Whatever problems you might have with the Who as music, the Who as philanthropists appears to be beyond reproach. Along with some four local gigs since December, the Who performed the 12-12-12 benefit for Hurricane Sandy victims which was sweet albeit longwinded. But better? On February 28th they will be joined by Elvis Costello for a different benefit, this time to aid cancer victims and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
How many 50 year olds are camping out at the wonderfully named Temple Island Meadows, Henley On The Thames. Still, they do things differently in England. I wonder if rock nyc’s uber-B-52s fan Michael Malone is going!
The truth is that she didn’t sing at the President inauguration and after a long silence from her camp following the scandalous revelation, she obviously wanted to prove something.
We The Common – Thao And The Get Down Stay Down – Playful stuff from a firm indie fave with a cross folkie flavor and a song that seems built to cross pop in a world where a hey ho hook is king. Thao claims Lilith Fair as an influence so I docked her a notch- Grade: B-
This is what they’d been lead to believe, and it answered her question as to why the place had been quiet: it was the difference between admiration, we all admire her emotionalism and also her lack of pretension, her ability to be deadly serious without taking herself deadly serious, and love. You could see Le Poisson Rouge fall in love with her.
Their music is a world by itself, a foreign country populated by a dark and mysterious sound built around a blend of punk, industrial sound, krautrock, surf guitars and even tribal screams. It’s quite a dense universe, exotic and expansive, with rare but powerful vocals
He went from a SuperFan of The Sex Pistols, to a member of ’em. He climbed the ladder and became a big name in the punk scene, and he was named after a freakin’ hamster because Lydon and him couldn’t have the same name without being confused. He was cool simply because he wasn’t.
Beautiful – Teena Marie – Ivory snow r&b old school. A magnificent album filled with strong songs, great vocals and, well, naff lyric kinda comes with the territory but a fine farewell from the great dance diva.
I haven’t had a good idea all year, which makes me the opposite of Visual designer and artis Alfra Martini who thought up the concept of the year. Substituting rock stars with kittens on famous album covers and then posting them on her Tumbler account!
This year I plan to do a better job of figuring out what I love most by doing less of a job on what I like best. The top ten songs are in order of preference, the rest of the songs are order in which I added (more or less!)
Then it gets worst for Brown: he and his entourage fled the scene and wasn’t there when the police arrived whereas Ocean stayed and spoke to the LAPD. As a result, the police referred to Ocean as ‘the victim’.
The band is hot on the belief that everyone is ripping them off. Not unlike the school nerd who thinks everyone is copying his test paper. The problem is pretty soon this band is going to be more famous for its paranoid lawsuit than there music.
Hey ho, ho hum. Gary Allan isn’t BAAAAAD, or even bad, he is just the latest in a growing list of country boys with biceps and a soft side. You can’t throw a brick without hitting one and while with the exception of an Eric Church here and there I am not a fan though I don’t want them burnt at the stake either. On any given album there is a song or two that will break pop and a lot of country by the numbers.
I really can’t hear why “Thrift Shop” hit so big, it isn’t really all that hot as even novelty. Except for that kid, who sounds weirdly like Ke$ha saying “I like your beard”. This is such a boring top ten, wake me up next week…
I Believe Love’s A Prima Donna – Steve Harley And Cockney Rebel – Ah yes, whenever men are intuiting by the sigh in a woman’s eye, you know it’s gonna be a bumpy ride. And, this, a 1976 single that should have been huge in the UK but peaked at # 28 because man is it over blown. But ina greatw ay, with a stand out instrumental break and a gorgeous melody… Steve wasn’t done… yet – Grade: A
In 1998, the twenty year old, second generation bass player founded the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. B.R.M.C. have released two albums that achieved gold status in England and remain respected by music fans on both sides of the pond.
Someone told me she hadn’t been able to get a ticket months in advance, so these double dates were super hot tickets in town! Local Natives, I hardly know you, what exactly all these kids do know that I don’t?
Well you didn’t do squat other than maybe buy some downloads or see their show. I have never eagerly awaited any award show. It just doesn’t matter to me on a personal level. I like Cat Stevens and The Clash and neither one are up for diddly this year- nor will they ever be.
First, ‘Full Of Fire’ may sound like a techno party hosted into a torture chamber, these drums are damn sinister, and I got a little scared of Karen Dreijer-Anderson’s freaky-witchy vocals ready to jump at your throat at any moment…
My feelings about Crenshaw must be pretty well documented by now I’m guessing. I consider Marshall one of rock and rolls greatest songwriters of all time. So despite no longer owning a turntable I invested my seven bucks and got the EP a couple of days ago.
It’s just the band is so tight that it feels ridiculously close-knit and well rehearsed. That in an of itself is beautiful; listen to any of their songs, and you’ll hear how many little intricacies there are that put JM above and beyond hundreds of other bands.
If you’ve listened to “Bastard” and “Yomkers” you might be wondering what Tyler’s next solo will be like? Will it be a hip hop star heavy extravaganza and that will be the end of Tyler as we know him?
I think I missed the entire Killers infatuation. At the time, I thought “Mr. Brightside” was cute enough; a sorta novelty song for losers. But I didn’t much attention to the rest of the album. So imagine my surprise upon discovering they were a Mormon U2
Millions – Pusha T – Getting his Weezy in with more than a passing nod to “A Milli, still Pusha T is in better voice than I’ve heard him in years and if it is all obvious “half a millin in the ceilin” is a great rhyme! – Grade: A-
At some time I start to wondering, why am I staying up late, getting shoved and pushed, to watch OK versions of Clash songs by talented denizens of the Bowery, but not much more? On television?
