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    1. The Monochrome Set
      3 March 2013

      The Monochrome Set's first U.S. dates in three decades - Dot Dash to open New York show

      Their last U.S. show was December 30, 1982 at NYC’s Ritz!

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      Kevin Ayres
      23 February 2013

      Kevin Ayers, 1944-2013 (Guest Appreciation by Ross Nichols)

      In this day of lightweight pop stars, Soft Machine achieved something that most musicians strive for but never achieve — a lasting, meaningful and appealing album that sounds as relevant today as it did over 40 years ago.

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      Bob Mould, Silver Age
      21 January 2013

      Jack Rabid's Best of 2012 (including over 100 LPs)

      Now that my “Top 40 Albums of 2012” two-part countdown shows have aired on Breakthruradio.com, and my Top 10 has been officially posted on the Pazz and Jop Poll web site, it’s finally time to share with you all my Top Picks of 2012 List in full.

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      11 January 2013

      Listen to Editor Jack Rabid's "Top 40 Albums of 2012 Countdown Shows" on Breakthruradio.com!

      if you want to hear (not read!) my top 40 Album Picks list for 2012, I have made it available to you all in aural (not written!) form, by picking one song off each that I really like and doing two Countdown shows featuring them on my regular weekly “Big takeover on Breakthruradio.com” show.

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      16 December 2012

      Reminder (Last Call!): Still Time For Big Takeover X-mas Gifts - The Perfect Holiday Gift!

      Last Call! Just a reminder that there’s still time for the perfect X-mas gift (and Hanukkah): Big Takeover magazine! Our brand new Fall/Winter issue 71 with the Beach House cover is out on the stands, in case you want to treat yourself (you little devil!). Or indeed, if you want a holiday gift subscription for your friends or family whom you think would enjoy our pages (or one of our t-shirts including all womens’, childrens’ and infants’ sizes, or any of our back issues, or our CDs, or our “accessories,” our buttons, magnets, signed 30th anniversary festival posters or beer cozies), either way you can still order on our secure online store (or check or paypal). Order right away and we will be glad to send the package by priority mail to ensure it gets there fast and on time!

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      The Big Takeover issue #71
      8 December 2012

      Big Takeover #71 (Beach House cover) Out Now! Great Holiday Gifts! Order - Subscribe - Renew

      Good news! Big Takeover #71 Fall 2012 issue with Brooklyn’s Beach House on the cover is out on the stands! And there’s still time for the perfect holiday gift: Big Takeover magazine subscriptions and back issues! Plus six new children’s sizes for our T-Shirts (to go with several Mens’ and Womens’ sizes) in three colors, as well as our new Big Takeover Accessories (Beer Cozies, Buttons, and Magnets!) and (signed if you like) Color 30th Anniversary Festival Posters! What a way to say “Happy Holidays?!”

      Read more...

      21 November 2012

      Beat Black Friday With Holiday Gifts From Big Takeover!

      Just a reminder that there’s no need to camp out in tents in front of a big box retailer Thursday night! Big Takeover is happy to help you stay warm and cozy at home instead (and get a jump on Cyber Monday), with our secure online Yahoo Store—for that music-loving friend or relative you know who’d like something fun. Heck, we’ll even ship it directly to them (for free) if you like! (Or to you, for them, or for yourself, if you’re in the mind to buy yourself some holiday treats too!)

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      Windbreakers' Bobby Sutliff
      2 July 2012

      Windbreakers' Bobby Sutliff Badly Hurt in Car Crash / How to Help

      On Friday, June 15,Windbreakers co-founder Bobby Sutliff was involved in a bad single-vehicle accident near his home in Powell, Ohio. He has sustained several serious injuries. Various charitable efforts to aid the sticken singer/songwriter are now underway.

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      The Big Takeover issue #70
      23 June 2012

      Big Takeover #70 Out Now! (Sample quotes) Great Gifts! Order - Subscribe - Renew

      Good news! Big Takeover #70 Spring 2012 issue with Brooklyn’s Nada Surf on the cover is out on the stands! And since the issue is appearing in the best book, record, and magazine shops near you, now is an excellent time look for it there or contact us via our secure online Yahoo Store to order it if you would like to receive it in the mail, or subscribe if you’ve been meaning to, or renew your subscription if it has run out. And just a reminder that there’s still time for the perfect gift: Big Takeover magazine subscriptions and back issues!

      Read more...

      Tim Mooney
      21 June 2012

      R.I.P. Tim Mooney, drummer (Sleepers, Toiling Midgets, American Music Club, Sun Kil Moon, etc.) and producer

      He was a nice man, who was very patient with my endlessly peppering him with questions about his days (and recordings) in The Sleepers (1978-1981), one of the truly remarkable punk and post-punk era late ’70s/early ’80s bands of all time, as well as his association with the also incredible same-era bands Negative Trend and Toiling Midgets.

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      Steve Kaika of The Reducers
      15 June 2012

      R.I.P. Steve Kaika, bassist of New London greats The Reducers

      A nice guy, from a consistently great band for 34 years.

