More Controversy Before Made In America Arrives In Los Angeles
You know how it works, only people who disagree protest, but if Facebook comments can be any indication of the success of a festival, well, this Made in America thing […]
10 Songs: Wednesday, July 23rd, 2014
o To 100/The Catch Up – Drake – Drake sucks on stage and can drag over an album but when he drops a single and when it is out of the blue like “Started From The Bottom” and this very well rhymed state of the Drake (he is sick of apologizing to girls) he is in a whole other league – A
Why Is Ed Sheeran No 1 On Radio BBC 1Xtra' s Power List Of Urban Acts?
Hip hop, R&B but also electronic dance music and beyond so what’s the problem exactly? Well it’s no mystery that the format ‘Urban’ has been associated with black music and 1Xtra is even described on its website as a ‘black music network’. Let’s be honest, urban is just a politically correct term for black music, and in this case the outrage sadly came from a racial point of view.
Stubhub… Cheaper Than Ticketmaster???
Stubhub for sold out gigs we know, but it is also a place where people unload tickets they don’t want or speculators go to dump the excess tickets in their world. Helen Bach is such an expert she will wait till the last minute and pick em up as the prices topple, I got burnt on Fiona Apple that way once so tend not to have the stomach for it but this is really the open market at its best.
10 Songs: Monday, June 30th, 2014
Nas Is Like… Nas – 1999, this was one of my fave tracks, the verse is all spit strong rap and choppy beat but the chorus is half a man and half amazing and my question is why does it sound so much like… A
The Day rock nyc Went Viral
Morrissey-Solo picked up the story, which got the attention of Stereogum, which got picked up by Consequence Of Sound, and crossed the Atlantic where New Musical Express got it and Uncut used the same story. Contactmusic.com used it and WENNused Contacts story. Music Times threw in “Morrissey may be quite sick” which nobody said anywhere.
Lana Del Rey Not Happy With Guardian's Quote 'I Wish I Was Dead Already'
It’s not pleasant asking a pop star if she thinks the idea of dying young herself is attractive – it’s a dark question, but it’s not a leading one. She has every opportunity to say no. And she can hardly complain about the subject matter: she’d been talking about her icons all dying young, she named her debut album Born to Die
Active Viewin': rock nyc Concert Picks Week Of June 16th, 2014
IAt the tiny Gramercy Theatre, Saturday June 21st. (see here) Cliff Richard promises an intimate New York City gig to make up for Morrissey canceling the Barclay Center Show Cliff was meant to be supporting. I haven’t seen Cliff for FIFTY YEARS, so it as big as big can get for me. To my mind, the man has had one of the great careers and this is the show of the week at the very least.
Bob Geldof Back On Stage After Daughter's OD
“It’s that thing people say – some other part of you comes out. And I guess that’s right. In that regard, it’s very cathartic. There’s a lot of things going on in my head at the moment and you can just purge them and the crowd allow you to do that. I’ll sleep well tonight which is the first time in weeks I’ve slept well.”
"Longer Than You've Been Alive (If You're Five)" (a rock nyc parody!)
rock nyc parody of Old 97’s new classic song of life on the road and let me say this, because I believe it, there is something mythic about spending your life writing about music: it is one of the loneliest pursuits known to people and we do it because… Hours before Old 97’s play Webster Hall feel free to sing along!
Pharrell Tries To Defend 'Blurred Lines' On UK Channel 4 News And Fails
“Okay cool. But does that make it off-limits for me to use in a song, especially when the overarching context is that there are good women who also have bad thoughts? If a good woman can have sexual thoughts, is it wrong for a man to have a correct guess that a woman might want something?”
10 Songs, Tuesday, May 27th, 2014
Early Roman Kings – Bob Dylan – One verse is “taken verbatim from Robert Feagles translation of book 9 of the Odissey, where Odisseus meets Polyphemus”. So now you know – A
Against Me! Laura Jane Grace Criticizes Arcade Fire's Transgender Video
It would be the equivalent of me (a white female) writing about the story of a black man in the US, wouldn’t it be perceived as pompous and patronizing? I wouldn’t even dare of course! But the crazy part of the video is the end, the beating gives Garfield some kind of dancing superpower and he starts to dance like Jennifer Beals in the 90s classic ‘Flashdance’.
"All My Friends – Celebrating The Songs And Voice Of Gregg Allman" Reviewed
The thing about tribute albums is live ones don’t work (not even the Dylan MSG gig was all that) and that song to performer is everything. This is too obvious: Derek Trucks and Warren Hayes are all over it, Susan Tedeshi, Devon Allman, everybody who has seen the Allman Brothers in the last few years didn’t much need any of it.
Not With The Band: The Difficulty In Being A Music Critic
Music critics will never be objective, it’s impossible, any music review is an opinion piece, and just an opinion at the end, but famous blogs and magazines all have an agenda. Time is the best critic, let’s read any review written today in 20 years and let’s have a good laugh
UK Top 10 Albums 5-17-14
Anastacia has been out of the pure dance pop business for nearly six years battling breast cancer and now she is back and she still irritates the hell out of me, it’s the voice… well, the voice and the songs .
