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25 July 2010Devo - Something for Everybody (Warner Bros.)
Devo is back with its best record in almost three decades.
20 March 2010Leatherface - The Knitting Factory (Brooklyn, NY) - March 5, 2010
England’s Leatherface blitzes Brooklyn and plots a return in May.
28 November 2009Devo with JP Inc. - The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza (New York, NY) - November 20, 2009
Whether you want to call Devo legends or not, their highly influential legacy is finally being given its due.
22 September 2009Hugh Cornwell – Highline Ballroom (New York, NY) – Saturday, September 12, 2009
Ex-Stranglers lead singer/guitarist Hugh Cornwell put on one of the most spirited performances I’ve ever seen by him.
21 May 2009The Damned with The Bellrays and Electric Frankenstein - The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza (New York, NY) – Thursday, May 14, 2009
33 years and counting, the Damned remain an unstoppable force.
21 December 2008The Damned - So, Who's Paranoid (English Channel)
The Damned have released their first album in seven years and thankfully the wait was well worth it.
27 September 2008Rob Dickinson - Fresh Wine for the Horses (Sanctuary)
Dickinson flirts with melodrama but unlike Wile E. Coyote, who invariably chases the Road Runner only to fall off a cliff, Dickinson is more a like an experienced horse that gallops near the periphery of a jagged cliff yet knows enough to not fall off.
8 June 2008Love - Forever Changes (Rhino)
With the recent 2-CD reissue of Forever Changes the album continues to astound four decades on.
26 January 2008Hard to Spin Dreary News on Compact Disc Sales
Last year, U.S. compact disc sales plunged by 19%. With the consumer today facing pressure from all sides, chances are that 2008 will be even worse.
3 November 2007Radiohead and the Rule of Reciprocity
With its name-your-price approach, Radiohead made people feel that they owed the group something and that indebtedness, however manifested, only led to better buzz and more goodwill.
3 September 2007Band Name Autopsy
In the future, will we increasingly see names like When People Were Shorter and Lived Near the Water and Bad Mutha Goose and the Brothers Grimm?
10 July 2007Time Enough at Last?
Content creators will have an increasingly tough time attracting a large audience as people find themselves with ever more options and ever less free time.
1 July 2007Thee More Shallows (Part 2 of 2)
Dee Kesler explains why fish, rabbits, dogs, frogs, monkeys, sharks, piranhas, eagles, turkeys and bears have all found a home in the group’s discography.
21 June 2007Thee More Shallows (Part 1 of 2)
Dee Kesler: “Belgian audiences are ridiculously attentive and then equally appreciative after you finish each song. They were by far the best audience we’ve run across on a national basis.”
27 May 2007Passing Strange – The Public Theater (New York, NY) Sunday, May 13, 2007
The musician Stew makes his first foray into theater and delivers a winning rock/ballad/funk/punk/electronic/afro-baroque/avant-garde/cabaret musical.
29 April 2007Thee More Shallows - Book of Bad Breaks (Anticon)
With Book of Bad Breaks the group has its third winner in as many albums.
15 April 2007Thee More Shallows - A History of Sport Fishing - (Monotreme)
If you want a true San Francisco treat then put down the Rice-A-Roni and pick up this stellar album instead.
13 February 200715 Underrated Albums
What albums do you think deserve more credit? The Cavedogs, Readymade and the Godfathers make my list.
19 January 2007A Tale of Two Halls of Fame
The rock industry’s power players love to peddle iconography associated with freedom, rebellion and anti-establishment thinking but when it comes to selecting members for its hall of fame, cloak-and-dagger machinations rule the day.
28 November 2006The Damned with The Epoxies and The Adored - House of Blues (Hollywood, CA) - Saturday, November 18, 2006
Thirty years after these British punk pioneers pressed a stun gun to rock’s sagging bottom, The Damned remain electric.
31 October 2006Shaw ‘Nuff – Magnetic Field (Brooklyn) – Friday, October 6, 2006
Arthur Lee is no longer with us but thanks to bands like Shaw ‘Nuff his music still is.
25 September 2006The Stranglers - Suite XVI (EMI)
On Suite XVI you hear something of its own identity. It’s safe to say Hugh Cornwell’s ghost has finally been put to rest.
30 August 2006On Falling Out of Love With Music
We’re all familiar with music that slowly grows on you. But what about music that slowly means less to you over the years?
9 August 2006Forever Changing: R.I.P. Arthur Lee (Love), 1945-2006
Last week, Arthur passed away, due to acute myeloid leukemia, in his birthplace of Memphis, Tennessee. Here, I offer my respect to one of music’s all-time greats.