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      wild fruits - sun of monkey
      14 May 2012

      Sun of Monkey - Sun of Monkey (double CD) (Sun of Monkey)

      Do you like weird, loose, open-ended, acid-psych hippy folk?

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      The Sorrows of Young Giorgio
      18 March 2012

      Georgio “The Dove” Valentino - The Sorrows of Young Georgio 10” (Lo and Behold!)

      Artwork and a sound not entirely un-reminiscent of a Tim Burton film

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      15 March 2012

      Rabid Sessions at Thump Studios with New York legend Jesse Malin! Check it Out!

      The (recently revived) D-Generation frontman (and former leader of New York hardcore greats Heart Attack, Hope, and Bellvue, all of whom I spin during this show) and prolific solo star stopped by Greenpoint’s Thump studios to record some live in session songs (I particularly like the first one offered, “Moscow”) and sit for a spirited and funny interview with yours truly. Check it out!

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      15 February 2012

      Rabid Sessions at Thump Studios with Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby! Tune in now!

      Tune in to today’s Rabid Sessions show straight from Thump Studios in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, with the Stiff Records’ heyday legend, still regularly at work, and his equally hallowed singer/songwriter solo star spouse!

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      11 February 2012

      Big Takeover Editor Jack Rabid (and Christopher Paul Stelling) on Atlantic Tunnel, Sunday at 12pm ETastern www.eastvillageradio.com

      A live radio interview that everyone can listen to; or check it out fully archived, later, at your convenience.

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      8 February 2012

      Donate and Rebuild a Valuable Record Store That Burned Down Last Month

      This is an excellent three-minute documentary about the store that began filming six months ago or so, appreciating its place in the music community, that now has taken a different story turn, sad to say.

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      Meyerman - Who Do You Think You Are?
      6 January 2012

      Meyerman - Who Do You Think You Are? (Pretty Decent)

      2011, and power-pop is taking over.

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      Rabid In The Kennel Top 10 Farewell Countdown!
      14 December 2011

      The Rabid In The Kennel Top 10 Farewell Countdown!

      All good things must come to an end, and Rabid In The Kennel is no exception. And so it is with sadness and pride that we present our final episode today, Wednesday, December 14, 2011. As a special treat to our loyal listeners, we present the very best, most memorable performances from our two-and-a-half years of monthly shows on BreakThruRadio.com!

      LISTEN NOW!

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      The Big Takeover issue #69
      7 December 2011

      Big Takeover #69 Out Now! Great Holiday Gifts! Order - Subscribe - Renew

      Good news! Big Takeover #69 Fall 2011 issue with Brooklyn’s Vivian Girls on the cover is out on the stands! And there’s still time for the perfect holiday gift: Big Takeover magazine subscriptions and back issues! Plus six new children’s sizes for our T-Shirts in three colors, as well as our new Big Takeover Accessories (Beer Cozies, Buttons, and Magnets!) and (signed if you like) Color 30th Anniversary Festival Posters! What a way to say “Happy Holidays?!”

      Read more...

      The Left Banke
      30 October 2011

      This month on Rabid In The Kennel: '60s stars The Left Banke!

      Check out the ’60s baroque pop living legends The Left Banke’s live in the studio session from Brooklyn’s fabulous Kennel Studio, as well as a pleasant, historic, and highly fascinating, 30-minute interview with me, Big Takeover editor Jack Rabid with original members, bassist/vocalist Tom Finn and drummer/vocalist George Cameron. You won’t regret it!

      The Left Banke, “Pretty Ballerina” [Live At The Kennel] by Rabid In The Kennel

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      Don McGlashan
      17 September 2011

      This month on Rabid In The Kennel: ex-Mutton Birds star Don McGlashan!

      Check out the New Zealand living legend Don McGlashan’s live in the studio session from Brooklyn’s fabulous Kennel Studio, as well as a pleasant, humorous, good 30-minute interview with me, Big Takeover editor Jack Rabid. You won’t regret it!

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      The Joy Formidable - Bootleg Vol. 1 EP
      2 September 2011

      The Joy Formidable - Bootleg Vol. 1 EP (live) (Joy Formidable U.K.)

      When the world’s greatest young band vends a hot, merch table-only live EP, wallets come out, and trifles like a playing order out of synch with the track listing matter not.

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      The Baech Arabs, Under The Whale
      2 September 2011

      The Beach Arabs - Under the Whale (The Beach Arabs)

      This noisy jangle pop hits like some demented lo-fi garage band attempting to break into the paisley underground.

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      Low Water
      18 August 2011

      This month on Rabid In The Kennel: Low Water!

      A great band from right here in Brooklyn, USA. Listen now!

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      19 July 2011

      Rare show (in New York) by '60s legends The Left Banke before our Rabid in the Kennel Session!

      For those New Yorkers who missed the first Left Banke shows in decades as Joe’s Pub in March, see them tonight, Wednesday, July 20, at Littlefield in Brooklyn.

