To paraphrase an old Saturday Night Live character, “Hey – remember the Nineties?” The Nineties were an unusual decade; pop and rock once again started to come awfully close to being the same thing for the first time in years and a gritty, grimy independent release which had been made on a nothing budget had a chance to be the badge of honor that fans wore wore because they found it before “the next big thing” broke through and conquered...
While there are plenty of naysayers who will deny this possibility with shocking passion, I contend that some records are as much about the packaging as they are about the music. That is in no way meant to be a criticism; true, most people want great music complimented by great aesthetics (album art, design, production et c.) but, especially in the cases of new bands who have no name to bank on because they haven't achieved mass appeal yet, sometimes...
Awrightcha mooks,Yeah, I dunno if I'm early or late anymore eitha – but didja miss me? I see ya shakin' junky, but don'chu worry, I got some stuff right'ere 'at's gonna cure all yer ills. Well, maybe. I ain't gonna lie folks, I'm not quite sure what I got 'ere. I mean, I c'n tell ya I like it an' I c'n tell ya it's good, but'ere's more'n a coupla things inn'ere that I can't tell ya what'ey are –...
After an almost three-year absence, KISS returned to the Bay Area, stopping off at the Sleep Train Pavilion in Concord with tour mates Motley Crue for an evening of music, guitars, and pyrotechnics. Billed simply as "The Tour,” both bands proved that although they are all significantly older, they still know how to entertain a crowd. Coming down from the rafters on a platform complete with its own lighting rig and plenty of explosions, KISS hit the stage and immediately...
The truth is that some compilations just don't need to have a bunch of bells, whistles, updates and whatever else a record label can dream up and attach to it; sometimes the music just has to have been good all along to move a few units. That's what the Deluxe Edition of Johnny Cash's The Number Ones illustrates easily; all the biggest songs the singer ever recorded – the ones which really made him a legend – are here and...
After thirteen years' worth of relentless renovation and several complete re-thinkings of form, style, taste and composition, it's good to know that some things are true, and that includes the fact that Lou Barlow and Jason Loewenstein remain two of the best songwriters in rock n' roll. Even now in 2012, the duo's talents exemplified by Sebadoh's body of work remain undiminished by time; the reissue endeavors that the band has undertaken and the tours they've done in support of...
The catch which most every scenester-ific band is ham-strung by at some point (usually early on) is that they'll start trying to work outside of every box they see in the name of “doing something different.” Eventually such a practice goes too far and the band who does it will discover that they've alienated every audience they may have been able to court. In the end, they may be happy with the music they've made but, because it's so deeply...
With the number of (ever-so-slight) stylistic variations on the music scene now masquerading as full-fledged musical sub-genres (never have phrases like, “It's power slop, but with an edge” seemed so appropriate as when one looks over the newest breed of white bread “rock stars”), it's reassuring and gratifying to hear a band working with little more ambition than to just rock the pants off of those who hear them. With that in mind, say hello to Too Much Of Jon....
Those of a certain age may remember events a little differently but, forty years after they started, it has become difficult to recall what Heart should have been known or remembered for – outside of maybe a few songs like “Crazy on You,” “Barracuda,” “Love Alive” and “Heartless.” How'd something like that get forgotten? Unfortunately for them, Heart broke through in Canada before they made it in the U.S. (in spite of being American) and they were regularly brushed aside...
It’s been nearly four years since the London-based Bloc Party released an album together and, despite swirling rumors of falling outs (compounded by the release lead singer Kele Okereke’s solo album The Boxer in 2010), there was never an official Bloc Party breakup. While the band’s prolonged hiatus saw the ascension of groups who may share some of their aesthetic sensibilities – The Temper Trap, Passion Pit, Twin Shadow all appear on that list – it certainly didn’t change their...