It sounds contrary to contend this, but some musical mixtures are more easily imagined than executed and, most often, the simplest and most straightforward combinations are the most troublesome to successfully carry off. A perfect example of an idea that seems simple in theory but proves not to be so simple in practice is the mixture of rock, punk and soul. Sure – lots of bands have tried to make such a mix work, and occasionally they're able to pull...

Hey there alla youse, So I was gone for a week and I think it's showin' on ya a bit – yer lookin' like you've got that itch, junkie. How ya feelin'? Didja miss me? Ya need yer fix? 'At's what I thought – I figured if I went away, you'd start feelin' it. Don' worry, I didn't do it to make a point, I was just on vacation. When I got back from my holidays inna sun, I found...

The frustrating thing about semantics is that, as clear and straightforward as one might try to be, it may still be taken the wrong way. As an example of just how a term may be misunderstood, take the phrase 'classic rock record.' For some readers, seeing the words 'classic rock record' will call to mind images and thoughts of Led Zeppelin IV, Harvest Moon by Neil Young, “The White Album” by The Beatles, Exile On Main Street by The Rolling...

A month ago I listed the artists I thought were the most overrated in rock music. Among the many responses I got to that were a number of people who wanted to know what I thought were the most underrated artists. The problem with attempting to compile such a list is that there are just too many to choose from. Every band which I love and you have never heard of (and believe me, there are plenty) is, almost by...

A month ago I listed the artists I thought were the most overrated in rock music. Among the many responses I got to that were a number of people who wanted to know what I thought were the most underrated artists. The problem with attempting to compile such a list is that there are just too many to choose from. Every band which I love and you have never heard of (and believe me, there are plenty) is, almost by...

Remember when, about seven years ago, Yellowcard decided to take songs-about-girls punk the extra mile, added a violinist as a full-time member of the band and made all the 'tween punks in training bras a little misty? It was fantastic timing and Yellowcard lived high on the hog for a little while. The Yellowcard phenomenon was interesting to watch for a minute but, after their fans reached/finished puberty, it was all over; Yellowcard lost all of its' market presence and...

Some questions simply require answers – no matter how hard people contemplate them. Like, doesn't everyone want to know what purpose Stonehenge serves? Doesn't everyone want to know if we're alone in the universe? Is there a god? What happens to us when we die? All of those are perfectly valid questions, but my own most pressing question at the moment regards where the value lies in pressing music into just one side of a record and leaving the other...

Remember when punk rock was a lawless, 'anything-goes' province that was more about personal expression than it was about stringing together just the right set of power chords? It's okay if you don't – it was a long time ago – but that torch still burns and Bars Of Gold have picked it up and presented it to a whole new audience with “Of Gold.” On the band's new album, Bars Of Gold go truly old school in their approach...

It is said that the night is always darkest before the dawn and, for his band's last two albums, Eels singer/songwriter Mark Oliver Everett has followed that adage to the letter. First, on Hombre Lobo, Everett got excited about love and every aspect of it – the chase or pursuit of it, the promise of it, the desire for it and the acquisition of it – and then the singer dove headlong into love's endgame just a few months later...

When watching Live Voodoo, it will suddenly hit long-time fans that it really is just that good to have Jane's Addiction back. There are a few heretics who will say the band never left; after they reformed in 2001, the band maintained a reasonably consistent touring and release schedule – but those fans who maintain this usually forget that JA split again in 2004, then reformed again for the NIN|JA tour in 2008. The permutation of Jane's Addiction which came...