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      The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
      13 July 2011

      Big Takeover 68 cover stars, Brooklyn greats The Pains of Being Pure at Heart on Rabid in the Kennel!

      It’s an invigorating, absolutely smashing live-in-studio session with our current issue 68 cover stars—yes, it’s the Brooklyn indie-rock band powerhouse The Pains of Being Pure at Heart! Hurrah! Can you tell we are excited? Click through to learn more and download a free MP3 from the session!

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      10 July 2011

      Big Takeover 30th Anniversary Show Video

      It is with immense pleasure that we present the first three of many planned releases of documentary video shot by David Urbano and the Review Stalker blog during the Big Takeover 30th anniversary concerts, which took place nearly a year ago at The Bell House in Brooklyn.

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      The Big Takeover issue #68
      21 June 2011

      Big Takeover #68 Out Now!

      Good news! Big Takeover #68 Spring 2011 issue with Brooklyn’s The Pains of Being Pure at Heart on the cover, Best Coast, and concluding part twos of our awesome Teenage Fanclub & Iggy Pop of Iggy & the Stooges (part 2), interviews, as well as fabulous history interviews with The Left Banke, Buffalo Tom, Motorhead’s Lemmy, Wanda Jackson, R.E.M., and the reunited Swans is out on the stands! Click through for a full description of its contents, including several juicy sample quotes!

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      Darryl Jenifer of Bad Brains
      19 February 2011

      Darryl Jenifer (Bad Brains)

      “It felt like a natural progression for me to explore and experiment with dub based ideas in my O.G’ness, but I have always been a fan of rebel music, all music.”

      Read more...

      10 February 2011

      The Depreciation Guild's final studio recording now playing on Rabid In The Kennel

      This month on Rabid in the Kennel, we offer a particularly historic session with departing Brooklyn dreampop/shoegaze band The Depreciation Guild.

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      The Static Minds, Electricity
      8 February 2011

      The Static Minds - Electricity (Custom Made)

      They play together like devils, and shake like “The American Ruse,” “The Human Being Lawnmower,” and “Sister Anne” are the bible, and they’re fire and brimstone preachers.

      Read more...

      An introduction to Elliott Smith
      8 February 2011

      Elliott Smith - An Introduction to… (Kill Rock Stars)

      Introduction lays out in stark terms what we lost at knifepoint in an L.A. bathroom, October 21, 2003. The guy was so real he still hurts.

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      Lisa Savidge
      8 February 2011

      Lisa Savidge - Lisa Savidge (Black Cactus)

      Phoenix five-some Lisa Savidge dig shoegaze/dreampop’s dense guitar majesty, offering intermittent, beautifully breathtaking, mountain-peak clusters of cascading cacophony—but those are mere passages.

      Read more...

      Bad Religion, The Dissent of Man
      4 February 2011

      Jack's 2010 Year-End Picks

      Big Takeover editor Jack Rabid picks his 50 best new albums for 2010, along with 10 best singles and 20 best reissues!

      Read more...

      No Future: A Tribute to The Sex Pistols, Clash And The Damned
      17 January 2011

      Various - No Future: Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Damned Tribute Album (Released Emotions U.K.)

      This collection, much of which (or all of which, perhaps) appeared on previous Released Emotions tributes to these three bands, is a hit and mostly miss affair.

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      David Westlake - Play Dusty For Me (Angular)
      17 January 2011

      David Westlake - Play Dusty For Me (Angular)

      Sit down for the whole hour and 18 songs and take in the charming, lightly perfumed, but soulful air.

      Read more...

      Vir - Gillespie (Vibraphone)
      17 January 2011

      Vir - Gillespie (Vibraphone)

      Blindfolded, I’d not be certain that Mr. Sloane was not Bono, so much does he sing and sound like him.

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      The Tellers - Hands Full of Ink (62TV/00:02:59)
      17 January 2011

      The Tellers - Hands Full of Ink (62TV/00:02:59)

      Anyone out there miss the Libertines U.K.? One could slip this album into the player at your next party and easily convince all in attendance that this is their new third LP.

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      T.Rex - The Slider (Fat Possum)
      17 January 2011

      T.Rex - The Slider (Fat Possum)

      Though it’s surprising to see this 1972 smash hit record reissued on an indie, that says more about the state of the music business nowadays than about the quality of this recording or the band.

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      Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs - Under the Covers, Vol. 2 (Shout Factory)
      17 January 2011

      Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs - Under the Covers, Vol. 2 (Shout Factory)

      Their succinct, unerring taste has slipped big-time this time ‘round.

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      Bobby Steele - Bobby (Post Mortem)
      17 January 2011

      Bobby Steele - Bobby (Post Mortem)

      As someone who has known and enjoyed Mr. Steele’s work for 31 years now, it’s nevertheless hard to say what the point of this short, eight-song covers album is.

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      Frank Sinatra - September of My Years (Concord)
      17 January 2011

      Frank Sinatra - September of My Years (Concord)

      Horribly over-praised in its time, 1965’s September is an alpha male prematurely facing a far-off mortality, expressing an overly sentimental melancholy over lost youth.

      Read more...

