AltWeeklies Wire
The Hold Steady Do Exactly That on 'Stay Positive'
The Brooklyn rockers do what they do best on their latest album.
Grammy Got Run Over ...
Oh my gawd, did you guys see the Grammy nominations show last Wednesday? What a spectacle! So many stars, and so much great music! I'm so excited for the Grammys now! The music industry is saved, I tell ya! But seriously, yuck. What a mess.
Tags: Kanye West, awards, CBS, Lil Wayne, Al Green, Coldplay, Grammys, Mariah Carey, Foo Fighters, Recording Academy, Robert Plant
Q-Tip Goes Back to (Old) School
Former Tribe Called Quest leader is is classic form on his first solo album in eight years.
Kanye West Flips the Script with a Bold Attempt at a Pop Record
On 808s and Heartbreak, his fourth album in five years, West has made something close to an anti-hip-hop record.
Cajun Gems' Ben Whitesides Has a Long History of Bright Futuresnew
Amid false rumors of the Joggers' breakup, Whitesides recently began focusing on the Cajun Gems for the first time in years. Armed with a huge batch of songs, built from "days' worth of riffs and rifflettes" on his computer, Whitesides is now readying tracks for both the Joggers and the Cajun Gems.
Willamette Week |
Michael Mannheimer |
12-17-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Doomtree, Solid Gold, and Vampire Hands Deftly Dot the Twin Cities' 2008 Music Timelinenew
Crack open our Twin Cities Local Music Yearbook and reminisce on an effed-up year.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
Andrea Swensson |
12-17-2008 |
Music
Hollywood Undead Dig Up a Music Genre That Was Better Left Buriednew
The real question is not about the band's originality, but, rather, is it too soon for nü-metal to be cool again? Judging by Hollywood Undead's success, the answer seems to be "no."
San Diego CityBeat |
Seth Combs |
12-17-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Hollywood Undead, nu-metal
Black Tie Dynasty Steps Past Its Hatersnew
Even though the band is just now releasing its first follow-up full-length since Movements, it just might be the most polarizing band in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Dallas Observer |
Pete Freedman |
12-15-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Who Is Jonathan Richman?new
Richman's wisdom is that he knows it can be very difficult to restore the original visceral reaction we had to a piece of music after we've unceremoniously critiqued and torn it apart. It's a philosophy that seems right for a man who's dedicated to living in the moment, to having experiences rather than discussing them.
Seattle Weekly |
Sara Brickner |
12-15-2008 |
Music
Colourmusic Searches for its Identitynew
Ryan Hendrix and Nick Turner, the founding partners of Colourmusic, aren't cut from the same cloth, and bridging the creative divide wasn't easy.
Westword |
Michael Roberts |
12-15-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Orange, Colourmusic
The Black Dahlia Murder Keeps Death Alivenew
Michigan's the Black Dahlia Murder have been trying to shake the metalcore tag ever since they first got started in 2001. A shame, really, because they are about as molten metal as it gets.
Montreal Mirror |
Johnson Cummins |
12-15-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Can I Bite Your Thigh? A Trent Reznor Interviewnew
The Nine Inch Nails frontman goes off on a failed record industry and life as an indie artist after decades of appeasing "asshole" executives.
Sacramento News & Review |
Alia Cruz |
12-13-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Razor-Pop Beckons a Minimalist Eranew
What makes razor-pop production so perfect is the illusion of humanity it presents -- the sensation that the artist is singing on a street corner, standing around a burning trash can, with friends as accompanists.
North Bay Bohemian |
Gabe Meline |
12-12-2008 |
Music
The Rise of Blind Pilotnew
To think, less than six months ago most of us were unaware of Blind Pilot. There was no 3 Rounds and a Sound (their staggeringly gorgeous debut, which is primed to top many a year-end best-of list), no bike lanes traversed by their peddle-powered tours, and no ensemble cast of musicians.
The Portland Mercury |
Ezra Ace Caraeff |
12-12-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: 3 Rounds and a Sound, Blind Pilot
CDs for Christmas -- One Last Timenew
The major record labels are pulling out all the stops to release a plethora of new and reissue albums in the hopes that they can pump some blood back into what is increasingly looking like a moribund business model.
Boston Phoenix |
Daniel Brockman |
12-12-2008 |
Music
