rock nyc

On Saturday night, kicking off his new Believe tour, Justin Bieber showed to his Glendale, AZ fans how tough he could be. He was fighting some bad virus or some […]

Morrissey did Coachella solo in 2009, but the sensible guy cut his set short after smelling meaty smoke coming from a nearby barbecue. At mid set, the Meat-is-Murder-guy told the crowd, ‘I can smell burning flesh and I hope to God it’s human’.

Bang A Gong (Get It On) – T-Rex – If you really wanted to, I think you could make a case for Marc Bolan as the single most influential rock star since the birth of glam. To this day, glam gives the tude to modern pop, and since this song, the bass has taken over the forefront and lead the bass as hook charge of the 21st century dance sensation – Grade: A+

“I don’t care how good it is, life is too short to support the filth.”

Perhaps rounded up but the point remains that I doubt you can name another show that required you to apply to buy. 27 years since their last show- fans were mangy and junkyard dogs to get a glimpse. The children of fans were now fans and weren’t even alive so all the more fervor.

I want Pitbulls job. All you have to do is giggle, yell out your area code, roll some R’s and talk about booties. This I can do and would do gladly. How he manages to maintain and build on his career is amazing on every level. He gathers up his buddies, throws a word in now and then, does a bad dance

What the matter with these rappers, why do they hate themselves so much? Are they going to kill each other till all of them are dead? And you know what, some witnesses are saying that the fight broke out after Ross dissed Jeezy during a performance! Oh my god, how old are they?

Katy is pretty cool. Some of her yelping can be annoying and the cutesy thing gets old but seriously she makes her shows true events and has very little scandal attached to her. About the only issues of gossip are her boobs and Russell Brand.

– An 8 night run at an arena puts you in U2 and Bruce areas. It means you’re playing Metlife next tour. An 8 night run at an arena you part own makes you a mogul in U2 and Bruce areas. It’s like Derek Jeter being part owner of the Yankees or something. And while I was less than thrilled by the concert, though I didn’t dislike it, and while it wasn’t the Black Man Elected President of Hip Hop, people seem to think it is. It sure is something else.

As far as legendary French singers goes, Johnny Halliday plays Jerry Lee Lewis to Serge Gainsbourg’s Johnny Lennon. At least at first. Then he became a chaunteuse Francais a la Aznavor and a cast of thousands. The chance to see the great man is very rare indeed. Worth giving up your Sunday to visit beacon theater for.

I would flip the top two, but I ain’t gonna shout about it if you wouldn’t. Lucy Rose is a folkie a la Laura Marling but with a more soulful voice and Jonathan and Charlotte are a Britian Has Talent winners circle duo who put operatic big bang boom to everything they touch.

PSY, indeed K-Pop as a whole, proves exactly what you can gain and lose when you translate Western culture to Asian. You gain a gleeful innocence, you lose subtext. Not a bad trade off. The rest of the chart is really lame.

Polly – Amanda Palmer And The Grand Theft Orchestra – Initially recorded for Spin’s tribute album, this is an alarming a version of Cobain’s masterpiece of the sustained sinister and horrorshow banality of evil in all its shapes. Forced violence is right in Palmer’s tree and she murmurs and articulates: “she caught me off my guide…?”, “the will of instinct…”. Grade: A

Sitting on a chair most of the time, hiding behind his long hair, alone or helped by a few musicians on guitar or piano for a few songs, and Jenny Lewis and the Watsons Twins making some too-short apparitions for back-up vocals, the show was well balanced and flawlessly orchestrated

The below video is a good indication of how they have aged. Gracefully. Debbie Harry is still gorgeous and fun and the band well they pretty much look the same. Time has been fine to the band despite the adversity and health scares they have had along the way

Rihanna essentially sings in this low moaning voice for the entirety of the track and it left me pondering the definition of “singer”.

That guy’s main problem is that he doesn’t realize that he is Justin Bieber. He should take some of the green in his wallet, buy himself a green smoothie and relax. What kind of band name is Green Day anyway? Is that in reference to all the chord progressions they continually recycle?

