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Rock journalists have varied personal musical histories, and as far as I go, I have the worst. A.) My first concert was New Kids on the Block B.) My first vinyl was Chipmunks sing the Beatles and C.) My super Christian parents banned 95 percent of my record collection...

What can be said about Billy Bragg that hasn't been said since the singer first appeared thirty-three years ago? In that time, he's been revered in his native UK as a national treasure, he's had a celebrated solo career, and has also found time to sit in...

At some point, megalomania, ego and vanity eventually give way to genuinely bizarre, deviant behavior and with Soft Power, singer/songwriter/producer Gonzales has found – and crossed – that point. On first listen to Soft Power, the average modern rock...

The list of bands that could never hope to have their story told accurately is a short one, but there’s no doubt that The Doors is at the top of it. The characters are just too larger-than-life; Oliver Stone based his movie on drummer John Densmore’s...

Okay, here’s the history lesson for the totally clueless: John Lennon—along with The Beatles—didn’t so much revolutionize pop music as streamline it into a series of memorable ground rules that were easy for anyone to apply. They’re...

If superfluous memory serves me correct, I believe I lost my virginity listening to Scream, Dracula, Scream by Rocket From The Crypt. Thirteen years after the release of that monumental album, I found myself at the Mercury Lounge, near the famous Katz's Deli (where...

I'll be the first to admit that I had always kind of taken Rush for granted. When a band has been around over 35 years, it's easy to say, "Oh, Rush will be touring again, I'll catch them next time.” Well, after saying that to myself year after...

There is no punk band currently working that is so strikingly unique as The Matches. Last time out, the band shocked listeners when it turned the genre upside down, shook it violently and handed their audience a slightly fractured and very abstract group of songs to...

No Age are for the people. When it comes to playing free intimate performances for their fans, the shows come a plenty and usually they’re in the most interesting of places (e.g., a vegan grocery store, the Los Angeles River). Prior to the release of their...

The Constantines have, to date, built a career upon the idea that making solid and enduringly interesting music is possible, even if the only changes made on an album-to-album basis are a series of small alterations that ultimately renovate the face of their music....