Mark Ryden's 'The Gay Nineties Old Tyme Music: Daisy Bell'
Mark Ryden, this curious artist who wraps his curious and surrealist paintings both reminiscent of the masters and cartoons around big-eyed little girls and pop culture references, has a new exhibit called ‘The Gay 90s’ at the Kohn Gallery in Los Angeles.
10 Songs, Friday, May 2nd, 2014
Circle Of Life (Matt Zo Remix) – Carmen Twillie, Lebo M – Mind Bending remix which accentuates the African nature of both the vocals and the best to the exclusion of all else and is prove as to what electronic music can do with a master remixer – A
Best Albums Through April 30th, 2014
Z – SZA – New r&b gets it right for once; temperate but crazed, sexual mood music by SZA,with the obligato rap added by the likes of Chance The Rapper who exactly captures the mood of hazed out sex; pure seduction and she doesn’t even know if she wants you.
Miley Cyrus, Beyoncé, Carrie Underwood and Pharrell Among Times 2014 Most Influential People
What have these people accomplished exactly, beside making raunchy sex-charged pop music or happy-go-lucky to boring tunes? Is singing about sex being influential for a woman?
Vintage Trouble At The Record Parlour, Friday April 25th 2014
Taylor, with a natural charisma, had the crowd at his fingers right away. He was controlling the sing-along and the clapping like a total pro, and was demonstrating a constant interaction with his public. Even though all this has been done before, he was doing it as if he had invented it a minute ag
Streaming Day 2 Of Coachella 2014
A great advantage of this Coachella-in-your-living-room is the ability to switch from one stage to another at the click of the mouse, the stream is not even buffering and only for this it’s worth it, as they have greatly improved the technology
Peaches Geldof Was An Elliott Smith's Fan And The Media Love It!
A month ago she wrote a lengthy post on the meaning behind Smith’s song “Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands”, which she described as “his most vitriolic song” about friends who sought to rescue him from drug abuse.’
My Worse Guess Of The Past Five Years: EDM
The dream for EDM was that better living through electronics could change the face of the rock band by opening up all the possibilities of a four piece band… to throw the doors of EDM wide so you can make anything happen in a live setting.
Happy 5th Anniversary rock nyc
Congratulations to my many friends who have helped rock nyc remain, if nothing else, the most brutally honest music website out there over the past five years. We might have few readers and fewer friends, but what we do have is a reputation for honesty because, well, because we aren’t beholden to anybody
5 Years In: I'm 17 And Cooler Than You
Obviously there’s some draw to kids my age, because we’re the target demographic of a lot of bands, but I am consistently flattered whenever there’s a band that wants to sit down and talk to me. I’m not exactly sure what I did to get so lucky, but I couldn’t have done everything I have without Rock NYC.
Five Years Ago Tomorrow… And Away We Went!!!
Titus and Los Camp was the honest roar of teenage (well collegiate) angst personified -I was at the side of the stage, completely trashed and banging my fist till it bruised screaming along to Titus: “No more cigarettes, no more having sex, no more drinking till you fall on the floor….” .
Conor Oberst's New Song 'Governor’s Ball'
Governor’s Ball? I thought it was a music festival on the east coast! But apparently it is also a new song by Conor Oberst from his upcoming album ‘Upside Down
Seattle Police Reopens Kurt Cobain's Death Investigation,… Not Really
Let’s see, could a guy, even with a high level of tolerance, shoot himself in the head while having such a large dose of heroin in the system (Cobain had three times the lethal dose of heroin)? Keep in mind that the level found in Cobain is among the top 2% of the highest blood morphine levels ever discovered
The Sheepdogs Have Been On Since I Found Them
In a music world of trending trans, Dubstep, pop I am always on the search for a modern band with that old school rock feel. I’m looking for a little jam, some sliding guitar solos, a good dose of blues, and a touch of psychedelic.
Rest Assured, Courtney Love Has Found The Missing Plane
Courtney Love is insane, that’s a fact but it’s not your average insanity, it comes wrapped around an ego whose size just equals her humongous assurance and strong opinion. Now CSI Courtney Love thinks she has found the vanishing Malaysia Airlines plane
Lykke Li Has A New Song? Wait, I Already Know That One!
I have posted both songs below and you just have to compare. Lykke Li’s ‘new’ song is the theme called ‘Romance’ and allegedly composed by Spanish guitarist Narciso Yepes at a very young age, but no I don’t want to sound pedantic suddenly!
