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Matt CibulaFeatures
Ten Reasons Bo Diddley Is the Forgotten Heavyweight Champion of RockHere are 10 reasons why the recently departed Diddley is a bona fide rock legend and hugely important in the history of popular music for his vital role in the creation of rock 'n' roll in the 1950s. [4 June 2008] Inspiration, Integration, and the Soul Children: The Resurrection of Stax RecordsListening to songs like "(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay" and "Do the Funky Chicken" is like taking a stroll through the garden of sublime American soul music. [27 March 2007] Fart Jokes, Nazis, and Genius: Mel Brooks as Anti-Serious AuteurMel Brooks is one funny son of a bitch, and always was, and half these movies are classics, and the other half are really funny too, and then I make three fart noises and say that's about as serious as he gets. [6 June 2006] Johnny Cash Made the Most Punk-Rock Album Ever. In 1969.What Johnny Cash did on At San Quentin defies belief. He made the angriest, balliest, toughest, most punk rock album of all time. [15 September 2003] Meet Stew, the Best Songwriter in America, and His Negro ProblemI'm not really sure if the critical neglect of Stew has anything to do with his being black . . . it's pretty clear that he's just not doing fashionable music. [29 January 2003] The Most Effective WeaponNot all that useful, ultimately, to talk about the importance of Joe Strummer in my life, because that only applies to me and my junior high and high school friends. [27 December 2002] The Most Effective WeaponNot all that useful, ultimately, to talk about the importance of Joe Strummer in my life, because that only applies to me and my junior high and high school friends. I've actually done this before, written about how the Clash politicized us, made us care about US foreign intervention and issues of culture and class (funny how close "class" and "clash" always were), introduced us to dub and re-framed rockabilly so it sounded cool instead of corny -- but somehow none of that means much of anything right now. “Warm? Cool? What’s the Difference?”: Reevaluating ECMIs there anything common linking these artists? A sound? An aesthetic? A philosophy? I don't really think so. All they have in common is their brilliance at playing jazz music, and having once been signed to the same label. [5 August 2002] Hard Hitting Blues: Ten Reasons Bo Diddley Is the Forgotten Heavyweight Champion of RockBo Diddley is more important than the Stones, more crucial than the Beatles, more fundamental to rock as a lyricist and an instrumentalist and a conceptualist than Elvis Presley or Buddy Holly or Brian Wilson. [28 June 2002] Hard Hitting Blues: Requiem for a Heavyweight: Jackie WilsonJackie Wilson will be recognized as a superb gloveman who wasn't afraid to mix it up in the corners, only to be brought down by the same habits he acquired when he was learning to harness his amazing gifts. Los Imposibles Hombres Impasibles: Café Tacuba at the CrossroadsThe real key to Café Tacuba is the fact that all four members write beautiful songs. [4 May 2002] Working the Borders: The Tijuana and Monterrey ScenesTijuana and Monterrey are both closer to the U.S. border than they are to Mexico City, and both have enthusiastic and committed local music scenes that have little to do with trying to sound like 'chilangos' (natives of Mexico City) and everything to do with musical hybridism. Bono Re-finds His Inner YeatsWe knew, just 'knew', that U2 was so political and fiery and impassioned because they were Irish. [15 March 2002] 25 Up: Punk’s Silver Jubilee: “Are You Taking Over Or Are You Taking Orders?”: Some Thoughts About TThe Clash got into music not because they wanted the publicity, or wanted to be down with the scene, or because they wanted to get laid. They did it because they had no choice. They loved rock and roll too much not to try and save its life. [25 October 2001] So This is an Email Interview with LCD Soundsystem’s James MurphyEqual parts blunt, funny, and bored -- sounds like Murphy to us. “I Don’t Want to Be Folklore!”: Grandmaster Flash Is Back!Grandmaster Flash invented hip-hop and DJ culture in America. Reviews
