Lou Reed Metal Machine Music There’s this Venture Brothers episode where they make fun of Andy Warhol’s Factory collective. I got what they were parodying and just felt like it was a tribute them. What do I know about art, anyway? Then I heard the audio commentary from the creators and them skewering both Warhol and his minions. It was incredibly gratifying to know that there were other (smarter) people out there who thought both Warhol and...
Thelonious Monk Live at the It Club Record Store Day Exclusive I remember distinctly talking about Jazz with one of my professors in graduate school. This was years ago when I was an even bigger idiot than I am today. But, I was smart about music. I wanted to branch out. Jazz was, and remains, a mystery to me. But as a punk rocker (a good one that welcomed a wide range of music), I wanted to learn more. I...
Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros|Streetcore 20th Anniversary RSD Edition What an absolute bummer this album is. No, seriously. I mean it in a good way. Of all the Clash members maybe the best solo work came from Joe Strummer. That’s maybe not surprising. What IS surprising is that it came so late in his life. What did the man do after the Clash broke up? He wrote a good soundtrack for a great Western. He released the occasional song (all...
Pearl JamLive on Two LegsRecord Store Day Exclusive Everything critical that can be said about Pearl Jam has already been said. What’s left now are just end stories and personal experiences. The validity of “grunge” as a music genre can be debated (and it should be since it’s complete limited to the bands that came out of a certain part of the earth in a certain point of the 90s), but what is a fact is that Pearl Jam was...
Lou ReedI’m So Free (The 1971 RCA Demos) Lou Reed is a hard man to pin down. He’s simply unknowable. Either because he wanted it that way, or because he himself wasn’t quite sure of who he was. He’s been analyzed and idolized endlessly as a messiah or a junkie or a misunderstood genius. The reality is that he was all of those things to some degree, but it’s probably also true that he didn’t care. He was just interested...
Rage Against the MachineThe Battle of Mexico CityRecord Store Day Release Let me start off this review by painting a picture of just how important Rage Against the Machine were to my development as a teenager. Growing up in Aruba in the 90s, completely isolated from the world, we craved outside culture. We didn’t have a good idea of what was going on in the cool parts of the world (like the USA), so we’d rely on word of mouth...
Pearl JamAlive 12” (Record Store Day edition) Everything critical that can be said about Pearl Jam has already been said. What’s left now are just end stories and personal experiences. The validity of “grunge” as a music genre can be debated (and it should be since it’s complete limited to the bands that came out of a certain part of the earth in a certain point of the 90s), but what is a fact is that Pearl Jam was one...
Miles Davis Champions Rare Miles from the Complete Jack Johnson Sessions Jazz is like art to me. I don’t understand it, I think it’s pretentious and I think it hasn’t been good for decades, but I know what I like when I experience it. What’s a person like me to do? It’s been more than a decade that I decided to give jazz a shot and I haven’t looked back since. I have my favorite artists, albums, and songs. I...
The ClashIf Music Could Talk 2XLPRecord Store Day 2021 Exclusive Please don’t make me have to explain The Clash to you. You should know who The Clash is, and I couldn’t possibly do a better job than most other writers. What I will say is that The Clash’s catalog ought to be studied and if you get music, you should be able to appreciate it. Like the Beatles, it’s music you should be able to recall effortlessly from the catalog...
ROBERT JOHNSON The Centennial Collection – The Complete Recordings Vinyl 3LP (Record Store Day) Photo: Turntablelab.com What do you expect from a legendary bluesman who reportedly sold his soul to the devil? Who knows if it’s true (who are we kidding — probably not), but Robert Johnson’s impact on music and pop culture can be felt to this day. Although some feel his music had little impact on black music, one can’t imagine bands like the Rolling Stones, Bob...