In the early twentieth century, a few very bold writers (including Earnest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald) attempted to illustrate in their writing that there is no hell worse than the drudgery of modern life. It's easy to understand why those writers were preoccupied with such a bleak view; the sense of adventure which came with conquering the American frontier had faded because the North American interior had been settled and well-charted. As soon as that ground was tamed too,...

These days, every musician over a certain age (and some well under it) seems to be writing their memoirs. But, if you're a musician, why write them? Why not sing them? James Cotton, a blues harp player who has been recording for over fifty years, has done just that on his new CD, Cotton Mouth Man. At least half the songs on this album are autobiographical. The title track is obvious. "Mississippi Mud" starts out telling about his youth working...

There is a recurring debate in the art world, especially in art criticism, about how important biography is to understanding a piece of artwork. Does knowing that Fitzgerald was unwilling to propose to Zelda until he felt financially secure help us understand The Great Gatsby? Does knowledge of Van Gogh's (supposed) madness help us appreciate "Starry Night," or does it color our interpretation too much? Does it force us to see the swirling colors as evidence of a swirling mind,...

Awright, a moment o' silence is in order junky, so bow yer head, I came back early ta pay some respect ta a reckid store thit closed in my neighbahood, Bleecker Bob's Golden Oldies Record Shop. Everybody will tell you dat it wis a dump cause it was; it wis rough an' smelly an' looked cheap, but it wis still special. Those who haven't got a clue will tell you it wis special cause it's where Lenny Kaye met Patti...

As of this writing, it will have been about forty years since Iggy and The Stooges released their seminal album, Raw Power. More specifically, it has been 14685 days since Iggy and The Stooges' first album ("first" in that it featured guitarist James Williamson under the moniker Iggy and The Stooges – The Stooges had already released two albums before that) hit new release racks and started growing within the mainstream (underground or above ground is irrelevant); ultimately reshaping a...

As one scans back through the last twenty-five years, it becomes pretty easy to see that one of the best producers of new label signing/ new music compilations has been Sub Pop Records. To be fair, the label comps that Epitaph and Fat Wreck Chords used to put out were pretty awesome, but no label has proven to have the same consistency that Sub Pop has; in fact, comps like Sub Pop 100 and 200 have even taken on a...

Remember back in high school when all the kids who could play instruments eventually began to break down into smaller subsets with the idea of starting bands together? If you looked around, you'd see four guys who all happened to like Neil Young congregate at the same table in the cafeteria and eventually start jamming together after school (or sometimes at lunch), then the punk band and the four guys who could play Beatles songs the best would start their...

If one really looks at the Cold War Kids' history of releases, it's possible to see that a massive screw-up of an album was inevitable, the way the band was working. When the band started in 2006, they made an impressive mark with Robbers & Cowards, and had indie rock fans excited for good reason; the songs were solid and instantly memorable, and the performances were equally so. Emboldened, the band then began a tradition of regularly renovating their sound...

Welcome back ta da land o' da livin' junky! Awright, yer right, I took a week off, sue me. But hey – that jus' means yer dat much hungrier fer some new, fresh, free SWAG now don'it? Good thing I brought a big bag wit' me dis week. Okay, le's get right to it then – I gotta little somethin' fer every taste 'ere. I got some indie rock like The Cloud Nothings, some punk rock like The Descendents ann'a...

While no album that Rob Zombie has released since going solo has really tanked commercially, the hard truth is that it has been a solid ten years since the singer released a good album of new music. That might sound damning, but it's true; lots of Rob Zombie's albums have come out and proven to be perfectly listenable for a little while, but they've proven to have less and less staying power as time has worn on. The speed at...