At this point, someone needs to ask: “What happened to Matt Good ten years ago?” Since Beautiful Midnight came out in 1999, the singer has abandoned any semblance of the unhinged, seething and manic voice that was the calling card of songs like “Hello, Time Bomb,” “Everything Is Automatic” and (to a lesser degree) “Apparitions” in favor of embarking upon an extended examination of love lost, hard feelings, isolation, lonesome nights and stark naked introspection to be completed at an...
At the end of every break-up, there is always that moment when, finally sick of drowning his sorrows, crying into his beer and generally feeling sorry for himself, a man – every man – will start trying desperately to find something to laugh about (even if it's bitterly self-deprecating laughter) and try to inhabit a moment that seems to make life worth living. It's always a boozy truth, but it's also an important one because it signals that the healing...
How does one pick up the pieces and try to put them back together after tragedy strikes? Such is the question every band has to ask itself when they find themselves short a member but, particularly when that band loses its voice, it can be a devastating blow because it instantly throws any future that the band members left behind might have into question because it's impossible not to notice the difference in any future recordings they might make. It's...
Those long-familiar with The Flaming Lips can (and will – at length) happily admonish the uninitiated masses with tales of the band's ongoing quest to integrate space rock seamlessly into the pop idiom but, at this point in their career, while the band has been wildly successful on a cult level, they've only occasionally brushed the outer-most quadrants of pop super-stardom on the most superficial (and some would say ironic) of levels; even as their sound has gotten progressively larger,...
We all know that a Flaming Lips show is a guaranteed good time. Anytime an artist encourages their audience to dress in odd costumes, make animal sounds and smoke weed in a public venue, we’re pretty sure it’s going to be really fun…or get us arrested. Maybe both. Such was the case with Wayne Coyne and his merry men last night as they played a raucous four song set at the Nike Montalban theatre. The short set was part of...
We all know that a Flaming Lips show is a guaranteed good time. Anytime an artist encourages their audience to dress in odd costumes, make animal sounds and smoke weed in a public venue, we’re pretty sure it’s going to be really fun…or get us arrested. Maybe both. Such was the case with Wayne Coyne and his merry men last night as they played a raucous four song set at the Nike Montalban theatre. The short set was part of...
While some bands seem to be clinging to days past, trying recapture what they once were, Pet Shop Boys take a decidedly different approach…consistency. For nearly 30 years, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe have stayed true to their ways and continue to be the ambassadors for Euro-disco and dance music. Playing the first of two nights of their 2009 Pandemonium tour in San Francisco, PSB’s adoring fans were treated to a creative and theatrical stage show, a half-dozen wardrobe changes...
Historically, the nature of the remix album has always been bound by a surprisingly rigid set of guidelines in spite of boasting a relatively free-form design. Usually, the tracks that comprise a remix set break down very simply: see band's original song, see producer and his big bag of tricks, see producer apply contents of said bag to the song in question while carefully striking a balance that enhances or alters the base track and makes it sound obviously different,...
Historically, the nature of the remix album has always been bound by a surprisingly rigid set of guidelines in spite of boasting a relatively free-form design. Usually, the tracks that comprise a remix set break down very simply: see band's original song, see producer and his big bag of tricks, see producer apply contents of said bag to the song in question while carefully striking a balance that enhances or alters the base track and makes it sound obviously different,...
Oh, Philadelphia. Why must you charm me so? I live in the desolate farmland of central Pennsylvania where very little happens but, for some reason, I can always count on Philadelphia to inject some much needed excitement into my hourly/daily/weekly routine. Sure, Philadelphia missteps on occasion (sadly, they DID host a World Naked Bike Ride earlier this month), but I’m willing to forgive. After all, if I want to experience the wonders of genetic abnormalities, purchase copious amounts of records...