24 July 2006The Bouncing Souls - The Gold Record (Epitaph)
The Gold Record is golden and ranks as one of the best records I’ve heard this year.
26 June 2006Paul Roberts Leaves The Stranglers (Finally!)
In replacing HUGH CORNWELL—who also was the group’s lead singer for 16 years – PAUL ROBERTS had enormous shoes to fill. By most accounts Roberts’ feet were too small.
12 June 2006Buzzcocks - HMV Oxford St. (London) - Tuesday, May 23, 2006
These old warhorses charged ahead at full gale for roughly 45 minutes with their razor sharp attack as fierce as ever.
19 May 2006Listening Without Prejudice: Why MP3s are an Artistic Boon to Musicians
While there’s been ample hand-wringing about the evolution from vinyl to CD to the MP3, something good and very underappreciated has happened in the process.
4 May 2006Stoop Sale Season Kicks Off in Brooklyn
From Carroll Gardens to Cobble Hill to Park Slope, Brooklyn is awash with stoop sales, which is great news for music lovers looking to find low-priced treats.
17 April 2006Morrissey - Ringleader of the Tormentors (Sanctuary)
Much is the same on Ringleader of the Tormentors as in MORRISSEY’s past work: an obsession with love, death, hope, and anguish. But much is different—and in general, this is for the better.
3 April 2006Take Me Out of the Ball Game
From undulating butts lighting up panoramic scoreboards to BARRY BONDS’ troublesome pursuit of the all-time home run record to a cynical steroids investigation, baseball has never strayed so far from its idyllic roots.
19 March 2006Nada Surf with Rogue Wave and Inara George - Webster Hall (New York) - Wednesday, March 8, 2006
ROGUE WAVE and NADA SURF released albums that were among last year’s very best, which is why this double bill was such a treat.
2 March 2006Stars with Magnet - Webster Hall (New York) - Saturday, February 25, 2006
The aptly named STARS were treated like stars when they took the stage at this sold-out show. And well they should be.
21 February 2006Musicians Should Tap the ‘Net to Make More Money
Don’t let the record labels fool you. Thanks to the Internet there are more possibilities for musicians to prosper than ever before.
14 February 2006Go Ahead. Open Pandora.com’s (Juke) Box
Pandora.com’s stated mission is “To help you discover new music you’ll love.” Based on my couple of hours using the site, I can say it does just that.
6 February 2006Shocker! Howard Stern’s New Show Airs for Free!
Stern’s radio show on Sirius Satellite, which listeners have to pay to hear, has been made available for free online and by pirate radio stations. With all the talk about music piracy, why did no one see this coming?
30 January 2006Chico Hamilton Releases First of Four Albums to Celebrate 85th Birthday
With almost a century of music recorded between them legends Chico Hamilton and Arthur Lee hit the studio together. Hamilton will further spoil his fans by releasing three more records throughout the year.
21 January 2006U2 Fans in Brazil Feel the Heat
BONO says he’s working to end world poverty, but for an upcoming U2 show in Sao Paulo the cheapest full-price ticket will cost someone earning the minimum wage there two-thirds of his monthly salary.
17 January 2006Is Easy Access to Music Making Us Tune Out?
A new study by British researchers argues that increased access to music is making people appreciate it—less.
2 January 2006Happy Holidaze!
You hoist another CAN, scarf down more CAKE, and now suffer indigestion and CRAMPS from too much LAMBCHOP and an excess of RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS.
26 December 2005The Spirit of '76 in 2006
Thirty years on, some of punk rock’s greatest are still going strong. Here’s why a combined DAMNED / STRANGLERS / BUZZCOCKS / STIFF LITTLE FINGERS tour could be a hit.
19 December 2005The Long Winters - "Ultimatum" EP (Barsuk)
If you’re looking for something to warm you up, look no further than THE LONG WINTERS’ hot new EP.
13 December 2005Music that Grows on You
Is it so brilliant and sophisticated that it requires numerous spins? Or is it just another way of saying “I really want to love this album—but don’t”?
4 December 2005Apple Versus the Record Execs
Record companies want flexible pricing for songs sold on the iTunes store but Apple’s STEVE JOBS insists on keeping them at 99 cents a pop. Who’s right?
25 November 2005Rob Dickinson - Mercury Lounge (New York) - Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Eight years ago, CATHERINE WHEEL released Adam and Eve (Mercury), one of the decade’s finest albums. This fall, the group’s former frontman – ROB DICKINSON – proved he is still a hot commodity…
23 November 2005Gregorian Chance
The Big Takeover has long done an excellent job of calling attention to unsung and underappreciated music and my blog aims to continue that tradition…
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