Now nineteen years after the band began and about twelve since they started suffering from problems internally (bandmembers leaving, other bandmembers getting swelled heads), Korn has done the totally remarkable thing and bounced back. On The Paradigm Shift (the band's eleventh album), Korn welcomes guitarist Brian “Head” Welch back to the fold, abandons a lot of the electronic accoutrements which had dogged every album the band has released since 2002 and spontaneously revives the nu-metallic aggression within them all in...
Iggy and the Stooges' frantic headlining set was the perfect way to punctuate the success of the inaugural C2SV Festival this past weekend and, if overall vibe at St. James Park was any indication, the festival is in for a very long and successful run. Opening their set with "Raw Power," Iggy and the Stooges put on a frenzied set full of punk rock classics that showed the two thousand plus fans in attendance just why they are one of...
I love it when I’m right, and by that, in this case, I mean that my own interpretation of this album was not disturbingly off track from what other reviewers have been saying. It shows that, despite my being an irregular and non-committed music reviewer, I’ve still got the knack for sussing out some reality, or truth of opinion with my own mental skills. Regardless, if I thought the opposite of what other writers thought I’d be forthright in telling...
It may have taken forty years, but Iggy and The Stooges guitarist James Williamson is finally able to see and accept the idea that his career is an impressive entity very deserving of praise. That such a discovery has only become apparent to the guitarist now might seem surprising, but even more unbelievable is the fact that the point finally hit home because of an event which, on the surface, might appear unrelated: on September 28, 2013 Williamson will deliver...
It may have taken forty years, but Iggy and The Stooges guitarist James Williamson is finally able to see and accept the idea that his career is an impressive entity very deserving of praise. That such a discovery has only become apparent to the guitarist now might seem unbelievable, but even more unbelievable is the fact that the point finally hit home because of an event which, on the surface, might appear unrelated: on September 28, 2013 Williamson will deliver...
Is our headline a little too 'editorial' for its own good? We don't care! Today the awesome news that legendary drummer Tim "Herb" Alexander has returned to the Primus fold following the departure of Jay Lane was made. Les, Ler and Tim will head into the studio this November to begin work on the follow up to 2011's Green Naughayde. Tim will be returning to play New Years Eve at the Fox Theater in Oakland. Expect to see plenty more...
To this day – twenty years after the album's original release – it's astounding how badly Nirvana sought to challenge their fans with In Utero. When Nevermind was released in 1991, Nirvana found itself landing in the right place at the right time with the right sound and the right set of songs and listeners rushed to the group en masse; the movement was so dramatic, it ended up totally the conventions of pop music in the process. Suddenly guitar-driven...
Nevermind David Bowie, Elvis Costello is the true chameleon of rock. His own style has evolved from angry punk through sophisticated pop to his current reworkings of roots Americana styles. Along the way, he has had no fear about trying out genres not only unlike his own, but often on the far side of the musical spectrum. As early as Almost Blue, his 1981 album of country covers, Costello has proved he can shift genres without missing a beat (pun...
I do not approach music as a musician, or a music historian or critic. I am a listener. I am a fan. With that on the record, when I was offered an advance listen to Seasons Of Your Day by Mazzy Star recently, I couldn’t resist the chance to say a few words about the experience. This is my summary of the highlights I heard in the album, track-by-track. “In the Kingdom” – Beautiful organs and that beautiful voice of...
Say what you want about Matt Good's personal politics and attitude, no singer is more capable of making the small and even inconsequential events in life seem like the most fantastic (and sometimes even life-affirming) observations like he is. When he gets it right, Good is the unheralded patron saint of catharsis and can win the undying adulation of fans who will then wait years and through the innumerable “passably okay” albums which are released in between the great ones;...