Various Artists: CinematicBetter for people who value "lush" and "beautiful" over "exciting" or "jaw-dropping." [28 November 2007] 
Ann Wilson: Hope & GloryWilson still possesses one of the great voices in rock history, and it is in full effect all over this album. [7 November 2007] 
Bill Evans: Everybody Digs Bill EvansA half century later, a good jazz album from '58 has become timeless. [31 October 2007] 
Mahmoud Ahmed & Either/Orchestra: Ethiogroove [DVD]In Addis Ababa, I talked to a number of people from many different walks of life who absolutely love this guy. [29 October 2007] 
Billy Joe Shaver: Everybodys BrotherHe spits and he hollers and testifies and challenges listeners to watch out for his "Holy Ghost power" if they try to kick his ass. [24 October 2007] 
Sean Kingston: Sean KingstonAll in all, a pretty impressive debut for Sean Kingston, who I figured was just a weird pop robot. [23 October 2007] 
Hector Lavoe: La VozBy the time the rowdy horn stings hit, you're already online trying to figure out how much of your paycheck you can spend on salsa CDs. [12 October 2007] 
Over the Rhine: The Trumpet ChildDespite its missteps, The Trumpet Child is a great record. After hearing it I was hooked on Over the Rhine all over again. [8 October 2007] 
Habib Koité & Bamada: AfrikiAfriki is one of the most beautiful and intricately layered acoustic records of the year. But anyone expecting his music to conform to any "African" stereotypes will be sorely disappointed. [3 October 2007] 
B-Side Players: Fire in the YouthTop marks have to go to the rhythm section, because it comprises half the damn band. [4 September 2007] 
Kat De Luna: 9 LivesDe Luna could just get by on her amazing pop chops, but she wants more. [23 August 2007] 
Galactic: From the Corner to the BlockHot New Orleans funk band backs a selection of rappers, with mixed results. [21 August 2007] 
Frank London: A Night in the Old MarketplaceLondon, who is a member of the great American band the Klezmatics, is one of the great intriguing talents of our time. [17 August 2007] 
Welcome Back, Kotter: The Complete First SeasonEverything I ever needed to know I learned from Gabe Kaplan. 
Lafayette Gilchrist: ThreeThis album succeeds because of one simple thing: it's a lot of fun to listen to. [1 August 2007] 
Jerry Butler: The Ice Man Cometh/Ice on IceJerry Butler was just about the smoothest singer in the history of soul music. [17 July 2007] 
James Blood Ulmer: Bad Blood in the CityBlood cannot be contained or directed; Blood must flow. [11 June 2007] 
Loudon Wainwright III: Strange WeirdosThis is kind of a staggering achievement up in here. [1 June 2007] 
Various Artists: CompanyThe best thing about this is that it reminds us of the absolute genius of Stephen Sondheim. [29 May 2007] 
Ike Reilly Assassination: We Belong to the Staggering EveningNot just a best-of-year record, but maybe an all-timer. [10 May 2007] 
Jerry Granelli V16: The Sonic TempleBest jazz album of the year so far, until the next one comes along. [9 May 2007] 
Radio Moscow: Radio MoscowTwo dudes from Ames, Iowa have a psychedelic-garage-punk-blues-rock band. [1 May 2007] 
Dale Watson: From the Cradle to the GraveBelieve me: when Dale Watson sings something, it stays sung. [30 April 2007] 
Anat Cohen: Poetica / NoirThe time was right for Cohen to make a big statement. Instead, she made two. [16 April 2007] 
Cortney Tidwell: Dont Let Stars Keep Us Tangled UpBetter start respecting Cortney Tidwell now, before she takes over the universe. [13 April 2007] 
Tim McGraw: Let It GoTim McGraw makes his bid to be mentioned right alongside some of the greatest country artists of all time. [11 April 2007] 
Anat Fort: A Long StoryComfortable shoes, good spicy Spanish wine, and brilliant jazz albums like this. [4 April 2007] 
Martha Scanlan: The West Was BurningMartha Scanlan might soon be the one againt whom all the others are measured. [23 February 2007] 
