It's the kind of conventional wisdom that every parent teaches their children, but the sort of lesson that needs to be periodically re-learned: don't judge a book by its cover. Or rather, in the case of Andrew W.K. (born Andrew Wilkes-Krier), “Don't...
There are few moments of greater anticipation in the day-to-day operation of a band than that magic minute when, with a brand new album in hand, the group visits its record label to show off what they've done. It can be very tense; when the elected representative...
Saturday’s 2009 Pitchfork Music Festival coverage can be found HERE. 8:03 As far as the Flaming Lips are concerned, I’ve heard crazy things about their live shows, but nothing really prepared me for this trippy ride through all the colors of the rainbow. I...
Every rule seems to have an exception, and Rise Against are one of the few exceptions to my general rule of thumb that today's punk rock bands just don't "get it." Rather than rant and rave while sounding like the bitter old man that I can sometimes...
Hometowns have a unique way of existing, being different things for different people, all in one zip code. For Paul Banwatt, Amy Cole and Nils Edenloff, home is a song. Or thirteen. The trio forms the Rural Alberta Advantage, and they are the creators of whimsical,...
Has there been an indie rock supergroup? Sure, there have been rock supergroups, like the Traveling Wilburys or Damn Yankees, country supergroups like The Highwaymen, punk supergroups including Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, and failed supergroups like Audioslave and...
Sunday’s 2009 Pitchfork Music Festival coverage can be found HERE. Here’s another reminder of why I love Chicago in the summer: Pitchfork Festival. Stationed at Union Park, it is not as big as Lollapalooza but it’s better that way. A weekend of...
Anyone that has been following Our Lady Peace since the band's debut appeared in 1994 had an couldn't have not had inkling of what was coming because the progression the band has followed has been exactly the same one that so many other beloved bands have...
Sometimes when the 'rock n' roll' context and instrumentation of even the most classic songs is removed or augmented, it becomes readily apparent just how poor or flat-out dumb and laughable the music of the genre can be. For example, when the Flaming Lips...
What happens to a one-hit wonder band after their three and a half minutes (the average length of the average pop song) are up? In some cases, when their time is up, it's only as simple as that; after grabbing the world's attention for just enough time to play...