Take some classic Iggy Pop, tweak it with some of the Exploited, throw in a hint of the Jesus Lizard, and finish it off with a whole lot of raw, inaudible, grunting, screaming, squealing vocals, and you’ve got the angry, head-banging, fist-pumping punk that is Pissed Jeans. From their upcoming album King Of Jeans (Sub [...]
Steve Earle’s friendship with Townes Van Zandt got off to a shaky start in 1972 at Houston’s legendary Old Quarter, where a heckling Van Zandt tested the young upstart’s folksinger fortitude. Thirty-seven years later—his hard-living mentor having expired 12 years prior, at age 52—Earle has finally seen fit to eulogize Van Zandt with Townes (New [...]
Sir Mix-A-Lot may forever be linked to 1992 mega-hit “Baby Got Back,” but you’d be off-base in labeling him a one-hit wonder. One of hip hop’s ultimate DIY practitioners, he was a platinum-selling artist long before “Baby Got Back” introduced suburbanites everywhere to the glories of the big, bad booty. He founded his own record [...]
Canadian Invasion, Philadelphia’s pre-eminent power-pop outfit, issued Three Cheers For The Invisible Hand earlier this year; the video for album track “Tomorrow And Tomorrow” is a glimpse into the concept: an unflinching look at the suburbia treadmill and the imperfect images you see in a family’s private viewfinder. Read the band’s explanation of things in [...]
Ever wonder what will happen during the last five minutes of late-night TV talk shows? Here are tonight’s notable performers: The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien (NBC): Elvis Costello Costello appears on The Tonight Show stage amidst a globe-trotting tour to promote his new album, Secret, Profane & Sugarcane (Hear Music). The night-time-talkies (Costello hosts Spectacle on the Sundance [...]
Sir Mix-A-Lot may forever be linked to 1992 mega-hit “Baby Got Back,” but you’d be off-base in labeling him a one-hit wonder. One of hip hop’s ultimate DIY practitioners, he was a platinum-selling artist long before “Baby Got Back” introduced suburbanites everywhere to the glories of the big, bad booty. He founded his own record [...]
Is it time for a New Zealand Flying Nun scene appreciation trend? (If you’ve never seen the words “New Zealand Flying Nun” strung together before, here is a recent article to get you started.) This month, the Bats release new album The Guilty Office (Hidden Agenda); compatriots the Clean (pictured) will issue Mister Pop (Merge) September [...]
Blur was one of the most quintessentially English bands of the Britpop era. Drifting from shoegaze to grunge to pop, the group always retained its core influences of the Kinks, the Beatles and XTC. But despite a few solitary hits, Blur never quite made it in the U.S. And that’s a shame, because with a [...]
Sir Mix-A-Lot may forever be linked to 1992 mega-hit “Baby Got Back,” but you’d be off-base in labeling him a one-hit wonder. One of hip hop’s ultimate DIY practitioners, he was a platinum-selling artist long before “Baby Got Back” introduced suburbanites everywhere to the glories of the big, bad booty. He founded his own record [...]
What’s different about David Byrne in 2009? His suit fits. The notorious image from Stop Making Sense of Byrne in the big-and-tall suit, undulating like a used-car-lot figurine, is burned in the brains of the YouTube generation. These days? He’s that weird guy with white hair who curated a stage at Bonnaroo two weeks ago. [...]