Marnie Stern: In Advance of the Broken ArmA lot of crazy young people will blow out their eardrums to this in the next several months. [20 February 2007] 
John Waters: A Date With John WatersIt's a foregone conclusion that this Waters-curated disc of love songs will be at least worth a chuckle. [14 February 2007] 
Ed Pettersen: The New Punk Blues of Ed PettersenDon't call your album "The New Punk Blues" if you don't mean it -- this is alt.country.folk all the way. [12 February 2007] 
Tyrone Wells: Hold OnSkinny bald-headed Tyrone Wells has a great voice. Let's start there: dude can wail. [5 February 2007] 
Get Set Go: Selling Out & Going HomeThis is a very great pop record by a very sick man. I will play it daily for years. [24 January 2007] 
Trick Daddy: Back by Thug DemandAlthough jam-packed with fun songs, I'm afraid we may have seen the best of ol' Trick Daddy Dollars. [22 January 2007] 
Lyrics Born: Overnight EncoreI would rather that Lyrics Born just knuckled down and gave us another studio album, for chrissake. [9 January 2007] 
Eufórquestra: Explorations in AfrobeatIt would be very very unkind to slag off Eufórquestra just because they are a band full of white dudes from Iowa City playing Afrobeat music. [22 December 2006] 
Družina: TragareDružina, one of the biggest bands in Slovakia, takes Slovak folk songs and updates them for our times using modern instruments and approaches, while still respecting their roots. [15 December 2006] 
Ciara: Ciara: The EvolutionI want Ciara to succeed, because she seems to be a nice fun sexy pop star and we need more of those. [13 December 2006] 
Shane Bartell: Too Soon to SayBartell defies the singer-songwriter blueprint in many ways, but damned if this album doesn't hit the spot about 12 ways to Sunday nonetheless. [8 December 2006] 
Hamilton de Holanda Quintet: BrasilianosHamilton de Holanda plays a 10-string mandolin. He plays it really really well. [7 December 2006] 
Copping Free by Matthew CarnahanQuinn is just too perfect to be a true noir hero. [29 November 2006] 
Tuxedomoon: Bardo Hotel SoundtrackYou want experimental post-rock from a classic underrated band? You got it. [27 November 2006] 
Azam Ali: Elysium for the BravePlenty of beauty, but so much of it surface, this disc never quite coalesces into something with real emotion. [21 November 2006] 
Bob Schneider: The CalifornianCool-ass literate funky weird sardonic soulful stuff. [19 November 2006] 
Willie Bobo: Lost and FoundHe was smooth and he was funky and he needs to be rediscovered, like, pronto. [13 November 2006] 
The Channel: Tales From the Two Hill Heart / Sibylline MachineIn the absence of the Elephant 6 collective, the Channel turn out to be pretty likable. [6 November 2006] 
Maher Shalal Hash Baz: Faux DépartYou have to have a very high level of musicianship to sound good when you are busy trying to sound like an amateur. [26 October 2006] 
Hector Bambino El Father: Los Rompe DiscotekasReggaetón has an achilles' heel, and it is very much on display here. [23 October 2006] 
The Mosquitos: Mosquitos IIIThe Mosquitos is a New York City group through and through, cannibalizing any and all musical cultures to try to create something new! and fresh! and cool! 
Robert Callender: Le Museé de LImpressionnismeAnyone up for a super-obscure Euro-funk concept album about French painting? [11 October 2006] 
Kultur Shock: We Came to Take Your Jobs AwayKultur Shock does rock music laced with punk attitude, Balkan folk riffs, and a really really good sense of humor. [10 October 2006] 
Los Lobos: The Town and the CityA record full of beauty and pain and fear and hope by five guys who know what the hell they're talking about. 
Marisa Monte: Universo Ao Meu RedorI am in awe of all the respect and love that Monte gives to her nation's greatest musical form; everything is precision, class, beauty, and these are good things. [27 September 2006] 
Marisa Monte: Infinito ParticularIt's just kind of... there, sitting in the corner, looking sweet but not really wanting to dance. 
Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys: Legends of Country MusicIn his rowdy Texas way, Bob Wills was just as avant-garde as any other musician America has ever had. [22 September 2006] 
Arling & Cameron: Hi-Fi UndergroundThe po-faced genre-jumbling that is supposed to enliven this record has already been done better, and somewhat fresher, recently. [19 September 2006] 
Darrell Scott: The Invisible ManScott remains defiant in the face of the uncaring world, wearing that Sisyphus mask with panache and style. [18 September 2006] Celebrity DuetsAs Michael Bolton oozed across the floor, my interest began to go south faster than a carpetbagger on roller skates. [7 September 2006] 
Tanya Stephens: RebelutionThis album isn't just great, it's Album-of-the-Year HEROICALLY great. [28 August 2006] 
Chris Knight: Enough RopeThe coolest thing is that this might not even be the album of his career. [10 August 2006] 
Chip Taylor: Unglorious Hallelujah / Red, Red RoseIn these two discs, we get a full-on tour of the 62-year-old mind of one of the great American songwriters. [2 August 2006] 
Los Lonely Boys: SacredGo ahead and hate me for loving this, but it's too well-done and adorable not to be loved. [28 July 2006] 
Marvin Sease: Candy LickerMarvin Sease doesn't particularly care what anyone thinks about his music. Too bad, 'cause if he did, his work might be a bit more enjoyable. [19 July 2006] 
Carl Hancock Rux: Good Bread AlleyIt might not be your cup of tea, but maybe you need to drink something besides tea for a change. [18 July 2006] 
Casey Driessen: 3-DThis record changes everything. Witness a free-wheeling Americana near masterpiece. [17 July 2006] 
Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan: Life and Death (And Almost Everything Else)One-third funny haha, one-third funny strange, and another third poignant and sad. [23 June 2006] 
Lee Roy Parnell: Back to the WellAll Lee Roy Parnell does is write great songs, sing them well, and play the hell out of his guitar. [19 June 2006] 
Maurice el Medioni & Roberto Rodriguez: Descarga OrientalIt was pretty inevitable that these two culture-hopping nomads would find each other. [14 June 2006] 
Cibelle: The Shine of Dried Electric LeavesNo other album in 2006 will be this lovely, or this relentlessly weird. [2 June 2006] 
Van Hunt: On the Jungle FloorVan Hunt is a soul man and a rocker and a pop star and a funkateer and a hip-hop balladeer. Some people don't want him to be such a renaissance man but Van Hunt doesn't want to fit into anyone's cozy little box. [15 May 2006] 
Clear Static: Clear StaticAlthough they don't appear to have anything new to say, they say it pretty well. [12 May 2006] 
Gianluca Petrella: Indigo 4Gianluca Petrella is a young Italian trombone player who is well-versed in electronica and rock as well as jazz. [8 May 2006] 
Bruce Robison: Eleven StoriesBruce Robison is one of the best songwriters in country music, which means that he's one of the best songwriters in the world. [5 May 2006] 
Gomez: How We OperateYeah, it's a rave review of a Gomez record from Matt Cibula. Big surprise. [4 May 2006] 
Zemog el Gallo Bueno: Cama de la CongaHe's got a lot to say about Latin music and about the history and treatment of Puerto Rico by the U.S. [27 April 2006] 
&nbTom Verlaine: AroundAs a guitarist, Tom Verlaine is a poet. We have known this ever since his band Television issued "Little Johnny Jewel" as a two-sided single in 1975. 
