Cat Power – Sun (Matador) The story goes that when Chan Marshall set off to begin the follow up to the very hard to follow up The Greatest, she presented her progress to a friend. She could tell that the new material didn’t grab her friend in quite the manner that she hoped, and after [...]
The gramophone was invented in the late 19th century. Does it seem at all odd that it is the object mounted on a pedestal for the Grammy Award? Yes, there is certainly something to be said for tradition, but arguably that would be akin to Motor Trend giving the winner of its Car of the [...]
We get it: You’re sick of it. You’re sick of all of the ads and the robocalls and people on Facebook telling you to vote. Yep, it’s annoying. Here’s what’s more annoying: Generations of people have fought for your right to vote. They have died for it. Their kids did not get to see them [...]
All I want for Christmas is for Rod Stewart to go away. Period. I didn’t want to have Andy Sheldon, executive vice president of Television, Live Events and Creative for HSN—that’s as in “Home Shopping Network”—describe one of my former musical favorites by saying, “Rod is the ultimate entertainer”—which is the sort of thing that [...]
Sweet Billy Pilgrim – Crown And Treaty (EMI) Occasionally, an album arrives and upon first listen you get the sense that the music jumping out of the grooves wasn’t created in a sterile studio with too little daylight and too much attention to detail. With Sweet Billy Pilgrim’s third release, Crown and Treaty, you get [...]
Several years ago, while on a trip to London, a friend of mine decided that we had to go to the Hard Rock Café. While not being all that keen on it—as it was in December, pissing snow—we made our way through Green Park to the brightly lighted venue on Old Park Lane. And not [...]
Swans – The Seer (Young God) The cover art to Swans’ 12th album–like the record itself–makes a credible argument that The Seer is probably better suited for a vinyl format. It features a painting of a dog, presumably a Yorkshire Terrier, a small breed of canine that is small in stature and originally bred to [...]
I rarely watch live TV. Yes, I’ll turn on the news in the morning while I’m getting ready for work. But for the most part, it is watching via DVR. Which means that I can view what I want when it is convenient (generally in the evening, when, I suppose, most people watch TV) and [...]
Video: The Mountain Goats – “Cry for Judas” Looks like Merge Records gave the Mountain Goats a video budget! Peter Hughes plays the dad and he has two daughters, one with a bloody nose and one who worships Satan. His wife apparently once cheated on him in the garage with Jon Wurster, the very same [...]
Joyce Manor – Of All The Things I Will Soon Grow Tired (Asian Man) I guess I’m supposed to ignore the fact that Joyce Manor do little more than deliver a very competent blend of late 20th Century punk rock and praise them for their “honesty” and “DIY ethos.” There’s a place for that, particularly [...]