      The Sea of Bees - Songs For the Ravens (Crossbill)
      17 January 2011

      The Sea of Bees - Songs For the Ravens (Crossbill)

      I’ve been hearing this sort of lushly lulling female vocalist for a long time. Tired of it I’m not!

      Read more...

      Screamin' Cyn Cyn & the Pons - Damn, Girl (Crustacean)
      17 January 2011

      Screaming’ Cyn Cyn & the Pons - Damn, Girl (Crustacean)

      The lyrics are outrageously nutty, often embarrassingly frankly funny, and the post-punk attack is as herky-jerky, unpredictable, and sometimes as outright insane as the words.

      Read more...

      Robert Scott - Ends Run Together (Flying Nun NZ)
      17 January 2011

      Robert Scott - Ends Run Together (Flying Nun NZ)

      Despite being a key member of three of the most important New Zealand bands ever, The Clean, Magick Heads, and his prime singer/songwriting vehicle The Bats, it’s safe to say that Scott is still one of the more underrated singer/songwriters of the last 30 years.

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      Nick Rosen - Into the Sky (Porter)
      17 January 2011

      Nick Rosen - Into the Sky (Porter)

      This young L.A. multi-instrumentalist jazz cat has cut chops working with various jazz legends, among them Bennie Maupin , Arthur Blythe , and Henry Grimes.

      Read more...

      Haroula Rose - These Open Roads (Haroula Rose)
      17 January 2011

      Haroula Rose - These Open Roads (Haroula Rose)

      Rose is a striking-looking, brunette-haired L.A. newcomer with Chicago roots that needs little more than her chords and harmoniously honey voice to make her lyrics dig in on her debut, even on initial encounter.

      Read more...

      The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band - The Wages (SideoneDummy)
      17 January 2011

      The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band - The Wages (SideoneDummy)

      If you’re looking for more punk rock from SideoneDummy, would you accept the kind that goes back 80 years instead of 35?

      Read more...

      Otis Redding & His Orchestra - Live on the Sunset Strip (double cd) (Stax/Concord)
      17 January 2011

      Otis Redding & His Orchestra - Live on the Sunset Strip (double cd) (Stax/Concord)

      When one finally deals with what’s here as opposed to what one would truly love, Live on the Sunset Strip is a genuinely sweaty, hard-working, exciting sounding, wonderfully recorded, must-have.

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      Peggy Sue - Fossils and Other Phantoms (Yep Roc)
      17 January 2011

      Peggy Sue - Fossils and Other Phantoms (Yep Roc)

      Although this two-girl, one boy trio are from Brighton in the south coast of England, they sound more like something on Nebraska’s Saddle Creek label—not a zillion miles removed from Azure Ray and Mynabirds, et al.

      Read more...

      Patrick Park - Come What Will (Badman)
      17 January 2011

      Patrick Park - Come What Will (Badman)

      As the decades pass, it’s amazing how each generation mints a new round of artists who remind of the early ‘70s Neil Young.

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      Mark Olson - Many Colored Kite (Ryko)
      17 January 2011

      Mark Olson - Many Colored Kite (Ryko)

      If the theme of 2010 was an absolute plethora of inspired albums by people who’d been making them for decades, not a handful of years, you can go ahead and add this one to that pleasant development.

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      Allison Moorer - Crows (Ryko)
      17 January 2011

      Allison Moorer - Crows (Ryko)

      Typically described as an alt-country star, her latest barely betrays such nomenclature, bearing up instead as a folk pop and soft singer-songwriter rock foray, with only minor country inflections.

      Read more...

      Math and Physics Club - I Shouldn't Look as Good as I Do (Matinee)
      17 January 2011

      Math and Physics Club - I Shouldn’t Look as Good as I Do (Matinee)

      On the Seattle trio’s second LP, they are trying to answer the question no one was asking, namely, “Does the world need an American Belle & Sebastian?”

      Read more...

      Laura Marling - I Speak Because I Can (Virgin)
      17 January 2011

      Laura Marling - I Speak Because I Can (Virgin)

      I confess, I find Ms. Marling’s prodigious, precocious talent and her back-story more consuming than her actual albums.

      Read more...

      Tim Lee 3 - Raucous Americanus (double cd) (Cool Dog Sound)
      17 January 2011

      Tim Lee 3 - Raucous Americanus (double CD) (Cool Dog Sound)

      Most double LPs are “sprawling,” but this isn’t; it’s focused on tough, catchy, old fashioned roots-rock, with southern blues and R&B flavors.

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      Husband & Wife - Proud Flesh (Crossroads)
      17 January 2011

      Husband & Wife - Proud Flesh (XRA)

      But how pleasantly big a surprise to find that they’ve kept their challenging, moody guitar rock base, yet totally overhauled the formula, pumping up the volume into a five times heavier, louder, denser, more pulsating framework!

      Read more...

      Household Names - Stories, No Names (Household Names)
      17 January 2011

      Household Names - Stories, No Names (Household Names)

      Hopes and expectations don’t always pan out.