Various Artists: Gospel MusicIf you don't care about the peripheral stuff, and can just listen to the beautiful music on the disc, it's worth your time. But if you care about history... [21 April 2006] 
Karsh Kale: Broken EnglishThis is Kale's most diverse and daring album yet; he moves into some genres that even he hasn't tried yet, and it really loosens up his urban/Indian/worldbeat groove. [12 April 2006] 
T.I.: KingIt's pretty early in 2006 to talk about albums of the year -- but this record says it's time to start. [11 April 2006] 
Buckwheat Zydeco: 100% Fortified ZydecoHot accordion and organ playing, workin' the rubboard, snaky guitar lines... it's a beautiful thing. [21 March 2006] 
Boom Boom Satellites: Full of Elevating PleasuresIt's a bit disconcerting to hear Japanese guys in 2006 absolutely NAILING the sound of two huge English bands from 10 years ago, accents and echoey guitars and all. [20 March 2006] 
Erik Friedlander: ProwlErik Friedlander's melodies, when he deploys them, go straight to the cerebellum, where they lodge pretty much forever. [3 March 2006] 
B.Fleischmann: The Humbucking CoilCanny post-rock pop goodness from Mr. Fleischmann, whose record Pop Loops for Breakfast is one of Matt Cibula's fave raves of this century. [2 March 2006] Various: Guitars of the Golden TriangleThey got all this music from old cassettes, and a good portion of the tracks have significant dropouts or wobbles, lending them that oh-so-real aura so prized by us world music obsessives. [1 March 2006] 
Willie Nile: Streets of New YorkStreets of New York might not be able to withstand direct scrutiny, but listen to it in the background or with your mind on something else, and it will very often sound like something wonderful. The Klezmatics Feat. Joshua NelsonYou know how people say 'We were dancing in the aisles' even though they really weren't? I'm not one of those guys. [27 February 2006] 
Carlos Barbosa-Lima: CariocaIf you don't listen to a lot of Brazilian music, you'll have to kind of re-adjust your ears for this one. [22 February 2006] 
Tail Dragger: My Head Is BaldOh, Tail Dragger is an authentic blues man, all right; he studied with Howlin' Wolf, he's been playing in Chi forever, he's authentic as hell. [21 February 2006] 
Hiromi: SpiralThis record will be on many people's year-end lists, even if they are not jazz people. [8 February 2006] 
Cuong Vu: It’s Mostly ResidualCuong Vu is going to be a major voice in jazz, if he can stand to keep making it. [7 February 2006] 
Patty Hurst Shifter: Too Crowded on the Losing EndNeat riffs! Brilliant and depressing words! That’s yer Patty Hurst Shifter, right there. [26 January 2006] 
Lil’ Wayne: Tha Carter IIHe really IS the best rapper alive, at least when he tries. [25 January 2006] 
Various: Noches de Hip-HopA perfectly serviceable comp if you're just learning about rap en español. [13 January 2006] 
Nnenna Freelon: Blueprint of a Lady: Sketches of Billie HolidayNnenna Freelon has the best voice in jazz" [12 January 2006] 
Various Artists: Choubi Choubi!: Folk and Pop Sounds from IraqIt could help people understand what Iraq sounded like before greedy bastards both inside and outside the country exploited it for its oil and ruined it and broke its people and bombed the shit out of it. [6 January 2006] 
Barbra Streisand: The Television Specials [DVD]This could be an eccentric heaven, served on a quirky silver platter. [23 December 2005] 
Jon Nicholson: A Lil Sump’m Sump’mThere's another member of the Nashville Musik Mafia freak parade who has made an album just as satisfying and fascinating in 2005 as either Big and Rich or Gretchen Wilson. [20 December 2005] 
Moacir Santos: Choros & AlegriaIt's a history lesson in Brazilian jazz, but a painless and extremely enjoyable one. [19 December 2005] 
Enrico Rava: TatiThis album is also cool. Not like 'hey daddy-o let's go to your hipster hootenanny' cool, but cool like gelato, cool like Marcello Mastroianni. [14 December 2005] 
Shakira: Oral Fixation, Vol. 2Shakira is the truth, people, and she's proven it twice over in 2005. She's made the best pop album of the year. [13 December 2005] 
Budoár Staré Dámy: My O VlkuTheir sound is more sparkly and weird than other Czech rock/jazz/pop/etc. Cibula has heard. [8 December 2005] 
Ernest Ranglin: Surfin’This album, in a fair world, would re-establish Ernest Ranglin on an international stage. [6 December 2005] 
Cuizinier: Pour le Filles: Street Tape Vol. 01Nothing else this year integrates more types of music, both smoothly and not-so-smoothly, than Pour les Filles does. [14 November 2005] 
The Del McCoury Band: The Company We KeepBecause there's nothing wrong with a divebombing mandolin run followed by a short sharp shock of fiddle, double-quick switchbacks and turnarounds at the last second, shifts in tempo that you don't see coming until it's just too late. [11 November 2005] 
