Iggy Pop Every Loser (Atlantic/Warner Bros.) I’m never sure what I’ll get when I get a new album by Iggy Pop. Usually, there’s some version of the standard Iggy — rocking hard, with some social criticism, and a ballad or two – but every now and then he throws us a curve ball; a Preliminaires or an Avenue B. With all of that said, Every Loser pretty standard for him. If there is a surprise here, it is that Iggy...

Lou ReedTransformer (RSD 50th Anniversary) Lou Reed is a hard man to pin down. He’s simply unknowable. Either because he wanted it that way, or because he himself wasn’t quite sure of who he was. He’s been analyzed and idolized endlessly as a messiah or a junkie or a misunderstood genius. The reality is that he was all of those things to some degree, but it’s probably also true that he didn’t care. He was just interested in living his...

White StripesGet Behind Me SatanPhoto: turntablelab.com The White Stripes’ Get Behind Me Satan is an important album both for me personally and in the wider scope of musical history as it gives good perspective on what was going on with music at the time.  For me personally it conjures up memories of driving through the redwoods for the first time, wondering how exactly Meg White manages to hit her drums so hard. It was also the first song we learnt...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the ; ) LP by The Shouldies. It’s uncommon enough an occurrence that one can never hope to count on it, but sometimes an album comes along at precisely the moment a listener needs to hear it. In my own case, I’ve been listening to a surprising amount of very moody, very texturally-centered music lately; things like The Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode’s Ultra and Psalm 69 by Ministry...

Weyes Blood And In the Darkness, Hearts Aglow (Sub Pop Records) In her current incarnation as pop songstress, musician Weyes Blood may have produced the definitive post-Covid album. Sweet melodies, lush orchestration and a beautiful voice combine to express the relief and pleasure of passing through the crisis. The instrumentation is standard pop — piano, guitar, synthesizer washes, arranged into sweeping waves of music. Weyes Blood has claimed “church music” as a great influence on her work, which is a...

It feels good being back at live shows after so long. My 4 month hiatus, instigated by a new baby, finally came to an end with my of my favorite artists playing one of my favorite venues. The Middle East has had a rough go of it these past few years, and even though this show got moved from the downstairs room, I think it can easily be argued that the upstairs, cozier room is one of the best places...

The Problem with Work: Feminism, Marxism, Antiwork Politics, and Postwork Imaginariesby Kathi Weeks The struggle of the proletariat against Capitalism is hard and real. So is the struggle against this book. I should know better than to commit to a book with such an enchanting title, because the subject matter sounds interesting and relevant. However, the reality is that The Problem with Work is damn-near unreadable for the entirety of its 230 pages. I’ve had a long academic career and...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Lies They Tell Our Children LP by Anti-Flag. After thirty-five years in circulation documented by twelve full-length albums, eleven EPs, a multitude of singles, videos, split releases and other releases in addition to innumerable miles logged on the road, it goes without saying that Anti-Flag has paid its dues – but Lies They Tell Our Children proves that, at least in their own eyes, the band still has something to prove...

John Cale Mercy (Domino) I will admit, with rock stars dropping all around us, listening to this CD made me a little nervous. It sounds like John Cale is reviewing his life, looking back with a critical eye and looking forward with trepidation. Initially, I found myself wondering if Mercy was to be another Blackstar, The Wind or You Want It Darker. Musically, however, this is a forward looking album – as Cale collaborates with a number of fresh musicians,...

The ParanoydsTalk Talk Talk One look at the cover for the Paranoyds’ Talk Talk Talk and you can tell something stands out from your usual Third Man Records release. It’s lo-fi, playful, and punk rock. Certainly a stark contrast from the rest of their catalog which has a recognizable lovable sheen to it. You can’t blame the label; they take their craft seriously. One listen to this record and you can tell it’s not your average Third Man Records release...