A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the So It Is LP by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. I must confess that, after having listened to music on a daily basis for three decades (first as a fan, then as a critic and a fan), I have grown cynical and hypercritical to jazz. The reason for that is pretty simple: I believe that jazz was once a cutting edge form which puahsed the possibilities of time, rhythm, meter, intonation,...
Alejandro Jodorowsky The Dance of Reality (Original Soundtrack) Photo: popmarket.com Let’s talk about Alejandro Jodorowsky’s evolution as a filmmaker. If you compare one of his latest movies Dance of Reality with his earlier work like El Topo or Holy Mountain, you can clearly notice how Jodorowsky’s become a much more polished filmmaker while still staying on message. That message of course is to challenge his viewers, bombard them with iconography, make them think, and truly try to change the world...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Modern Plagues LP by The Whistles And The Bells. If we can all agree that many of the best, most interesting albums are those which convey a particular image of its maker, then there’s little doubt of Modern Plagues‘ quality. From the very outset of The Whistles And The Bells’ sophomore album, listeners are presented with the image of auteur Bryan Simpson toiling gladly and madly in some fantastic underground fortress...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Blau Sang Vermell Cel LP by CRIM. The catch, when it comes to working within any pop music-based form (and, as inconvenient as it is to say, punk rock definitely falls into that category), is that language plays a key role in the music’s accessibility. Simply said, if a band’s not speaking the mother tongue of the country they’re playing to, they’ve already alienated a fairly an impressive portion of its...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Prayer For Peace LP by North Mississippi Allstars. The terms and conditions for being regarded as an “artistic dynasty” are vague and often vary from band-to-band but, without question or argument, the Dickinson family fits the bill. First, there was Jim Dickinson; for forty-six years, Jim Dickinson was present in one capacity or another (either as an “artist” or as a “producer”) to help realize some of the greatest blues albums...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Tackle Box LP by Hamell On Trial. It might sound a little ridiculous, but the truth is that some musicians need to have something which genuinely pisses them off – something they find truly abhorrent – before them in order to produce their best work. Take Ed Hamell, for example; Hamell has been a politically-minded songwriter since he first appeared in 1996 but his best music has always appeared when either...
Alejandro Jodorowsky The Holy Mountain (Original Soundtrack) Photo: Turntablelab.com Alejandro Jodorowsky’s movies are unlike anything else out there. To call them truly unique barely scratches the surface. Who could have guessed that the Chilean filmmaker would rise to such an infamous status and that he would still be so respected today? Even though his newest movies are definitely easier to digest and much more polished efforts, that bold and daring aspect still remains predominantly at the forefront. And nothing perhaps...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the vinyl reissue of Born In The Echoes by The Chemical Brothers. After over a quarter century of holding dance clubs hostage with some of the most well-known club-pop ever to also grace radio airwaves, the question has become how The Chemical Brothers have held the the venerable position they have. They are some of the most visible purveyors of dance club music and culture after all and, in a form which...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the 2017 vinyl reissue of Into The Great Wide Open by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Abraham Lincoln once said (to a delegation from the National Union League who were urging him to be their presidential candidate) that, “It is never wise to swap horses in mid-stream” and, after the popular breakthrough that his solo album made in 1989, Tom Petty clearly took that adage to heart when it came time to...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the 2017 vinyl reissue of Full Moon Fever by Tom Petty. There’s no way to say for sure if the reason Tom Petty elected to launch his solo career with Full Moon Fever was because the singer felt like he had a surplus of songs that he didn’t want to bring to the Heartbreakers, or if he was just trying to make a point. If it was because he didn’t want to...