I have a friend who is fond of quantifications. "Top three songs you want playing at your funeral.” “Number one film to have in the event of catastrophic famine.” “Three albums you'd take with you to a desert island." Naturally, I...
It is a rare but joyous occasion when a music critic (and I say that with all necessary giggles) such as myself can coin a new genre. So with great hubris, I pronounce the birth of the hip-hop subgenre “post-backpack.” It has all the drugged-out breadth of...
Indiana-based post-punk and delightfully named outfit, Murder By Death, have indeed been very busy. Announcing both a new LP, Red of Tooth and Claw, and a new EP, Fuego! (available through all digital music providers on February 12, 2008), the band is certainly...
There are few things more potentially gruesome and frustrating in the realm of journalism than the thought of a time-monitored interview. On the surface, it doesn’t seem like it should be a big deal; part of the job for any professional musician is self-promotion...
In Part II of Ground Control's interview with the Adrian Belew Power Trio, drummer Eric Slick talks about finding the right fit, tour diets and the Philadelphia music scene. For Part I, click here. Eric Slick – Question & Answer Ground Control: From what...
Someone wise once said that if you walk into a room believing that you're the coolest guy in the room, you will be the coolest guy in the room, and Get Set Go obviously took that advice to heart before making a conscious effort to go against it. From the very first...
Twenty-nine years ago, Bob Mould—along with Grant Hart and Greg Norton—helped change the modern-rock landscape and laid the groundwork that everyone from Nirvana to Green Day and more would tread upon—and make history with—in Husker Du. When...
Now I'll be the first to admit that when it comes to "punk rock" shows, I'm a bit jaded these days. Growing up in the S.F. Bay Area I was lucky enough to witness many local bands such as M.D.C., Verbal Abuse, D.R.I. and Attitude Adjustment, all of...
From my experience the first thing any respectable journalist should do before a phone interview is to test the equipment. I say this because I didn't and it almost bit me in the ass. It was 10:50 and I knew Jus Oborn would be calling me at 11. I set up my mic and...
The nature of nationalism when it comes to the arts has always been rather funny. Each nationality is under the misguided impression that they’ve got the market cornered on something and have attempted, with varying degrees of success to lay claim to one art form...