I remember the first time I heard punk rock. I was in high school and my best friend kept raving about this one song by NoFX. Soon afterwards, I somehow tracked the song down on the internet. I say 'somehow,' because the internet at that point was still called...
The explosion of Nirvana onto the pop music scene had a profound impact on the values inherent to the genre and the effects of that success are still being felt over a decade later. Prior to the emergence of grunge and Nirvana's ascension to the top of the...
It would be difficult to argue that the single most overused metaphor in rock n' roll over the last fifty years hasn't been the one which contends that “love is a drug.” There aren't many bands that haven't dabbled with the idea to varying...
At a certain point, history begins to be the defining characteristic for a record label. Think about it – if the label in question has a track record of focusing on a particular sort of band or music and it has even been revered for some of the artists and...
'Lullabies for Bloodshot Eyes' – what a surprisingly somber title for a record by Séan McCann. McCann, of course, first made his name singing and performing high-energy Maritime Canadian, English, Irish and French folk standards with Great Big Sea...
It's unlikely to come as any surprise now, but there was a period about seven years ago when music fans – pretty much all of them – were watching orchestral pop and Elephant 6-associated band Beulah very, very closely. Riding a tide of critical...
"Review albums long enough, and eventually you start to get a feel for what the music's like just by looking at the album art,” a former music journalist once told me. “It reaches the point where you've got an idea of what you're in for...
No matter how young or old you are – whether you're an unrepentant idealist or a dyed in the wool cynic – a good, sweet song about love or the possibilities and excitement of it will warm your heart and bring a smile to your face. The hope of love is...
The excitement is building in Sunderland, UK. For the first time in five years, record store shelves will feature a new album from Sunderland-bred punk monsters Leatherface but that's only part of the excitement though. Certainly the excitement is building...
Eleven years ago, even some of the more devout fans in his base had written Carlos Santana off. When the guitarist performed at the twenty-fifth anniversary of Woodstock in 1994, his presence was totally overshadowed by the excitement surrounding the more modern acts...