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      Hauschka - Foreign Landscapes (FatCat)
      17 January 2011

      Hauschka - Foreign Landscapes (FatCat)

      You wonder who at the label had the temerity to sign and promote German composer Volker Bertelmann , a pianist by trade whose classical chamber music bears no hint of rock whatsoever, as if it had never been invented.

      Read more...

      Half-Handed Cloud - As Stowaways in Cabinets of Surf, We Live-Out in Our Members a Kind of Rebirth (Asthmatic Kitty)
      17 January 2011

      Half-Handed Cloud - As Stowaways in Cabinets of Surf, We Live-Out in Our Members a Kind of Rebirth (Asthmatic Kitty)

      Berkeley CA’s John Ringhofer must have ADD. His fifth LP for Asthmatic Kitty is a study in “get in, get out, do your business… and run away before anyone gets a clue of what you’re up to!”

      Read more...

      The Gurus - Closing Circles (Rainbow Quartz)
      17 January 2011

      The Gurus - Closing Circles (Rainbow Quartz)

      This Barcelona band’s fourth LP still sounds a lot more like they’re an American band out of Los Angeles clubs than anything that might bear their true Castilian markings.

      Read more...

      Matt Gouette - Emeline at the Moon Tower (Cosmodemonic Telegraph)
      17 January 2011

      Matt Gouette - Emeline at the Moon Tower (Cosmodemonic Telegraph)

      Singer/songwriter Gouette is a staple of the busy New London, CT scene and its documenting Cosmo label, appearing on its various scene compilations, and issuing three singles and now two LPs for the imprint.

      Read more...

      Electric Jellyfish - Electric Jellyfish EP (Twin Lakes)
      17 January 2011

      Electric Jellyfish - Electric Jellyfish EP (Twin Lakes)

      While one would want to avoid an electric jellyfish while swimming, not so the band of that name.

      Read more...

      David Dondero - # Zero With a Bullet (Team Love)
      17 January 2011

      David Dondero - # Zero With a Bullet (Team Love)

      The seventh installment of Dondero’s solo career finds the old hand Austin, TX folkie as ever mining that bittersweet intersection—can we call it the crossroads?—where ancient Dixie folk, blues, and country pop meet and have a shot of White Lightning at the local saloon.

      Read more...

      The Distractions - Black Velvet EP (Occultation U.K.)
      17 January 2011

      The Distractions - Black Velvet EP (Occultation U.K.)

      Having just reviewed this reformed band’s new EP, here’s the other one also released this year—although in this case, the recordings date from the late ‘70s Manchester band’s first revival, back in 1995, but they were unissued until now.

      Read more...

      The Distractions - Come Home EP (Occultation U.K.)
      17 January 2011

      The Distractions - Come Home EP (Occultation U.K.)

      The trend of bands from the late ‘70s/’80s reforming and doing work that doesn’t embarrass their halcyon days continues!

      Read more...

      Dirty Filthy Mugs - All Yobs In (DC Jam)
      17 January 2011

      Dirty Filthy Mugs - All Yobs In (DC Jam)

      Although this is the debut LP (following some 2009 EPs) by an L.A. street punk band, they sure want to be an early ‘80s English Oi! Band.

      Read more...

      Dash Dip Rock - Call of the Wild (Alternative Tentacles)
      17 January 2011

      Dash Dip Rock - Call of the Wild (Alternative Tentacles)

      If you’re throwing a shindig any time soon, this pioneering 26-year New Orleans country-punk trio led by Bill Davis (the sole original member) wants to be invited.

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      Dick Dale - Guitar Legend: The Very Best Of (Shout! Factory)
      17 January 2011

      Dick Dale - Guitar Legend: The Very Best Of (Shout! Factory)

      Fifty-five years is a hell of a long career (albeit with several long breaks for serious illness and injury), but few have earned it more richly than Dale.

      Read more...

      Chatham County Line - Wildwood (Yep Roc)
      17 January 2011

      Chatham County Line - Wildwood (Yep Roc)

      The hardest trick for a roots-rock/pop, americana, or alt.country band is to take something that’s that traditional—what’s a hundred years?—and try to make it sound contemporary instead of boringly old-timey, like a singing group playing on Disney’s fake-as-folksy Main Street.

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      Ray Charles - Rare Genius: the Undiscovered Masters (Concord)
      17 January 2011

      Ray Charles - Rare Genius: the Undiscovered Masters (Concord)

      Though the excuse for this release is the 80th anniversary of Charles birth, none is needed for an artist of whom the tag “genius” really wasn’t and still isn’t a stretch.

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      Caspian - You Are the Conductor (The Mylene Sheath)
      17 January 2011

      Caspian - You Are the Conductor (The Mylene Sheath)

      I lavished deserved praise on this Beverly, MA (greater Boston) instrumental group’s The Four Trees double album debut three years ago, this CD reissue of the group’s 2005 debut EP is more of the same only even more commanding!

