop for the past six years. So, who did it first? Who knows! But Sebadoh jumped on the bandwagon this year to tour two Nineties favorites, Bakesale and Harmacy. Much like...

Tony Sly learned that, in order to survive in the music business, it's important to never stop moving. Since the guitarist first appeared fronting the seminal San Jose pop-punk band No Use For A Name in 1987, he has never really seemed to take any time off. Sly has built his name on his incredible, tireless work ethic which sees him starting a new endeavor almost as soon as he finishes the last one, and here's why:  he knows that,...

Okay, let's get the painfully self-evident points about The Mountain Goats' thirteenth full-length release put to rest first. Yes, All Eternals Deck is the first Mountain Goats album released on a label other than 4AD since 2002. Yes, the cover isn't even passably interesting looking. Yes, the writing on the cover of the album looks like some sort of strange, unintelligible code that needs to be deciphered but that's impossible because there is no key so it just looks like...

What's a band to do when it finds itself not so much bumped out of the spotlight as had the spotlight bumped away from it? Such is the question to ask when considering Panic! At the Disco’s latest release Vices & Virtues. It has only been three years since the the band broke through with Pretty. Odd and unfortunately (for them) they (along with many other bands under the Fueled by Ramen label) have already begun to slip from popular...

When something's not broken, it's never advisable to mess too much with it. Such must have been the hard-won wisdom that producer Brendan O'Brien took to heart when he was asked to revisit Vs. for Pearl Jam's ongoing reissue series because, for the most part, (other than a couple of tracks included at the record's end) not a whole lot is dramatically different from a production standpoint; the difference between the original, 1993 release of Vs. and this reissue certainly...

What does the packaging and presentation of an album say about the music contained on it? Common wisdom has always upheld that one should never judge a book by its' cover but, when you're unfamiliar with an artist, what else is there to go on at first? The fact is that the cover of an album can speak volumes and draw a multitude of images to mind before a single note of music is heard. That's a significant power –...

If one stands back and really looks at the whole picture, isn't it incredible how far Dave Grohl and Foo Fighters have come in sixteen years? Seriously, look at it; this was the first band to emerge out of the wreckage of Nirvana and it was the drummer's project – those have not historically been long-lasting affairs. The band has endured though, and actually grown in stature with time; now, Grohl and his band  can say they've been joined onstage...

At this point, J. Mascis should need no introduction as a performer or songwriter. Since first appearing as the guitarist, main singer and half of the songwriting talent in Dinosaur Jr. in 1985, Mascis has deservedly drawn attention for his work which often melds classic rock 'guitar god' heroics with more indie-identified and melodic but propulsive changes. That style has made Mascis a star and he has been revered for it, but he has also gone on to win respect...

Happy Fiftieth Junky!So we made it this far, an' none of us is dead'r busted, so's we mus' be doin' somethin' right, right? Good, good shit – I say, an'a hits jus' keep on comin' too – I managed ta boost another primo bag o' SWAG this week, fer yer thievin' pleasure. First, I lifted a couple o' tunes from Atari Teenage Riot. Now, these kids got ther start as a buncha pop-punkin' an' over-emo'ed brats, but ther shapin' up...

Hardcore troubadour Steve Earle has returned with I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive, a T-Bone Burnett-produced album which Earle is calling his "most country" in years, which is appropriate as it takes its name from an old Hank Williams song. With Burnett at the helm and Earle's recent streak of Grammy wins, one can almost sense the folks at the Grammys prepping a Best Country Album award but it is more likely that Earle will be nominated again...