It may have taken forty years, but Iggy and The Stooges guitarist James Williamson is finally able to see and accept the idea that his career is an impressive entity very deserving of praise. That such a discovery has only become apparent to the guitarist now might seem surprising, but even more unbelievable is the fact that the point finally hit home because of an event which, on the surface, might appear unrelated: on September 28, 2013 Williamson will deliver...
It may have taken forty years, but Iggy and The Stooges guitarist James Williamson is finally able to see and accept the idea that his career is an impressive entity very deserving of praise. That such a discovery has only become apparent to the guitarist now might seem unbelievable, but even more unbelievable is the fact that the point finally hit home because of an event which, on the surface, might appear unrelated: on September 28, 2013 Williamson will deliver...
Is our headline a little too 'editorial' for its own good? We don't care! Today the awesome news that legendary drummer Tim "Herb" Alexander has returned to the Primus fold following the departure of Jay Lane was made. Les, Ler and Tim will head into the studio this November to begin work on the follow up to 2011's Green Naughayde. Tim will be returning to play New Years Eve at the Fox Theater in Oakland. Expect to see plenty more...
To this day – twenty years after the album's original release – it's astounding how badly Nirvana sought to challenge their fans with In Utero. When Nevermind was released in 1991, Nirvana found itself landing in the right place at the right time with the right sound and the right set of songs and listeners rushed to the group en masse; the movement was so dramatic, it ended up totally the conventions of pop music in the process. Suddenly guitar-driven...
Nevermind David Bowie, Elvis Costello is the true chameleon of rock. His own style has evolved from angry punk through sophisticated pop to his current reworkings of roots Americana styles. Along the way, he has had no fear about trying out genres not only unlike his own, but often on the far side of the musical spectrum. As early as Almost Blue, his 1981 album of country covers, Costello has proved he can shift genres without missing a beat (pun...
I do not approach music as a musician, or a music historian or critic. I am a listener. I am a fan. With that on the record, when I was offered an advance listen to Seasons Of Your Day by Mazzy Star recently, I couldn’t resist the chance to say a few words about the experience. This is my summary of the highlights I heard in the album, track-by-track. “In the Kingdom” – Beautiful organs and that beautiful voice of...
Say what you want about Matt Good's personal politics and attitude, no singer is more capable of making the small and even inconsequential events in life seem like the most fantastic (and sometimes even life-affirming) observations like he is. When he gets it right, Good is the unheralded patron saint of catharsis and can win the undying adulation of fans who will then wait years and through the innumerable “passably okay” albums which are released in between the great ones;...
Some readers will remember that moment in the 1970s when disco was on its way out (around 1977) but still hadn't given up the ghost quite yet. Pop was in a transition period (again) where rock was reasserting its dominance (hard rock and punk rock were both on the way to mainstream exposure), but it still had to battle down the last remains of disco's glitz and glamor and so the foot soldiers sent in on the first wave were…...
Whatever lit the fire under John Garcia, Nick Oliveri and Brant Bjork and caused them to make Peace is anyone's guess (Josh Homme issuing a cease and desist order preventing the group from using the Kyuss Lives moniker might have had something to do with it), but there's no way to argue with the results: Peace is the best album by any of the three musicians involved in years. It is stoned, lean desert rock at its best and absolutely...
Listening to Krewella's debut full-length album, one has to marvel at how diverse the sonic palette for dance song composition has become. At one time, the average dance song was so simple; there were a finite number of digital sounds to employ, and technology was limited. Now though, new sounds, new technology and new ideas are appearing daily, and composers/producers are also finding ways to re-purpose “old” stuff too. To get an idea of just how far dance music has...