Heya junky, Awright, so, apparently i's a holiday – didja know? They tell me thit half the music business is outta town an' shmoozin' down in Texas at South By Southwest. They tell me thit every publicist thit could afford it is packin' up an' ran south ta Austin, Texas ta talk an' drink too much as they ponder the state o' da music business an' see a buncha concerts. Sounds great right? Yeah shoor – 'cept I got one...

While volumes have been written trying to calculate an artist's worth and value to his fans, the best and easiest way to get a true impression lies in the moments when that artist inspires a sold-out crowd to sing along with him in concert. It might sound overly simplistic, but it's true; there is an intimacy in those moments which can't be bought and a connection between artist and audience which can't be asked for – it either happens spontaneously...

As even the most rabid supporters will begrudgingly admit, the concept of a Jimi Hendrix compilation can be a dicey proposition. The guitarist left this planet forty-three years ago – how much material could there possibly be that no one has heard before? Reissuing the classic Jimi Hendrix Experience albums and those recorded by Band Of Gypsys – and even the ones which it was reported that the guitarist was working on at the time of his death (like First...

Heartthrob comes off as a gamble which succeeded, on many levels. Tegan and Sara probably had as much indie cred as any band out there. Fifteen years of putting out their emotion-packed folk-pop gave them a solid fan base and a reputation far beyond that base for sincerity and independence. Why risk all that by joining up with producer Greg Kurstin, who had previously worked with the likes of Ke$sha, Pink and Kelly Clarkson? The twins have said they were...

Seminal prog rock band Yes will be kicking off a 26 date North American tour in early March, and fans can expect a totally new and unique Yes experience. For the first time ever, Yes will be preforming three of its most popular albums (The Yes Album, Close to the Edge, and Going for the One) in their entirety. These shows will see Yes members Chris Squire, Steve Howe, Alan White, Geoff Downes, and Jon Davison, playing some of the...

"A real fucking group… they also make fucking records. They don't just go and twiddle around on stage to make a bunch of fucking money"                                                   –Iggy PopBetter forty years later than never; The follow-up to the first record ever to...

One quick trip through the annals of pop and rock music history will reveal how wildly common it is for an album for be described as “ahead of its time,” but what does that really mean? That the artist who made the record had the forethought to see where music trends were headed and rushed just far enough ahead of the curve to appear visionary when everyone else caught up? Presented in that light, a record which enjoys the stature...

Hey you junky bastids youse,Aw, yer gonna lurve me dis week junky, no doubt about'at. Dis week, I gotta strain o' rare smack fer youse ta sample, an' I think yer gonna wanna know abottit right off cuzz'is kinda stuff has been off da market fer almos' ten years. I gotchu some new David Bowie! I gotcha da firs' song offa The Next Day, “Where Are We Now” – how da ya like datcha addicts? Geddit now, cuz it's hot...

CDs like Starlight by Joan Armatrading remind me of why I hate genre classification in music. Grace Notes labeled this "Country & Folk,” which is plainly absurd; seeing that label attached to Starlight has to be some holdover from her earlier career, which she might reasonably have been classified as "Folk" (certainly never "Country"), but only so much as "A woman with a guitar" = "Folk." That was then though, and this is now – and this album is certainly...

Eric Burdon does not seem to realize the Sixties ended long ago. And that's a good thing. He still believes that music can change the world, and he still sings like that's true. On 'Til Your River Runs Dry, Burdon tackles a number of political and social issues. The central theme, as indicated by the title, is the water crisis; the growing lack of fresh, clean water for much of the world's population. Although he does present water as both...