Emmanuel Jal and Abdel Gadir Salim: CeasefireEmmanuel Jal is one of the hottest rappers in Africa, and Abdel Gadir Salim is an extremely prominent singer and oud player. [4 November 2005] 
Marty Stuart: Badlands: Ballads of the LakotaBadlands has Marty Stuart truly cooking on all cylinders. He is the most important talent in country music this year. [3 November 2005] 
Alicia Keys: UnpluggedIt's great if you like her, not so great if you don't, and right down the middle for everyone else. [27 October 2005] 
Lula Côrtes & Zé Ramalho: PaêbirúThis record has a great backstory: a psychedelic double album recorded in Brazil in 1974, released the next year but virtually unheard because of a warehouse fire that destroyed virtually every copy in existence. [25 October 2005] 
Twista: The Day AfterThe Day After is the finest mainstream hip-hop album of the year. [24 October 2005] 
Anoushka Shankar: RiseGone are the strict raga compositions, tweaked ever-so-slightly; these are songs that use raga bases, and they are filled with as many hooks as drones. [13 October 2005] 
Kahil El’Zabar’s Ritual Trio Featuring Billy Bang: Live at the River East Art CenterStop Looking For 2005's Best Jazz Album: This Is It. [7 October 2005] 
Marty Robbins: The Essential Marty RobbinsMarty Robbins should be in the all-time top echelon of country artists even if we’re just only talking about “El Paso,” one of the 10 greatest songs of all time. [6 October 2005]
Kathy Mattea: Right Out of NowhereShe doesn't want to set the world on fire, because it's already burning. Who could blame her for wanting to extinguish the flames?" [30 September 2005] 
Rodney Crowell: The OutsiderYou need to get back to caring a bit more about hooks and memorable riffs if you want to expand your audience beyond the people who already know and love you. [26 August 2005] 
Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives: Souls’ ChapelStuart knows how to make anything fun… even a religion that is being used as a bludgeon by our current presidential administration and many of our legislators. [25 August 2005]
Eddie Palmieri: Listen HereListen Here is adventurous without being pretentious, reckless but still controlled, both fun and challenging. [15 August 2005] 
Cassidy: I’m a HustlaHe is a very good thug rapper who wants to do something more ambitious, but can't figure out exactly how to do this. At least not yet. [5 August 2005] 
Shakira: Fijación Oral, Vol. 1Fijación Oral is a very good Latin pop album. To say that I'm looking forward to Oral Fixation is a massive understatement. [3 August 2005] 
Waldemar Bastos: RenascenceAngolan music is heavily influenced by Portuguese and Brazilian music. This, of course, makes Waldemar Bastos' new album the most listenable music of the year. [22 July 2005] 
Superaquello: Bien GorgeousI just want to be the first to say it: this record is a psychedelic masterpiece. [8 July 2005] 
Joshua Redman Elastic Band: MomentumThe idea of a brainy and ambitious young saxophonist finally breaking out into his own is an extremely inviting bandwagon. [7 July 2005] 
Saul Zonana: 42 DaysSummertime is upon us and that means everything is heating up... and Zonana's new album is hot... [6 July 2005] 
Peter Himmelman: Imperfect WorldImperfect World sounds like the work of someone who has a lot of things to say, and doesn't much care in what order he says them. [5 July 2005] 
Dierks Bentley: Modern Day DrifterGreat windows-down-stereo-blasting summer album that also happens to be a good product from Nashville. [27 June 2005] 
Ojos de Brujo: Remezclas de la Casa: Remixes from “Barí”t's really only of interest if you love love love Barí and you are a DJ or obsessive completist. [20 June 2005] 
Charanga Cakewalk: Loteria de la Cumbia Lounge'Mexicanos' is this album in a nutshell. Ramos takes a basic cheesy polka beat and keeps loading elements on top of it to see what will happen. [15 June 2005] 
Marta Topferova: La MareaCan a young woman who grew up in Czechoslovakia and Seattle really get to the heart of South American music? Why, yes she can. [10 June 2005] 
Enuma Elish: LeviathanEnuma Elish is a jazz group, a rock group, a post-rock group, an electronic group, a funk band, and an avant-garde world music group. [2 June 2005] 
John Hammond: In Your Arms AgainAn extremely great blues guitar player, a competent and charming vocalist, untouchable on harmonica, and a musical library all by himself. [1 June 2005] 
Amos Lee: self-titledAmos Lee is a young singer-songwriter with an adorable look and an adorable voice and some adorable songs. [27 May 2005] 
Hacienda Brothers: self-titledThey cover Mel Tillis and Fred Neil songs alongside their own original tunes, they are just as happy doing surf-hick instrumentals as they are belting out countrypolitan weepers. 
