Anyone who has been paying attention over the last five years or so knows and (if pressed) will begrudgingly admit that rock n' roll has needed a transfusion of new blood for a little while. Not that all the recent rock releases have been been totally stale or...
Maybe I'm not the most progressive hip hop lover in the world, but the emcees who really spit their syllables hard and don't just try to cram as many as they can into a stanza (a.k.a. Emcees from the school of Chuck D – not Eminem) are the ones who really...
Since sidling onto the music scene at the end of 2010, The Weeknd (a.k.a. Abel Tesfaye) has steadily garnered praise and critical acclaim for his mixtapes. After attracting the attention of fellow Canadian, rapper Drake, The Weeknd spent 2011 releasing House Of...
Soundgarden bassist Ben Shepherd has a lot of big ideas. Recently, he has entertained the idea of creating a zip-line range at a location where “you can go tearing from location to location in the tree tops, but you can only get to it by boat or if you already...
It could very easily be said that 2012 was the year musicians raised their voices and proved that some sounds need technology to be heard. Folk Music reasserted its grip on imaginations as a kind of countrer-cultural movement in a most incredible way, and the public...
Bill Adams vs. Ben ShepherdBS: Hell, Bill? BA: That's me, how're you doing Ben?BS: Not bad, yourself? BA: Pretty well, thanks. Where are you right now?BS: Bainbridge Island, outside of Seattle. BA: So you haven't left home yet then.BS: No, we leave on...
What makes great music? Tough question, I know. So maybe it's better to ask, "Why do we listen to music?" What does music have to offer? Well, that is going to vary from person to person, but I think most people can agree that good music does something to...
Hesitation Marks is Nine Inch Nails' first CD in five years and, on it, Trent Reznor doesn't sound fully convinced that making it was the right move, either for himself or his audience. The very first words on the CD are "I am just a copy of a copy of a...
Hey Junky,Awright, I'm onna run ta-day, so there's not gonna be any goofin' around lik ther wis las'week. In out'n done, wham-bam-inna-vein-an' yer good, here it is. I grabbed some good, good stuff fer youse dis week junky, like a new tune from...
While the release of a double album always marks a special achievement in any band's career, it also needs to be understood that some special achievements are more impressive than others. As a case in point, one listen to Meet Me At The Edge Of The World (Over The...