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Even a cursory glance at the current crop of artists drawing the most interest in the roots, folk and Americana genres these days illustrates why it has become so difficult for new, untested artists to break through: for the first time in decades, the top artists...

Tuesday, 15 October 2013
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With the recent, unfortunate passing of Levon Helm last year, interest in the musical history of the Band is at an all-time high. Although they have always been mainstays on classic rock radio, their timeless material is now being played even more than ever. As always...

Monday, 14 October 2013
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The beauty of bluegrass music – when it's played well and not with the intention of packing theaters or stadiums (that music usually gets dubbed 'Americana' these days) – is that it has the potential to be some of the most affecting and...

Friday, 11 October 2013
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For the last thirty-two years, Al Jourgensen and Ministry have been the premier purveyors of a fine form of subversive songwriting which has regularly pulled the rug out from under the genre they were working in at that moment. Be it electronic music or metal, the wit...

Friday, 11 October 2013
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Ever get the impression that you're re-living a part of your life which you'd just as soon forget about? Most of those sorts of feelings revolve around pop music from the Eighties for me; granted, there was a fair bit of really great music recorded during the...

Friday, 11 October 2013
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Karl Marx once said that history is forever doomed to repeat itself – the first time as tragedy and the second time as farce. I've written those words in CD reviews before (readers are welcome to draw their own conclusions on the irony of me citing the quote...

Friday, 11 October 2013
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In these Aging Punk columns, I often tell stories about musical, or music related, experiences I have had. The point is usually less to talk about myself and more to attempt to illustrate some point about how we relate to music but, sometimes, I just have a good story...

Thursday, 10 October 2013
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Elton John returns to basics on The Diving Board, his new CD. Most of the songs are just a trio of drums, bass and piano. It almost sounds like the Elton John of forty-plus years ago, of Honky Chateau and Tumbleweed Connection.  That sense is heightened by the...

Thursday, 10 October 2013
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At this stage of the game (now eleven years after the death of Joe Strummer and almost thirty since the demise of The Clash), there is already no shortage of “definitive” greatest hits compilations which boast The Clash's name. The ground has been tread...

Wednesday, 09 October 2013
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And I’ll Scratch Yours is the follow-up to Peter Gabriel’s 2010 album of cover songs, Scratch My Back. Here, most of the artists covered on that disc return the favor, playing Gabriel songs. Okay, I love cover songs. I love Peter Gabriel. I love most of...

Saturday, 05 October 2013
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