Hungarian journalist/novelist Arthur Koestler once said that the real moment of truth or “the sudden emergence of a new insight, is an act of intuition. Such intuitions give the appearance of miraculous flushes, or short-circuits of reasoning.” Such an impartial explanation of moments and events which prove to have remarkable significance is wildly romantic and attractive and, now in 2011, Jesse “Boots Electric” Hughes has reached his moment of truth with the release of Honkey Kong – the singer's first...
"You can yell out "Afghani Sands," we just won't be able to play it!" Give me the ten-dollar punk show any day. Yes I know, you prefer the production value, the lights and the pyrotechnics of a world class arena concert, but to experience a sweaty loud punk band in a sweaty loud bar, well the idea itself makes me giddy with anticipation. The Great Scott is quickly becoming my favorite music venue (not that I'm incredibly experienced with the...
How does a fantastic but small band try to get big in a hurry and fill its new-found stature? That's precisely the question Slow Club tries to answer on Paradise, their sophomore full-length. When Yeah So, Slow Club's debut LP, came out two years ago (last year in the US), it's likely that no one was more shocked than the band itself as a series of licensing deals got them a foothold in several foreign markets (in Canada, “When I...
The history of unlikely combinations is a lengthy and celebrated one for those with unusual tastes (peanut butter and cucumber, chocolate ice cream with lemon syrup on top and pizza with pepperoni, italian sausage and green olives are personal favorites), but few more bizarre and potentially disastrous musical combinations spring to mind than Lou Reed collaborating with Metallica. Seriously – the possibility of the premier auteur of such dry-eyed emotionally distant ballads as “Perfect Day,” “Walk On The Wild...
If any artist has earned the right to name a record Covering Ground, Chuck Ragan is deserving of that honor, with hundreds of thousands of miles covered over nearly the last two decades. Set for release on September 13th, Covering Ground is singer/songwriter Chuck Ragan’s third full-length studio record, though he has released seemingly countless singles, 7-inches, live records, collaborative splits, and appeared on numerous compilations. Ragan will be covering ground this Fall in support of the record with tour...
Awright junky,So I'm gonna break da news a little early an' steal a little bit o' ol' fi' dollar Billy's thunder. I gotta email from 'im the otha day sayin' that he's gettin' married inna coupla weeks. First, I wanna say congratulations to 'im an', second, I gotta know what he doused her with – after all, bein' a music pusher like me is one thing, but no girl in her right mind marries a writer. But good lick to...
It's instantly attention-grabbing and captivating when a musician takes a different approach to an established paradigm and that's exactly what Patti Smith has done with Outside Society. Historically, the rules and/or commonly held values for best-of compilations are sinple: Establish the artist's importance with the string of blockbuster hits they've had over the years. Throw in a few “artist favorites” to let the auteur have their say in the structure of the release. Most recently, remaster the songs included and...
Peter Hook will be playing Joy Division’s 1980 final album Closer in its entirety at San Francisco’s Mezzanine on September 17, 2011. The former Joy Division and New Order bassist will be appearing with his band The Light and, at select venues, will be performing the landmark Unknown Pleasures which was released in 1979. With two seminal albums such as these, it’s a hard call to decide which show to see given that both are such essential chapters in the...
Public Assembly isn’t the biggest venue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It's not even the biggest venue on the block – so it can be forgotten, sometimes. Here’s a tip: don’t sleep on it. You could end up as one of the few lonely strangers who get to see a hyper-talented band play whatever song you request, as was the case when the Wave Pictures hit the stage a few weeks ago. Seriously, they were taking requests from the audience. It was...
Hey – remember when the Red Hot Chili Peppers were the most fun in rock? Between fifteen and twenty-five years ago, RHCP was absolutely outrageous – they'd slap socks on their cocks while gibbering “Those fuckers are red hot” and dance like Iggy Pop while standing in line at a coffee shop and plan uplifting mofo parties while on camera with Keanu Reeves, Patrick Swayze, Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas and Dana Carvey just for kicks. It was great but, as...