Those who followed Soundgarden during the band's glory days in the 1990s may remember that, as moody as the band's members were given to being, bassist Ben Shepherd was the darkest, quietest and most perfectly removed man in the group. True, the band made lots...
Oh boy, here's a big one. It's funny writing this review, because I was completely oblivious to the anticipation surrounding Daft Punk's Random Access Memories and picked it up with a lot of hesitation. I have said this before (and love...
While the business might often seem like an exercise in organized chaos, in fact there is often some very rigid methodology as well as a few time-honored conventions set deep within the madness of the music industry which all help to make it run smoothly and be...
Just as the Mountain Goats and Patrick Watson did before them, Hey Marseilles have emerged wearing their theatrical persona front and center on Lines We Trace – the band's sophomore album. This time, the elements of theater and drama which were only just...
The problem with rock n' roll and the new bans and records which have come along over the last few years is that it has all attempted to diversify so much that a lot of it has just ended up becoming static in the process. Everyone seems to want to really stand...
If one were to expand the scope of the outsider/outcast allegory which has run through all of the music that Mark Oliver Everett has recorded over the span of his career, it should almost be expected that a prequel album which helped to lay the groundwork for Eels...
Hiya junky, Nice ta see youse – yer lookin' well how have you been? Ya see what I did there? I went outta my way ta be nice an' polite ta youse moogerfoogers, 'cause dat's what gets readers, according ta fi'dollar Billy. 'At ain't me...
It might not sound like a glowing endorsement at first sight, but look at the following sentence twice and understand the compliment that it's meant to serve: “No band sets out to make an album like Health – The Heavy Blinkers' fifth album.”...
I first saw Raw Geronimo in a packed, hot performance space in Echo Park on my birthday; they were performing on a bill with a friend’s band, Jail Weddings. Some readers might be interested to get that background on how I cam upon the band but, really, it's...
Booker T Jones is the sound of Memphis Soul. Best known for the instrumental hit “Green Onions,” he wrote and, with his band the MGs, played on numerous hits, including many by Otis Redding and Albert King, as well as pretty much anyone who recorded with...