Recent Articles
Living Things CD review
LIVING THINGS Ahead Of The Lions (Jive) Living Things very well may have recorded the best rock album of 2003. But outside of critics who received advances of Black Skies In Broad Daylight or those who may have gotten their hands on the import, few heard the album because the band’s then label, Dreamworks, dissolved, […]
Patti Smith CD review
Patti Smith Horses/Horses (Arista/Columbia/Legacy) “Jesus died for somebody’s sins/but not mine.” They tried to fuck with this seminal release a bit, but those are still the opening lines. Patti Smith was already a minor star when the New York punk bands were starting their revolution, but their macho credo remains hers, nonetheless. Deconstructing Them’s and […]
Let It Shine
What’s a beatnik?” My young friend Emily, a Medill senior, asked me recently. We were discussing Halloween costumes, and I mentioned that back in the late ’50s I loved to dress up as a beatnik on Halloween: tight black clothes, heavy black eyeliner, and long black hair (courtesy of my mother’s long black scarf). Beatniks […]
Hinge Goes West
In 1998 a young Kanye West and the group he was producing/rapping with, The Go Getters, booked time at Hinge Studios and worked with Craig Bauer, the studio’s engineer and owner. Bauer says the sessions were pretty run-of-the-mill — he remembers West and his crew being nice, decent, normal human beings.
Three Sides To Every Story
Getting a handle on any major rock band is at least as easy as herding cats. But that hasn’t stopped the production of books purporting to provide the “real story.” Three recent publications illustrate three very different ways of nabbing their elusive quarry. In Smoke On The Water: The Deep Purple Story (E.C.W.), Dave Thompson […]
Carpetbaggers & Nincompoops
Howard Stern‘s switch to Sirius satellite radio next year will leave his Infinity Broadcasting family of 27 stations high and dry (his last “free” radio show will air here December 16th on WCKG-FM 105.9). In New York and six other markets he’ll be replaced by diminutive former Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth. Los Angeles […]
Around Hear
The rapid punk rock of After The Fight‘s debut LP, Basura Solamente, is a punchy, crisp set of 13 songs. “Video Tape Sex” and “Fool Me Twice” are more melodic than other tracks and showcase the band’s high frenzied energy the best. The dual vocals sound strained and out of tune at times, but ATF’s […]
Reggae Love
Americans have always had an odd relationship with reggae. In the ’70s, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Third World, and Jimmy Cliff won some attention but never much radio play, which generally means few album sales. Bob Marley managed to break through with digestible nuggets of rock and soul pushing through a cloud of raw reggae rhythms. […]
Feelin’ Retro?
RETRO-KING 18 Watt Combo Retro-King Amps‘ 18 Watt Combo featuring two 10-inch or 12-inch speakers is the latest labor of love in their custom-made lineup of hand-wired tube amplifiers. A class AB amp, the 18 Watt Combo is a replica of the hard to find (and afford) 1966 Marshall 18-watt lead combo amplifier. Retro-King Amps […]
Cover Story: Depeche Mode
Sick Sense Of Humor Gargantuan techno/goth trio Depeche Mode has just released its 11th studio set, Playing The Angel on Sire/Reprise, possibly its darkest work since the mid-’80s masterpieces Black Celebration and Music For The Masses. And apparently, the album instantly reunited the group’s spooky faithful following — it debuted at number one in 10 […]
Dylan At The Movies
Behind The Bob Dylan Documentary It had all the elements of Bob Dylan’s 115th dream: Hollywood A, B, and C-list stars (from Leonardo DiCaprio to Bob Sagett) mingling over free popcorn and Diet Pepsi with rock ‘n’ roll’s most enigmatic superstars (Tom Waits, Roger Waters, Elvis Costello). Off in various corners of the theater lobby, […]
The Band Revisited
And The Band Played On Usually artists are long dead and have gone onto some mythological hierarchy in music history before they get the sort of acclaim (and downright adulation) that The Band has continuously received throughout its long and dramatic career. Emerging in 1958 from the dingy R&B and rock clubs of Canada as […]
Isaac Hayes
Soul On Fire Saying it gave him the chance to increase his visibility from “six to 96,” Isaac Hayes doesn’t at all shy away from his reincarnation as the libidinous Chef, on the animated series “South Park.” At the same time, it’s slightly discomforting someone so integral to the evolution of pop music, specifically R&B, […]
Kevin Bacon Q&A
HELLO, MY NAME IS KEVIN BACON IE: This is more of an informal thing. We’re not gonna ask you any technical things, like recording techniques. So, how did you decide where to place the microphones? Kevin Bacon: We tried to put the mikes close enough to hear the music, but not so close that they […]
Hawthorne Heights
Victory Is Ours When Hawthorne Heights drummer Eron Bucciarelli admits touring is starting to take its toll on him, you can’t help but sympathize. After all, since his band released its Victory Records debut, The Silence In Black And White, in June 2004, free time has been scarce. That year the band had about four […]
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