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      Tom Bolton - Dreaming and Dancing (Tom Bolton)
      17 January 2011

      Tom Bolton - Dreaming and Dancing (Tom Bolton)

      When last we heard from this Aussie folkpop singer three years ago on When I Cross the River , our own Mark Suppanz was comparing his delicate grace and involved guitar playing to Tim Buckley and Nick Drake.

      Read more...

      Blue Water White Death - Blue Water White Death (Graveface)
      17 January 2011

      Blue Water White Death - Blue Water White Death (Graveface)

      I remember seeing the stunning 1971 documentary Blue Water White Death sometime in the ‘80s, both fascinated and for many weeks haunted by incredible underwater photographer Peter Gimbel ’s death-defying images of the monster Great White Sharks off of Australia’s barrier reefs.

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      Blue Giant - Blue Giant (Vanguard)
      17 January 2011

      Blue Giant - Blue Giant (Vanguard)

      This debut LP chronicles the two-year gestation of Viva Voce ’s two songwriter/musicians, Kevin Robinson and Anita Robinson ’s attempt to form a side-band country-rock supergroup.

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      Bear in Heaven- Beast Rest Forth Mouth (Hometapes)
      17 January 2011

      Bear in Heaven - Beast Rest Forth Mouth (Hometapes)

      The well-meaning gent that suggested I try this band called them “prog-psych,” which, to these ears promised a paring of “Pictures of Matchstick Men” Status Quo with Genesis’s The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway . I.e., 1968 meets 1974.

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      Rusty Anderson- Born on Earth (Oxide/Red/MRI)
      17 January 2011

      Rusty Anderson - Born on Earth (Oxide/Red/MRI)

      Anderson is one of the two younger guitarists/backing singers that have kicked Paul McCartney in the ass since they joined his touring band in 2001 (the other being Brian Ray ).

      Read more...

      A Balladeer - Where Are You Bambi Woods? (Zip)
      17 January 2011

      A Balladeer - Where Are You Bambi Woods? (Zip)

      With an album title (and title track) like this, and other tunes such as “Superman Can’t Move His Legs,” “Jesus Doesn’t Love Me,” and “Dead as Disco,” you might expect Where to be a funny album.

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      The Joy Formidable
      13 January 2011

      Now Playing: Joy Formidable, Live and Interviewed, on Rabid in the Kennel!

      Now airing on Rabid In The Kennel: The Joy Formidable, the mighty, Welsh/English band led by kick-ass Ritzy Bryan (guitar/vocals), who will soon release their first full length LP The Big Roar , joins me for a laugh-filled interview and an enchanting performance with bandmates Rhydian Dafydd (bass, backing vocals) and Matt Thomas (drums), both of whom also take part in the interview.

      Read more...

      7 January 2011

      Big Takeover Feted in Lovely, Long, Fervent Review on KEXP Radio Blog Essay!

      “This is bourbon and fireside rock criticism, and yet it’s as up to date and ‘on it’ as any blog or website you’ll read tomorrow. If you ever wished that Pitchfork was more tied into the original regional-aesthetic based, beguiled but no-BS root of the heralded rock press (CREEM, Crawdaddy), then The Big Takeover is your last great read on slick, shiny paper. It is not just another music publication, it is possibly the only one left.”

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      The Big Takeover Issue 67
      9 December 2010

      Big Takeover #67 Out Now!

      Good news! Big Takeover #67 Fall 2010 issue with Scotland’s Teenage Fanclub on the cover and concluding part twos of our awesome interviews with The Ramones (a previously unpublished 1992 interview), For Against, ’70s Vancouver punks Subhumans Canada, and Graham Nash on The Hollies, is out on the stands! A full description of its contents, including several juicy sample quotes, is just below!

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      Jeff Litman and band
      1 October 2010

      "Best of the New Breed, Vol. 2" now on Rabid In The Kennel!

      “Rabid In The Kennel” appeared for the first time in a month starting September 15 with our second installment of our special new wrinkle for our established format we first aired in August, by presenting all music and no chat with seven more up-and-coming, less established, but equally deserving new bands, which we have called “Best of the New Breed, Vol 2.” Check out Baltimore’s The Seldon Plan, and New York’s own Golden Bloom, Anthem In, Edward Rogers, Jeff Litman (pictured), and Tiny Animals!

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      Rachel Flotard of Visqueen
      21 August 2010

      Visqueen live in the studio (and interviewed) and "Best of the New Breed, Vol. 1" now on Rabid In The Kennel!

      “Rabid In The Kennel” appeared on Bastille Day with a very special guest: the one and only Visqueen, playing a special, drummer-less session for us in support of their awesome recent LP , A Message to Garcia, and then the members, including dashing, powerful-throated singer Rachel Flotard, sat for a long 35-minute chat, including lots of funny sexual innuendo.

      More recently, we tried a special new wrinkle on our established format, by presenting all music and no chat with seven less established, but equally deserving new bands, called “Best of the New Breed, Vol 1.” This began airing just last week!

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      Young Jack Rabid on Eldridge Street
      11 July 2010

      Welcome to the new Bigtakeover.com!

