As the adage goes, “Peel an onion, there are a lot of layers.” It makes sense when you think about it – an individual's personality is the combined expression of myriad experiences, joys, sorrows, successes, failures and life lessons learned; and for each of those stimuli, so develops another skill set to solve the problem. Those skill sets manifest in what people usually call a specific “side” (as in, a “dark side,” a “professional side” and so on) to a...

Gary Numan brought his 'Pleasure Principle 2010' tour to San Francisco last week, and proved to everyone in the near sold-out crowd that traveling back in time may just be a possibility after all. From the first Moog infused notes of "Random," Numan and his colleagues delivered a set of cold synth-infused music that sounded like it could have taken place in a dark club in Manchester circa 1980. As they ran through every track from the groundbreaking record, including...

Alright ya mugs,So this week, yer makin' out like bandits, lemme tell ya. I actually hadda be a their o' discernin' taste this week – what wit' Christmas comin' up an' all there ain't no shortage o' new reckids comin' out. Reckid labels are RUNNIN' ta get shit out! As much as they can! They're rushin' everything they c'n think of out the door! Fi' dollar Billy tells me he's up to his EARS in stuff ta work on, but...

Revealing secrets of their longevity, the core members of …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead – Conrad Keely and Jason Reece – are back with their seventh long-player.  Aptly titled, Tao Of The Dead, …Trail of Dead (also lovingly known to some as the band that won't die) come back yet again with a surprisingly forceful yet sophisticated new album that evokes a refreshing nostalgia (paying faithful homage to Pink Floyd, Rush, Steppenwolf, and Neu!…yes NEU!).  To retrace...

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'...