Mannie Fresh: The Mind of Mannie FreshMannie Fresh has a very interesting mind. The word 'interesting' does not always mean something good, but here it does. This shit is bananas. [25 May 2005] 
Charlie Poole: You Ain’t Talkin’ to Me: Charlie Poole and the Roots of Country MusicPoole might be the central missing link of American music. [17 May 2005] 
Lo’Jo: Ce Soir LàThe newest album by the French group with multi-cultural cred is maybe a little too perfect. [29 April 2005] 
Black 47: Elvis Murphy’s Green Suede ShoesKirwan's songs are overstuffed with hyperromantic ravings, undisciplined wordplay, and things no honest man would say. [27 April 2005] 
Brooke Valentine: Chain LetterThere's a new she-riff in town, and her name is Brooke Valentine. [13 April 2005] 
Dallas Wayne: I’m Your Biggest FanDallas Wayne has constructed one of the great country albums of our time. [8 April 2005] 
Chatham County Line: Route 23If all you need from an album is sincerity, then start polishing off the Grammy right now; this record is caked in sincerity, covered in it like mud on a 4X4. [4 April 2005] 
Joey DeFrancesco with Jimmy Smith: LegacyBabe Ruth had his Hank Aaron, and many people in the Hammond B-3 Jazz Organ Cult have just been afraid that Joey D will somehow eclipse Jimmy's legacy. [28 March 2005] 
Carlos del Junco: Blues MongrelCarlos del Junco is the best blues harmonica player in Canada. [23 March 2005] 
Lee Ann Womack: There’s More Where That Came FromIt's not a revolution, it's not a bold new path, it's nothing more than good old country music, schmaltz and truth and hurt and illicit sex all wrapped up together with a pretty and garishly red bow. [22 March 2005] 
Frankie J: The OneThe One is not a bad little pop record, but I guess I was wrong about his originality and drive and desire. It turns out all he wants to be is the Hispanic Usher. Fortunately, I love Usher, and so does America. [21 March 2005] 
The Klezmatics: Brother Moses Smote the WaterThis review will be relatively short, as I have run out of synonyms for “amazing”. [9 March 2005]
Lily Holbrook: Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing HurtIt turns out that all any busker wants to do is to make techno-influenced pop music. [1 March 2005] 
Various Artists: The Only Doo-Wop Collection You’ll Ever NeedDoo-wop music is the most beautiful music ever made in this country. It was highly avant-garde and highly populist at the same time. [25 February 2005] 
Dave Holland Big Band: OvertimeThis is another great disc from Dave Holland's big band, which contains some of the best contemporary jazz musicians on Earth. [21 February 2005] 
LCD Soundsystem: self-titledLCD has had mad buzz for three years without actually releasing an album. Which means, of course, that the knives were out for this record among the scenesters. [11 February 2005] 
Ladysmith Black Mambazo: No BoundariesJoseph Shabalala is a true pioneer in world music, not just for his arrangements and his beautiful voice, but also for his forward-thinking spirit, but his new collaboration with a chamber group comes up short. [4 February 2005] 
Motion Trio: Pictures From the StreetAccordions are the new guitars. It's true and you know it... and these three amazing accordion players from Poland prove it. [25 January 2005] 
Traband: Hyje!A bunch of crazed Romany punk funk rebels in the Czech Republic just made of my favorite records of last year. [18 January 2005] 
Luiz Gayotto: Fragmentos de Música Livre e EspontâneaLuiz Gayotto is a huge talent; large stretches of this record sound as weird/cool as anything Brian Eno did in the 1970s. [12 January 2005] 
