AltWeeklies Wire
Music Companies Use 'Mafia' Strategies to Crack Down on Local Businessesnew
ASCAP, which touts itself as a performance-rights organization, has developed quite a reputation in Sacramento. Local business owners have complained of receiving unsolicited bills that demand immediate payment, repeat phone calls and visits from sales representatives, and even a bit of intimidation regarding fines and lawsuits.
Sacramento News & Review |
Nick Miller |
07-02-2009 |
Music
Wilco's Latest is Soulful and Gorgeousnew
Full of radiance and subtleties, Wilco (The Album) is an ambitious yet confident record from a band at its peak, an 11-song odyssey that trades skillfully between tension and elation.
Tucson Weekly |
Eric Swedlund |
07-02-2009 |
Reviews
The Church's New Album is an Indistinct Effortnew
Although Untitled #23 contains a couple of marvelous tracks and has received glowing reviews, it's mostly a return to the cluttered, swirling, noncommercial sound that The Church has long specialized in.
Tucson Weekly |
Jarret Keene |
07-02-2009 |
Reviews
Atlanta's The Coathangers Simply Want to Dress Up Like Themselvesnew
For the four girls in the Coathangers, starting a band wasn't about paying homage to any sort of musical deity, nor was it about some kind of artistic/musical vision. It was just about doing something with friends that sounded fun.
Tucson Weekly |
Annie Holub |
07-02-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
How a Gamer Used His Celebrity in 'World of Warcraft' to Launch a Music Careernew
Even Michael Bailey -- or Fony, as he's known to fellow WoW gamers -- couldn't have predicted that one day his cyber-world celebrity would bring his real-world electronic music group hundreds of digital download sales and a burgeoning international fanbase.
East Bay Express |
Nate Seltenrich |
07-02-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
A Half-True History of Shelton Hank Williamsnew
Shelton Hank Williams -- known on stage as Hank III -- might only be the most recent generation of three Hank Williams boys to make his name in music, but, with or without the legacy, he's an absolute American original.
INDY Week |
Chris Parker |
07-02-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Steve Earle Talks Love, Marriage, Divorce and Townes Van Zandtnew
Now sober for more than a decade, Earle has released a brilliant tribute to his fallen and underappreciated idol. The lovingly conceived and intimately understated album is entitled simply Townes.
Seven Days |
Dan Bolles |
07-02-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Florida's Bob on Blonde Resurfaces ... Brieflynew
Sharp-eyed patrons of the 4th annual I-4 Fest this year will notice a rare sighting: a performance by Bob on Blonde, an elusive pop-rock local band that's periodically dropped electric-yet-soulful music for years, yet only plays to an audience when they feel like interacting with other people ... and that's not often.
Orlando Weekly |
Justin Strout |
07-02-2009 |
Music
If Your Love is Cheap, Windows Loves Your Bandnew
Microsoft's Sponsored Songs program is the latest in a series of variably successful attempts by large companies to use independent music to reach a new audience. If it is to be a long-term strategy, though, many say it must form a stronger bond between the bands and brands it links.
Reaction Jackson: How to Mourn a Messnew
Mourning Michael Jackson felt oddly overdue, as if the sudden death he'd suffered 24 hours earlier were nothing compared to the slow one he'd been undergoing for the previous 24 years.
Boston Phoenix |
Michael Brodeur |
07-01-2009 |
Music
City on the Make Keep Pushing With Latest Albumnew
There's something irresistible about how difficult it is to label City on the Make's music, and it's part of what makes their latest album, Keep This on Fire, so intoxicating.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
Andrea Swensson |
07-01-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Michael Jackson: A Eulogynew
Why and how Jackson became the most famous person the century ever knew is a matter for the anthropologists. For us, here and now, Jackson was elemental and impossible to ever fully understand; fearsome and heartbreakingly beautiful; at once mortal and deathless.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
David Hansen |
07-01-2009 |
Music
50 Bands, 50 States: The Best New Bands in Americanew
To celebrate July 4th, the Phoenix declares the best new band from each state. Who won in your state?
Boston Phoenix |
Staff |
07-01-2009 |
Music
How Dear and the Headlights Became the Most Important Band in Arizonanew
They're as savvy an act as you'll find at this level. In the super-weird music climate that's developed in the decade since Napster started siphoning profits from the Big Four major labels' money-printing operation, this band has a better handle on how to succeed than anyone in the state.
Phoenix New Times |
Martin Cizmar |
06-30-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Garage Greats The Gories Returnnew
The unskilled Detroit band helped alter the course of rock 'n' roll ... by accident. So why did they disband too soon?
Metro Times |
Chris Handyside |
06-30-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