Five Years Later, Here Is The Grading System Explained
I kept a diary for around ten years at the turn of the century and I graded every single day and charted my moods and grading songs and albums (I once graded deaths but decided against continuing with that particular idea) and maybe it is a guy thing, like “Gregory’s Girl” said, the way guys are obsessed with numbers, and not just numbers but lists
Starbucks 'Song, Pick Of The Week': 'Broke My Heart' By David Nail
This song is not gonna change your life, not even your day or hour of the day, but there are actually very few songs which can do that, right? If it wasn’t for the twang in the voice, it would not even be country. The song is a sort of pop ballad which doesn’t wander very far from its departure
Fearless Records Wont Give Up, Punk Goes 90s Vol. 2
Fearless Records used to be one of my favorite labels. A stable of pop punk ( a fake genre btw- who dreamed that one up?) pretty boys with angsty love lyrics and a quick tempo. Now they’re as stale as old biscuits with a roster of the same old same and really nothing much to offer to get stoked about.
Not With The Band: A 'Conspiracy Theory' And The Origin Of Gangsta Rap
‘Depressing= a mega-corp owns a record label to push violent-msg rap to help its prison-mgmt co it owns 2 grow new inmates’. So I did a bit of research. I am very probably late on the subject, it’s an old story which apparently surfaced around 2012, but this is still a story running around many rap blog
Prince 'Something In The Water' Live in Manchester, Video Review
In this video he has never been more Jimi Hendrix inspired–right down to the almost Richard Simmons ‘fro. This is no way deflects from the magic of this guy. At 5’ 2”, he is larger than life and with a thumping predictable thrust beat.. he’s still a dirty boy with a bad attitude.
The Oscar Songs 2014 Get Happy!
Pharrell’s joyous all dancing all smiling, all aboard performance was the best and Idina Menzel’s “Let It Go”, tailor made for the Oscars, a big bland musical theatre pastiche that, not unlike self evident influence “Wicked”, is simply not good enough musically to matter
Sneak Peak: New Album Release Week Of March 3rd, 2014
There are weeks and then there are WEEKS!! Drive By Truckers 12th album gets pride of place… until I listen to it anyway. I was really thinking of Pharrell instead but I dunno how good Mr. Neptune is when you get right down to it, “Happy” wore out its welcome with me some time last summer
Eminem And rihanna Stadium tour: If This Is Fun, Why is Nobody Smiling?
the only good thing about this relationship is given the circumstances, Rihanna is forced to get on stage at a reasonable hour and not keep the world waiting –like Madonna and Lady Gaga before her, half the damn night so see her royal indifferenceness
10 Songs, Sunday, March 2nd, 2014
The Christian Life – The Louvin Brothers – As a child of the 60s, it is the Byrds version I know, and as a Gram Parsons fanatic you better believe I adore his version but having said all of that, the Louvin Brothers harmonies here equal, aybe surpass the Byrds – A
The Belle Brigade At The Echo, Tuesday February 25th 2014
There is something very cute about these two, they look alike a bit and their complicity is contagious. I imagine them spending a lot of time together to compose their songs, and this is probably what happens. I literally heard people expressing their sadness that this residency was over
Billy Corgan: "Pretentious, Moi?"
As my friend Philip Poyner put it: “You know, when you manage to make Tales From Topographic Oceans look both unpretentious and brief, you may want to ask yourself “At what moment in my life did I first go SO FAR off the rails?”
Holy Folk, Avi Buffalo, Moses Sumney and Kan Wakan At The Echoplex, Monday February 24th 2014
Avi Buffalo was one of the surprise guests, and Avi Zahner-Isenberg came alone with his acoustic guitar giving the most intimate set of the night, at least it was what I thought at the time. I have seen Avi Buffalo before and they are a dynamic very young band with Shins-like harmonies and curious pop songs
The Wild Young Hearts At The Whiskey A Go Go, Saturday February 22nd 2014
When they said they were about to slow down, they played their fastest song of the night (and may be my favorite) ‘There goes my baby’… could they have had a Green Day side too? I am hardly joking
“The Rise And Fall Of The Clash”, Is Coming To DVD
But ‘years have passed and things have changed’ and everyone has something to say about it. The Rise and Fall takes a look at the life span of the only band that matters’ and within it shows footage to make you swoon.
Katy Perry's Egypt History Lesson In 'Dark Horse'
I know, it’s a Perry video, you don’t have to make sense of anything, but why Egypt? Why the pharaohs? Did she watch too many Elizabeth Taylor’s oldies lately or did she always have a secret love for the Indiana Jones trilogy?
All Starr(key) To The Beacon
So I got a tix, my best seat for an ex-Beatle, 16 th row orchestra at the Beacon, a great place to see a band as well. There are two dates but I’m going Wednesday, June 18th, 2014 and it has been so long (early 00s) since I’ve seen young(ish) Starkey croaking and charming between other performers playing songs you never ever want to hear again
UK Top 10 Singles – 3-1-14
All modern dance, all the time. Real simple, only A Great Big World doesn’t fit the EDM profile one oh one. Mostly soul, some hip hop, some House, all electronic, all DJ whatever the name on the package might say. And remarkably strong.
rock nyc Returns On Monday, February 24th, 2014
The other problem is the body of work on this website is huge. If nothing else, it stands as a a study of 5 years of contemporary. Which is essentially the plan here any way. Fascinating stuff, right?