When it comes right down to it, no matter how many minor twists and turns might manifest along the average band's career path, the beginning, middle and end of every musical group's career follows a very similar, linear progression. In the earliest stages, the...
Iggy Pop is one of my favorite artists, but he's been in a rut recently. With the exception of the spoken word album Avenue A, every album he has released since the early 90's has been a variation of the same hard guitar rock. Reuniting with his Stooges buddies...
There's no disputing that Neil Young is an excellent songwriter (when he wants to be), but that doesn't mean every microtone in his songbook has been created equal – in fact, on an album-by-album basis, the singer has gone through cycles of good and bad....
There are a dozen perfectly plausible reasons why Marilyn Manson's stature in both pop music and pop culture has depreciated so dramatically over the last decade or so. It could be that, after the classic line-up of the band imploded (shortly after Holy Wood in...
Over the last few years, both musicians and the publicity companies with which they work have gone to great lengths to recast the popular image of the average rock star. The portrait of a musician as a decadent, aloof and untouchable aesthete has definitely fallen out...
There seemed to be several different motivations fueling the show on Friday night at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, CA. At times, it felt like a bona-fide, big-talent rock show and yet my fear was that the tour was simply conceived so that the creative...
Following Dave Gahan's diagnosis and continuing recovery from the removal of a malignant tumor in his bladder, Depeche Mode is announcing rescheduled dates for their currently on-hold summer tour. On doctor's orders, Gahan is resting until June 8th, when the...
Those in attendance at Oakland’s recently spiffed-up Fox Theater were witness to a veritable menagerie and quite the spectacle of a live show. In support of their latest album The Hazards of Love, The Decemberists, fronted by consummate storyteller Colin Meloy,...
Oh, what a corner Green Day found it had painted itself into following the release of American Idiot. When that album came out, it seemed like the greatest triumph the band had ever achieved; the band's initial foray into the concept album format was welcomed with...
It’s been said before, I’m sure, but Mike Watt needs no introduction. If the name doesn’t sound familiar to you, a quick search on Wikipedia will change your perspective on that name. The important thing to me on May 1st was that I was going to meet...