Don Byron: Ivey-DiveyHe's the best clarinet player we will ever hear, he's a reckless and adventurous composer, he's got 58 ideas whereas other musicians only ever have one or two. [15 December 2004] 
Patricia Barber: Café Bleu / Modern Cool / Nightclub / VerseThe Chicago-based Patricia Barber is an extremely intelligent jazz songwriter who sings and plays piano and writes challenging songs dealing with consumer culture and postmodernism and romantic/sexual obsession. [2 December 2004] 
The Ike Reilly Assassination: Sparkle in the FinishIf I was going to be pretentious about it, I'd say that Ike Reilly has tapped into something very American, very real, very important. Or I could just say that this record kicks my ass like it's Ron Artest and I just threw a beer at it. [30 November 2004] 
Los Tigres del Norte: Pacto de SangreNorteño music is the most punk-rock thing going these days, norteño music is the key to understanding half of Mexican-American culture, norteño music is the naked truth. [22 November 2004] 
Anthony Hamilton: Comin’ from Where I’m FromAnthony Hamilton’s voice is a thing from God, a soaring pleading hard-edged thing, thick in that southern way, Al Green one minute and Otis Redding the next, a thing to treasure. [9 April 2004]
Gary Allan: See If I CareGary Allan’s always been searching for how to be both Californian and country, and here he’s found it. [17 October 2003]
The Streets: Original Pirate MaterialAnd if Skinner isn’t an innovator, he is at least one of the most endearing musical personalities to come along in many years: he’s tough but vulnerable, slangy but somehow correct, down with the homeys but strangely removed from it all. 
Steven Soderbergh Interviews by Anthony Kaufman, editorHis films are smart, stylish, and substantive, and he's made his peace with Hollywood without selling out -- truly a hero for our time. [22 May 2002] 
Points of Departure: New Stories from Mexico Edited by Monica Lavin; Gustavo V. Segade, translator'The Hostage' by Álvaro Uribe, is a nightmare scenario worthy of Poe--and its translation is nimble and facile enough that it doesn't get in the way. [3 May 2002] 
Shakira: Laundry ServiceMaybe it's not your fault that you lost your nerve and made an extremely safe album. Maybe you were been talked into it by the Estefans. Their fingerprints are all over this record. [12 November 2001] 
Spiritualized: Let It Come DownThe personal nature of these songs is what really sets 'Let It Come Down' apart from anything Spiritualized has done before. It's as though J. Spaceman has realized that once you're in deep outer-space, the only way to escape is to come back home. [24 September 2001] 
The Charlatans UK: WonderlandThe Charlatans have never been the most original band, but their combination of every cool-sounding musical style ever approaches an original sort of derivativeness. 
Habeas Codfish: Reflections on Food and the Law by Barry M. LevensonMost of the people here in Madison are like everyone else in the state: Packer lovin', Milwaukee avoidin', fried cheese curd eatin' 'Sconsinites, and that's that. [1 January 1995] 
Crazy Rhythm by Leonard GarmentLeonard Garment was a lawyer who, in 1963, befriended the new partner at his New York law firm, former Vice President Richard Milhous Nixon. Garment, a self-described 'birthright Democrat' who had done fundraising for liberal candidates in the past, encouraged Nixon to get back into politics, and helped to get him elected in 1968. BlogsConsuming Consumables: Various Artists - Stax 50th: A 50th Anniversary Celebration [$19.98] [5 December 2007]Consuming Consumables: LISTEN - Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys: Legends of Country Music [28 November 2006] |
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