Aladdin Sane sits comfortably at Number One on my list of all-time greatest rock albums and has for years. That's saying one thing but, for me, it is a special sort of record; unlike most of the other albums for which I've held an enduring affection (this list includes, but is not limited to, albums like Raw Power, Marquee Moon, White Album, Let It Bleed, London Calling) and I loved almost immediately upon first listen, Aladdin Sane took a number...

Anyone familiar with Liz Phair's history in the music business knows that her relationship with record labels has been fairly tempestuous. The problems began following the release of Exile In Guyville; Phair has always been a reactionary songwriter and, after Guyville came out, the singer had to begin on a new learning curve which would include new requirements for conduct, a more demanding touring itinerary and schedule of public appearances. Phair has since said in interviews that, as a result...

Anyone familiar with Liz Phair's history in the music business knows that her relationship with record labels has been fairly tempestuous. The problems began following the release of Exile In Guyville; Phair has always been a reactionary songwriter and, after Guyville came out, the singer had to begin on a new learning curve which would include new requirements for conduct, a more demanding touring itinerary and schedule of public appearances. Phair has since said in interviews that, as a result...

It's funny how the mores and values of punk rock have changed over time. Since the genre first began to build a head of steam in the Seventies, the walls separating what punk “is” and “isn't” have been torn down and rebuilt with each re-examining or “renaissance” to the point that, now, every generic line has been totally obscured. That's probably seen as a tragedy by some, but it is an opportunity for others. Take None More Black for example...

In this new age that has found established acts returning to their own beginnings and issuing remastered/remixed/re-envisioned/restructured/reconstituted/refurbished/re-packaged renditions of their time-honored and revered catalogue, one has to wonder what the auteurs ACTUALLY think of their own work. While many of the new sets from John Lennon, The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix (there are more, but this review isn't a shopping list) sound pretty cool, both common sense and aged wisdom dictate that, “if it ain't broke, don't fix...

Awright so ya went an' done it, Didja miss out on the "las' chance ta download SWAG Reports one through ten" housecleaning that was done? Sucker. There ain'no second chances they're gone now baby, solid gone an' dead as disco. You can content'cherself wit' everything after part eleven – but it's a good thing I got a bunch o' new stuff right 'ere innit? Yeah, tha's right, I gotta brand spankin' new bag o' SWAG for ya right 'ere, an'...

Some explanations just defy immediate understanding and, in those moments when you hear them, you can't help but ask for them to be repeated – even if you did indeed hear them clearly. It's almost as though your mind trips over its' own feet from word one isn't it? Odds are that hearing someone explain Daniel Lanois' new project, Black Dub, will be like that for most people. Don't think so? Read the following description: “So Daniel Lanois – you...

It's been a long time coming but, with distribution finally settled and all other outstanding nonsense ironed out, Josh Homme and Rekords Rekords have announced that Queens Of The Stone Age will be reissuing its' seminal, self-titled debut on January 11, 2011 with distribution being handled by Ipecac Recordings/Fontana. Direct from the press release: The track listing for Queens of the Stone Age, a reissue of Queens of the Stone Age's critically-lauded  1998 self-titled debut, reflects the band's original vision...

The beautiful thing about irony in music is that, when it's done just right, the thematic ambiguity it can imply is infectious for some and will leave others turned right off – and the difference all boils down to an individual listener's sensibilities. It's really all about taste; one man's trash is another man's treasure and how a listener regards any particular record (but especially those which use irony as a key ingredient) depends entirely upon the values that a...

There are few propositions quite so dicey as those which attempt to crossbreed another musical style with metal. Why? The grim truth is that metal does not play well with others; while the initial results might be really cool, every band that has attempted to cross a Top 40-identified sound with metal has begun to flounder creatively as they try to figure out what to do next. The spent corpses left behind in the ongoing quest to find some sort...