      On behalf of all of us here at bigtakeover.com and Big Takeover Magazine, I bid you welcome to our newly redesigned site! Looks cool, doesn’t it? Our print magazine is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, going back to a good 15 years or so before there was any electronic media. So the timing is perfect. Our endeavor has come a long, long way from the days of typing, Xeroxing, reducing, stapling, folding, mailing, shipping, and selling at gigs, and we are celebrating this long three decades of service and commentary in three distinct ways this year.

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      Big Takeover 30th Anniversary issue #66
      11 July 2010

      Big Takeover #66 (Special 30th Anniversary Issue) is in stores now!

      We only come out twice a year, every Spring and Fall, so you don’t want to miss one of our jam-packed 192-page issues! Read on for a quick description of the new issue’s contents.

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      The Big Takeover 30th Anniversary Festival
      4 July 2010

      The Big Takeover 30th Anniversary Festival & Party At The Bell House, Brooklyn, July 30-31, 2010!

      Come help us celebrate our milestone, the last weekend of this month! Sixteen bands, with S.F. punk legends The Avengers and Chameleons U.K. leader Mark Burgess headlining!

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      Adam Franklin at The Kennel Studio
      9 June 2010

      Adam Franklin (Swervedriver, etc.) live in the studio (and interviewed) now on Rabid In The Kennel!

      He’s singing songs solo acoustic live in the studio from his new third solo LP and he sits for a 35-minute chat.

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      13 May 2010

      Big Takeover #66 About to Ship (Special 30th Anniversary Issue)

      Once again the big news is that Big Takeover SPECIAL 30TH ANNIVERSARY Spring 2010 issue #66 with Spoon on the cover was completed in San Francisco in April!

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      Ray Davies
      4 May 2010

      Guest live review: Ray Davies in Chicago!

      The 88’s Adam Merrin pounded his red piano with obvious glee during “David Watts,” and Keith Slettedahl took a verse alongside his hero Davies with transparent pride. It seemed that The 88 were engaged not only to serve arena standards like the grinding “Low Budget,” but also had an influence in selecting deeper cuts. “This is a song for the end times,” announced Davies when introducing “Dead End Street,” buoyed by the snap and swing of 88 drummer Anthony Zimmitti . Bassist Todd O’Keefe dug into Pete Quaife ’s jaunty bass line and gave a throaty howl for the chorus.

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      12 March 2010

      Leatherface live in the studio (and interviewed) now on Rabid In The Kennel!

      “Rabid In The Kennel” appears for the first time in a month with a very special guest: the one and only Leatherface, the greatest punk rock band of the last 20 years, all the way from Sunderland, England! Singing songs from their new LP The Stormy Petrel and their 1991 classic LP Mush!

      Visit Breakthru Radio now to hear my exclusive interview with the band’s singer/guitarist Frankie N. W. Stubbs and recently returned original guitarist Dickie Hammond (who, it must be said, formed one of the most hilarious 1-2 punch comedy teams I have had the pleasure to referee in some time), and their live performance at The Kennel Studio in Brooklyn! And you can click on this link and listen to it any day, at any time, at your leisure!

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      10 February 2010

      Paul Collins live in the studio (and interviewed) now on Rabid In The Kennel --debut show today!!!! Listen anytime!!! (Alina Simone next)

      Big news! Rabid In The Kennel debuts as its own show today with a very special guest: Paul Collins of The Nerves and The Beat!

      Visit BreakThru Radio now to hear my exclusive interview with Paul and his live performance at The Kennel Studio in Brooklyn! Click on this story and the link is included, and you can listen to it any day, at any time, at your leisure!

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      13 January 2010

      Guest interview: TSOL singer Jack Grisham (and His Humanitarian Efforts)!

      Got this excellent interview with TSOL founder/frontman Jack Grisham from our contributor Jeff Alexander and wanted to share it with you!

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      26 December 2009

      17 Bonus Reviews, Here Only; Don't Forget the New Issue 65; 2009 Wrapup show this Monday on Big Takeover on Breakthruradio.com

      Now that the X-mas rush is over, I wanted to post 17 bonus reviews that I had intended to include in the current issue 65, but ran out of time running up against that issue’s deadline. / Make sure you tune in this coming Monday, the 28th to the weekly Big Takeover radio show at Breakthruradio.com, as I will be hosting a 2009 wrap-up, a countdown show of my 20 favorite albums of 2009 in reverse order, one song each. / Just a reminder to check out the new issue 65 of Big Takeover with the smokin’ live shot of Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth on the cover!

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      15 December 2009

      Reminder: Big Takeover Still Time For X-mas Gifts - The Perfect Holiday Gift! / Issue #65 Out! / Sample quotes!

