It might sound bizarre given the conformist climate present in every other area of the period, but the fact is that the 1980s may have been th most creatively fertile decade in modern music history. Everything seemed to get the opportunity to blossom at the same time...
Why is it that every time a profitable market trend hits the music business, a few old, totally inappropriate hands shoot in the air to announce, “Me too!” Over the last few years (three or four) the trend has been to reissue the back catalogues of...
I was perfectly satisfied when Killing Joke released Absolute Dissent in 2010. Actually, I was grateful for the triumphant return of such a seminal band after their nearly thirty-year absence. Okay, let’s face it, I would feel fortunate to experience only half of...
Hey Junky, Awright, so, le's do da dance again shall we? I got alla music fo' ya, an' I think yer gonna line what I got dis week! I gotcha some special, tasty bits o' SWAG fo' ya that I think'll turn'at lil chippy inta a full-blown habit!...
There's little doubt that one of the more highly anticipated specialty releases in the first half of 2012 has been the 126 Inches Of… vinyl singles box set by NOFX. It might be difficult to understand why such a release would capture the imaginations of both...
At a certain point in their careers, every band has an incredible moment of clarity in which they realize they've broken through and been accepted by a community of listeners. It's a great, exciting moment – but there's a catch: the band has broken...
At a certain age, a band must put down childish things and make a choice: they must decide if they're making music for their fans to enjoy or for their own personal creative fulfillment. This choice has been known to be the death of some bands, but making it one...
The room was quite full by 9:00pm when These United States began to play, but the floor in front of the stage was still largely unoccupied. The few who hugged the mangy, stained carpet which wraps over the stage-front were the true fans. Those who insisted on trying to...
Maybe more than any other band in history, The Dandy Warhols have personified the theory (most often upheld by cooler-than-thou hipster/scenester trash) that indie rock bands are at their best when they're the private pleasure of a small group of people. Anyone who...
The problem with remix albums is that, for all the promise and star power they usually have, they very, very regularly come up short because they're unable to establish a consistent vibe or sensation for listeners. It's ironic, of course, because all of the...