About four years ago – when Tom Fun Orchestra released You Will Land With A Thud on the world – they took everyone by complete surprise. Sounding like the score to a Newfoundland kitchen party that Tom Waits crashed, TFO shocked and awed listeners because, as odd as they were, they were also an epic rock band, the likes of which the world had never heard before. Now, four years later, Tom Fun Orchestra has returned with Earthworm Heart and,...
I'm dingin' an' dongin' merrily junky, are you high?Howzat holiday spirit treatin' ya junky? Me? I'm on cloud mothafuckin' nine! I'm swipin' right, I'm swipin' left, I'm swipin' everything that ain't nailed down fer youse junky, howzat grabbin' ya. Dis week too, I'm swipin' whole albums an' EPs fer youse – not jus' individual songs, but dose individual songs I did grab are pretty awesome. Like dis new tune “Santa Is An Asshole” – have you heard...
The funny thing about benefit compilation records is that no matter how good they are, they usually end up being pretty disposable when all is said and done. One look at the history of the phenomenon proves it – sure, that Free Tibet album which came out in the Nineties was good for its moment, but who still owns a copy? What about the one which hoped to raise money to stop abuse against women, Home Alive? Or Sweet Relief?...
Do you remember how it felt the first time you heard Dinosaur Jr.? It felt good and weird all at the same time right? You probably picked up on the band because somebody told you were the greatest band ever to come out of the independent rock underground. You probably liked punk rock at the time, so the idea of checking something like that out sounded good to you. Why not? New music is always good. So you started listening...
The great musical flaw which ultimately led to the downfall of the whole pop punk/melodic hardcore wave which broke bands like Green Day, The Offspring, NOFX and Rancid in the Nineties was that, eventually, the biggest, most successful bands eventually got bored and began pushing a few boundaries to see what else they could accomplish. Granted, some of them didn't venture too far – but it was enough that vans began to disperse in several different directions at once, leaving...
Ohwowohwowohwowohwow are youse eva lucky Junky,Ya know what time o' da year it is, right junky? I's supposed ta be da time o' year when i's supposed ta be betta ta give thin receive an' all'at nonsense (who eva bu-leaves dat shit anyway?), but dis time it's true – I got a buncha SWAG ta unload on ya, ann'it's all fuckin' primo dope! An' I'm not jus' sayin' it — it's fuckin' awesome! I gotta heavy bag fulla heavy hittas...
Some will be surprised (that it's only happening now) and some will say it's about time, but Rush will finally be inducted into the Rock n' Roll Hall Of Fame on April 18, 2013 at the Nokia Center in Los Angeles, CA. Other inductees will include Public Enemy, Heart, Randy Newman, Albert King, Quincy Jones, Lou Adler and Donna Summer. "It's a terrific honor and we'll show up smiling… It made my mom happy, so that's worth it," said singer/bassist...
Sometimes it's hard for a whisper to not feel like a blaring announcement when the news is so exciting. Like, try this on for size: The Flatliners have finished writing the follow-up to their 2010 smash hit Cavalcade. "Is the record done?" No. "Does it have a name?" Not yet, but the songs are written; the wheels have begun turning, and all that remains is for the band to shift gears and get the songs captured in front of the...
Some statements manage to be provocative and inspiring without much effort at all. Like what would you do if someone yelled “Fire” in a full movie theater while you were trying to watch a film? What would your response be if you happened to find a lottery ticket on the street and you picked it up on a whim, and then discovered it was a winner when you took it to a convenience store? The possible outcomes of situations like...
If you read my "The Most Overrated Bands in Rock Music" column, you know I'm not a big Led Zeppelin fan. I recognize the talent, but they just don't connect with me. So when the whole Zeppelin reunion thing happened back in 2007, I didn't really care. I knew I had zero chance of seeing them (of course, if I did have the chance, I would have gone), and it all just seemed over-hyped. Now we have Celebration Day, the...