      Just a reminder that there’s still time for the perfect X-mas gift: Big Takeover magazine! Our brand new Fall/Winter issue 65 with the Sonic Youth cover is out on the stands (the Thurston Moore live action cover shot is to your left, and a description of its contents is below!), in case you want to treat yourself (you little devil!). Or indeed, if you want a holiday gift subscription for your friends or family whom you think would enjoy our pages (or one of our t-shirts, or any of our back issues, or our CDs), either way you can still order on our secure online store with Visa or Master Card by clicking on “SUBSCRIBE NOW” to your left!!! Just let us know in the “comments” section of the order form that the order is for X-mas (why not write, in all caps, “RUSH! THIS IS FOR X-MAS!”), and we will be glad to send the package by priority mail to ensure it gets there fast and on time. And include in the “gift message” section anything you want to say, and we’ll take it from there.

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      16 November 2009

      That Petrol Emotion this Saturday Dec. 12 in Brooklyn! / Big Takeover #65 (Sonic Youth cover) Shipped; Order - Subscribe - Renew - Great gifts! Subscribers; Update Your Address ASAP (if changed)

      Hey all, just a reminder than England’s (by way of Ireland and Seattle) That Petrol Emotion is playing their only U.S. show for the foreseeable future this Saturday, December 12 at Bell House in Brooklyn (on 7th St. just off 2nd Ave. in Gowanus, near the 4th Ave stop on the F and V or the 9th St. stop on the R), their first New York show of any kind since the early 1990s. / Once again the big news is that Big Takeover #65 Fall 2009 issue with Sonic Youth on the cover (and concluding part twos of our awesome Decemberists, Swervedriver, and Controllers interviews, and fabulous history interviews with Big Star—and John Fry on Chris Bell—and The Nerves of the original “Hanging on the Telephone” fame!) was completed in San Francisco in October! It began shipping last month! And remember, we only come our twice a year, every Spring and Fall, so you don’t want to miss one of our jam-packed 170-page issues! Below is a quick description of its contents.

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      1 August 2009

      Big Takeover New Address!! Update your Rolodex! / Blockbuster HALF OFF Month-Long Moving Sale! / TV Smith Live Studio Session for "Rabid in the Kennel" on Breakthruradio.com

      NEWS1>> T.V. Smith (Adverts) in session, live in the studio and interviewed on “Rabid in the Kennel,” airs this Monday, hear it now!
      NEWS2>> Big Takeover Magazine new address (Update your records!)
      NEWS 3>> Big Takeover August-long blowout Moving Sale! Buy one, get one free, half-off sale all month long for back issues and CDs, including our complete sets of issues 1-64! What a sale!

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      23 June 2009

      Big Takeover #64, Decemberists cover, out on the stands! / Sample Quotes

      Once again the big news is that Big Takeover #64 Spring 2009 issue with The Decemberists on the cover (and concluding part twos of our awesome Death Cab for Cutie, Sloan, and Devo interviews) is now on the stands. / “That [‘60s British folk] generation was really into discovering the centuries-old songs that had to deal with really dark and violent themes of romantic and sentimental love. Particularly Anne Briggs, Maddy Pryor, June Tabor—an essay could be written about feminism and the British folk revival, and how a lot of the women artists were arranging songs where rape figured pretty prominently—and I don’t know why that is. I think it was an interesting way of highlighting how different the relations between the sexes were in the 16th century, the 17th century, and how violent the culture that people were living in was.”—COLIN MELOY

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    2. Jack Rabid’s Top 10

      Week of December 2

      1. Bob MouldSilver Age (Merge)

      2. Small FacesOgdens’ Nut Gone Flake (triple-CD) (Immediate)

      3. DIIVOshin (Captured Tracks)

      4. ViolensTrue (Slumberland)

      5. The Jigsaw SeenGifted (Vibro-phonic))

      6. Royal HeadacheRoyal Headache (What’s Your Rupture?)

      7. Ken StringfellowDanzig in the Moonlight (Spark and Shine)

      8. SloanTwice Removed (Deluxe Edition Vinyl Box Set) (Murderrecords CAN)

      9. HoneychurchWill You be There With Me (Siren Electric)

      10. Nada SurfThe Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy (Barsuk)

      About Jack Rabid

      Jack Rabid is the Founder, Publisher and Editor of The Big Takeover, which started as a one-page photo-copied newsletter in 1980 and has since grown into a 300-page glossy color magazine. He is also the Indies Editor for ICE Magazine and is a regular contributor to All Music Guide, Amp, Stereotype, and Zia. In the past, his work has appeared in Spin, Interview, Trouser Press Record Guide, Creem, Musichound, Hit List, Paper, Rockpool, and Alternative Press. He has been heard on the syndicated radio program, “Music View,” and was a weekly correspondent for Vancouver’s MyCityRadio.com from 1999–2001. He’s also a former NY punk rock club DJ and was a radio DJ for Easton, PA station WJRH and New York University’s WNYU from 1980–1985. He has been a drummer for three bands, most notably for NYC dreampop band Springhouse (two LPs on Caroline Records, 1991–1993) and NYC punk group Even Worse (an LP on Grand Theft Audio) from 1980–1984, and in 1986, he did a stint as a touring member of Los Angeles SST band Leaving Trains. More recently, he’s been playing drums for Last Burning Embers, who recently released an LP on Pink Frost/Big Takeover Records, of which he is also co-owner.