AltWeeklies Wire
Cooper the Cobra Still Knows Where to Bitenew
Alice Cooper’s career longevity is a testament to the power of artistic detachment. Ever since he became one of the first celebs to check himself into rehab (back when it was still called “the asylum”), Vincent Furnier has realized that his livelihood and sanity depend on treating his ghoulish alter ego as a business tool to be trotted out when it’s expedient and sent straight back into the closet when it isn’t.
Orlando Weekly |
Steve Schneider |
07-24-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Alice Cooper, Along Came a Spider
This Little Undergroundnew
Diversifying their artistic vision, progressive dance duo Daft Punk just released their directorial effort Electroma on DVD. And, boy, is it, ummm, arty. It’s a high-concept film that’s mostly an exercise in style.
Orlando Weekly |
Bao Le-Huu |
07-24-2008 |
Music
With the Velvet Lapelles, Lucy Michelle Brings Heavenly Ukelele Music to the Twin Citiesnew
With a sound that combines dashes of old-fashioned country, folk, and polka with otherworldly tinges of Gypsy and flamenco, Michelle's music appeals just as much to the NPR crowd as it does to those of the rock-club persuasion.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
Andrea Myers |
07-24-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Health: Glorious Nosemakersnew
Whether you call Health, the critically acclaimed Los Angeles band has one of the most radical remix albums in recent memory.
Tucson Weekly |
Gene Armstrong |
07-24-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: health, Health//Disco
Beck's Big Brainnew
Could this collection of really boring '60s throwback songs be a brilliant plan by Beck to make fans better appreciate his other work?
Tucson Weekly |
Annie Holub |
07-24-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Beck, Modern Guilt
Meet Eefnew
The frontman of Clem Snide goes solo with Lose Big.
Tucson Weekly |
Annie Holub |
07-24-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Eef Barzelay, Lose Big
Harvey Milks Assaults the Sensesnew
Harvey Milk share their brand of blues rock with audiences west of the Mississippi for the first time.
Tucson Weekly |
Gene Armstrong |
07-24-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
1988: The Year in Portland Musicnew
Like most significant moments in any local music scene--the grand occurrences of life-changing music that changed everything--they happen on someone else's watch.
The Portland Mercury |
Ezra Ace Caraeff |
07-24-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
The Avett Brothers Rose From Obscurity to Balance on the Brink of Famenew

So many goals are behind them: selling out New York theaters, playing the Grand Ole Opry, wowing the biggest American rock festivals. But this new deal with Rick Rubin's American Recordings puts the band in a different league.
INDY Week |
Grayson Currin |
07-24-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Queens-born Rapper Homeboy Sandman is Headed For the Big Timenew
Actual Factual Pterodactyl is not only the best-named album to come out of the New York hip-hop underground this year; it has the added benefit of being exactly the kind of album that you would hope for from something bearing its name.
New York Press |
Hamilton Nolan |
07-24-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Gypsies, Tramps and Reeds Take the Stage as Balkan Bands Blow Upnew

Beyond seeking respite from mainstream songs, one reason Balkan-style music has gained such a following is that it makes you want to dance.
New York Press |
Linnea Covington |
07-24-2008 |
Music
The Blasters' Phil Alvin Sorts Through the Unholy Mess They've Made of American Musicnew
Frankly, between his rapid delivery of music history, his mind that seems to operate faster than his mouth and his penchant for breaking into 19th-century songs, the passer-by would think Phil Alvin is a certified loon. But really, he has built himself into a musicologist through playing and mastering America's early styles and now exists at a level of musical awareness that seems baffling to the lay ear.
Metro Silicon Valley |
John Gentile |
07-24-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: The Blasters
Yonder Mountain String Band Keeps it Realnew
They may look like urban hipsters, but the Yonder Mountain String Band is countrified class.
Santa Fe Reporter |
Gabe Gomez |
07-24-2008 |
Profiles & Interviews
Faraquet Had Novel Ideas About what Guitars Can Do, but Don't Call it Math Rocknew
Of course they could play in odd time signatures. And, yes, they were, at times, willfully obtuse. But at the heart of every Faraquet song is an actual song.
Washington City Paper |
Brent Burton |
07-24-2008 |
Reviews
Black Kids Keeps a Playful Attitude on its Debut Full-Lengthnew
Few indie-rock albums are solely concerned with love, but Black Kids' debut, Partie Traumatic, has got it on the brain, both the mushy and the gushy kind -- to employ the kind of dirty rhyme the band might use.
Washington City Paper |
Ben Westhoff |
07-24-2008 |
Reviews
Tags: Black Kids, Partie Traumatic