Makaya McCravenUniversal Beings(photo: turntablelab.com) I’m not afraid to admit that I don’t get jazz. In a weird way, I’m sort of proud of it. The reason I’m so attracted to punk rock is because it’s a less heady kind of music....
Stringer: A Reporter’s Journey in the Congoby Anjan Sundaram I have to keep looking at the cover of Stringer to make sure it’s not a novel. That’s the kind of vivid engrossing story Anjan Sundaram tells in this book. I took a chance on Stringer after seeing...
WHO: Bob Mould WHAT: Sunshine Rock WHY: I have no clue what Bob Mould had been up to after Husker Du, but if these past two albums are any indication, it would be that the man is determined to rock himself into the stratosphere. Sunshine Rock is a perfect continuation...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Finally Free LP by Daniel Romano. After first appearing in front of a hardcore band about fourteen years ago, Daniel Romano has taken personal delight in jumping from music genre to music genre with an impunity which proved...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into Rancid’s self-titled 7” EP. At this stage of their career, it’s almost impossible to envision Rancid as anything other than the four-piece ska/punk powerhouse which has been responsible for songs like “Roots...
What Went Wrong? The Nicaraguan Revolution: A Marxist Analysis by Dan La Botz Banana republics are the greatest. I don’t know what the appeal is, but there’s something cool about jungle/guerilla/revolutionary stories. Maybe it’s because anything can...
Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back)Jeff Tweedy I came late to the Wilco game. Maybe it’s because I associated them with an old girlfriend who tried getting me into them. I was just too engaged in punk rock to really care. I remember us driving from San Diego to...
Jon Spencer should be worshipped. There, I said it. But I think he should be worshipped in 30 years, because right now the man is too busy being an underappreciated living legend. How great is he? Well, when Marc Maron interviewed Steve Albini he specifically singled...
Norm MacDonaldHitler’s Dog, Gossip and Trickery According to SNL alum, one of the questions Lorne Michaels asks you when you’re auditioning is which cast of the show did you grow up on. Who were your guys? Mine was the Will Ferrell/Cheri Oteri/Norm Macdonald cast,...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Bela Sessions 12” reissue by Bauhaus. In order to really appreciate just exactly how radical Bauhaus was in the early stages of their career, one must recognize what they did seemingly as a matter of course – how...