This isn’t a matter of the goody goody imaged pop star playing a hardcore folk hippy it more has to do with how the hell did Taylor Swift become an actress? Models turn actress, musicians turn actress, actress turned..musician and so it goes

Lupe Fiasco – Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album, Pt. 1 – Hardcore agitpropping by the last revolutionary rapper without an initial in his name, works the mainstream of the rap landscape to make a point. After LASER, this was here to break mainstream big time and maintain its authority by a man who called the President (yes, THIS ONE) a terrorist. It has its moments, the singles we already know are pretty good, and “How Dare You” is a potential smash. But the album is too bland and obvious, and while Lupe can ure rhyme, his voice will never have authority. Grade: B

Ain’t No Half Stepping – Big Daddy Kane – This stuff, late 1980s, sounds dated in a good way, in the sorta way that had Barclay Center singing the hook back to the big time Brooklyn man boss. Spin it now and you wonder about the sample, but not for long – Grade: A

Tom Morello, Rise Against singer Tim McIlrath and System of a Down singer Serj Tankian have released a song anthem to help the 99%movement, since he declared to Rolling Stone that he thought it was missing a true rock anthem: ‘It’s our gift to the movement’

This just in I don’t care who you’re voting for, that it’s your kids first day at daycare (BTW don’t have kids if you’re going to throw them in daycare anyway) and I certainly don’t want to see your pig roast or Aunt Gert. I do want to hear new music

‘The huge decline we have experienced in young double-bass musicians in recent times has come as a real surprise, and raises concern over the assembly, quality and continuation of youth and adult orchestras in future, if this trend is not reversed

How about make a decent cost on the concert ticket and let people actually come see you? Nah, lets sell them a $20. DVD so they can sit in their double wides and become double wide.

The Green Day album? Except for the first single, just about perfect and I could have chosen any of the first five tracks. Otherwise, people have been claiming I love everything (me???), well, not quite. I hate the new Killers, except for this song…

Atomic – Blondie – The Ice Queen of pop brings all the white cool heat to desire and explodes it with one word. Meanwhile, the “is a group” portion take their cues from Moroder and between the lot reinvent dance for the 1980s – Grade: A-

Stereotypical coming of age hate my parents, worlds better off without me, wooo I’m a star recipe. Some rather great lines (and even more awesome title) in the single “Two Fingers”.

I was wearing a Bad Brains t-shirt when I was visiting a rock’ n’ roll photo exhibit during the summer, and one of the security guards couldn’t help it, he looked at me and told me with an enthusiasm which was fun to see, ‘The best band I ever seen live! Did you see them?’ Yes, I saw them, and it was as if a hurricane had taken over Sunset boulevard!

Yes, I know he sells butter on TV but when you get down to the heart of it he totally could be cashing in on the Pistols for more than he would make eating breakfast. He opts not too- give him some credit for that

By the end, a miracle (yes, MIRACLE) saves father and daughter from total disaster in this two hour rebuttal to “Moneyball” in much the same way “Rio Bravo” was a rebuttal to “High Noon”. But just because it doesn’t do much on the realism scale doesn’t mean it isn’t fun in its own sweet sour.

An annual tribute show, that’s cool A book about growing up Ramone..yup that’s fine.. Scraping shit off the cutting room floor for ONE MORE RECORD, is not only greed it is disrespectful

Hellcat Records is releasing a new digital compilation, ‘Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros, The Hellcat Years’, featuring the three Mescaleros albums, plus never released live material and rare B-sides

Have you heard "Death of A Rude Boy" yet?  Well, lest start by forcing you to hear that.  Grown up Madness from the fun Ska boys who sing on the Queens

I really love PSY’s one time only hit single, just for the intense otherness of it all. I don’t know if K-Pop is gonna take over the world (the Prudential Center sold out before I could get my hands on a tix) but if it does, it will be its cultural strangeness. Like France’s new wave, it takes American idioms at makes it their own.

Pink’s album? If she gets lucky it might still be on the charts next summer, which makes it the only album on this chart that can make that claim. None of this stuff will be still here by the end of November. Hell, by the begining

His Lamest Flame – Mary Lou Lord – rock nyc received a very nice message from the great folkie Mary Lou Lord the other day.Hhas there ever been a worse case of not being where you need to be when you need to be? This classic jingle jangles on a terific hook, “nananananaa, his lamest flame”, Was it a hit? You gotta think so, right. – Grade: A