AltWeeklies Wire
The Price Is Variablenew
In other businesses -- wine, for example -- price can skyrocket according to quality, scarcity, demand, and dozens of other factors, yet we expect all music to cost the same amount. Does that make sense? After all, not all music is created equal.
The Hanukkah Songsnew
When it comes to music, Jewish songwriters and performers have played no small part in fostering confusion over the question of whether Hanukkah is the Jewish Christmas.
SF Conservatory Preps Students for Quiet Marketplacenew
The arcane system of conservatory education floods the tight market with one fairly unemployable graduating class of single-minded violinists and bassoonists and flutists after the next, and audiences for classical music have been shrinking for years.
Up From the Underworldnew
This year, blood-soaked extreme metal took its rightful place in the world of heavy music.
Ten Discs With Indie Spiritnew
Look here for alternative albums of 2004 that whump and rock yer face off.
A Dark Year for America Was Great for Musicnew
The last 12 months saw Bush and the GOP continuing to roll back progressive causes. That kind of sucked. But there's nothing like a tidal wave of conservatism to motivate musicians to get off their asses.
Great Balls of Firenew
One thousand acts play the CMJ Music Marathon each year, and thousands of fans, journalists, and record executives converge on New York City like a frothing crew of Ahabs. This year's Moby-Dick: the Arcade Fire.
Sunrise on a Green Daynew
San Francisco may have the most thriving underground music scene in the country, but very few mainstream acts emerge out of it, at least few that we can be proud of. Green Day is a rare exception.
Method Rocking: Juliette Lewis and Minnie Driver Have Started Bandsnew
Musicians do a better job of switch-hitting as actors than vice versa. Two actresses, Juliette Lewis and Minnie Driver, have launched their own bands with conflicting results.