Abrams got a brush with fame by finishing in sixth place during the tenth season of American Idol, and by even doing a duo with Jack Black for the 2011 American Idol finale,… and this could totally explain why he was opening for Kyle Gass
At well over an hour, the album goes on forever and hits some fairly low points on its way but really, if only for the opening track, the awesome “Cool Zombie” it would be worth the while and if for only going after Russel Brand twice it is worth the benefit of the doubt.
So the news that their 2013 release will be about the early 1960s Greenwich Village folk scene, the same one that brought us the young Bon Dylan among others, and starring Justin Timberlake, is really and at least interesting.
The guy has a right to his opinion and a even call himself a name that is a picture- this is America, let the man be. So with Maroon 5 I found it surprising that Prince would actually bother to comment
they would be a bigger add to the Gov’s Ball than they would to Coachella and would be icing on the cake. It might be the Stone Roses, and I would be fine with either band. I would really love to see the Stone Roses , who I’ve never seen live.
Watch at your own risk, the video is all about pulsating vocals over freak-out electronics, hypnotic swirls of synth, video-game sonic chaos over some bubbly cartoonish visuals… it could be the equivalent of a journey beyond-the-speed-of-light through a black hole
I gotta warn you- Graham is looking sort of gnome but the good news is he sounds fantastic. The band, same thing worn trousers but still a great sound that makes me really want to cheer them on.
This is about the songs on the soundtrack. I guess a generation lost in space could do worse than trance rock, prog rock, twee melodies that hold from time to time and a whole lotta shoegazing
After promising to never go to another festival in my life, not even Governor’s Ball on Randall’s Island while you are at least not stuck for the night in a sleeping bag, I bought a three day VIP pass for the June 7th to 9th long weekend.
Yellow Raincoat – Justin Bieber – Yeah kid, growing up is tough, you’re right. And I am glad you feel like writing an earnest acoustic blues song. I just wish it was a lot better than this one, I mean really? Does bieber think apeing Ben Harper any good at all? – Grade: C
Obviously, these guys’ first priority is to have fun with their rock-extravanganza, going all over the classic rock experience …I don’t even know exactly if they have songs of their own (I guess they do), but they totally made anything they played their own stuff.
The Draconian excess isn’t that at all, it’s just dayglo sticks. Essentially, Donner places the generation gap as just business as usual for Jamie. The revolution was in fashion and style but the essential Englishness didn’t change.
Does anyone remember Joyce suing the band in the 90’s for more share of profit after break up? I have a funny feeling he may be one of the reasons a reunion would never happen. Ya sue someone and ask for a reunion- dude be real.
You might very well disagree and if you do you might want to go give some money to Bjork on Kickstarter To help her fund her music educational app for Android. I would tell you more but I am getting pretty confused myself. On a purely subjective level I’d give to Kickstarter if it would finance another album as great as Post.
Black Flag are cited as heroes for countless acts these days and I have the distinct pleasure of having seen them numerous times in the 80s.But I’m not so sure that bad boy persona can carry at their age. Henry Rollins got it right. Stayed in the biz, kept his attitude and is actually putting it to some good.
The death of free will, certainly announced by all the neurobiologists I have heard of, should be all over the place, should be shaking things up everywhere, and made a splash in our conception of reality. Instead it is ignored and we continue to live in our delusion we are in control of our destiny.
Alvarez Kings, Chiodos, Young London, We Came As Romans, Reel Big Fish, and Beebs And Her Money Makers. Personally I can’t wait to see the show Reel Big Fish will put on, and my excitement at seeing Beebs and Her Money Makers is as boundless as the sea.
Beyonce’s refusal to make a statement seems like either fear or indifference. She should have said: “Because of the cold weather I used taped vocals. This is standard practice but now I wish it had been made clear.” She’s even acting like she was caught cheating on her SATs
Actually, the new Kristofferson album was released last week. I didn’t have the slightest idea because in this high speed wired up world there is no way to know anything at all. I knew the new Adam Ant was being released last week but with zero advertising it got completely lost in the shuffle. Otherwise, 2013 seems to be taking its time, doesn’t it?
Robocop – Kanye West – Perhaps West is at his very best when he is at his most sensitive. That would be the case here where the strings herald the end of the track and West just a mess as he pretends to believe the girl who is leaving him his making a joke – Grade: A
‘I liked the idea of a self-contained, endless pursuit of perfection. But I have a problem with perfection. I don’t think perfection is very artful. But there’s something I liked about the image of a skater going in this endless twisted circle that doesn’t have any real endpoint
Snatching their name from Wendy O’ Williams and the Plasmatics famous tune, these two girls have been opening up for Marilyn Manson on his latest tour. A soft gig for these LA strip girls
For a run of ten years through the heart of his youth from the ages of 15 to 25 (1995 – 2005), the kid was the poet laurate of indie and held in awe by just about everybody including me… and then…
Hilly Eye won’t get the props they deserve in the mainstream but over here on the edges Reason To Live is a big album, as is Modern Hut’s eagerly awaited Generic Treasure. No release date on the latter but, man, oh man, wait till you hear it. Kingsbury Manx is dropping March 5th and another goodie.
the fast rolling drumming of the start and the constant spinning Moog synth contrast so much with Bill Taylor’s youthful and clear vocals, that the song brings some cinematic visions of some cruel steamroller monster running after someone keeping his calm till the end
