Colin McGuire is a columnist and the Music Reviews Editor here at PopMatters, as well as an award-winning blogger and copy editor for the Frederick News-Post in Frederick, Maryland. He has worked in newspapers for five years, writing columns, editing stories and trying to make sure the medium doesn’t completely fall off the Earth anytime soon. You can follow him on Twitter @colinpadraic.
Features
Tuesday, March 19 2013
Third Eye Blind Returns Recharged at SXSW
Stephan Jenkins and friends debut three new songs at Austin set and remind us all -- even the city of Austin's finest -- how powerful and beloved they can be.
Monday, March 18 2013
Butch Walker: In Focus at SXSW
One of America's greatest songwriters has been one of the hardest working artists at South By Southwest this year. That commitment, however, shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who has followed his long and unpredictable career.
Friday, March 15 2013
Dave Grohl Gets Nostalgic in SXSW Keynote Address
As the featured speaker of this year's music festival, the Nirvana drummer, Foo Fighters lead singer reflects on what it took to get where he is today.
Friday, December 21 2012
Personal Revolution: An Interview with Ziggy Marley
Ziggy Marley has established himself as a true star outside of the the grand shadow his father's legacy has cast, and now by contributing art to Polio compilations and celebrating the release of his own live disc, Marley sits down to talk to us about the corporatization of music, the connection he feels with all life, and what lies ahead for the reggae icon ...
Thursday, May 31 2012
Blood Brothers: An Interview with Eve 6
They scored massive alt-rock hits at the turn of the millennium, but after a long, long hiatus, Eve 6 are back and ready to tackle the mainstream once again, telling PopMatters all about it ...
Columns
Thursday, May 23 2013
In Defense Of ... New Orleans Gospel Music
Despite its rich tradition, the future of gospel music in various parts of the world has been an issue of contention and heartbreak in recent years, but he Electrifying Crown Seekers make a case that the genre is still going strong.
Tuesday, May 14 2013
In Defense Of ... The Return of 'Arrested Development'
In theory, it shouldn't be hard for those who care about Arrested Development's comeback to actually root for it to succeed, even as today's interconnected and advanced world is far more critical than it was a decade ago, when the Bluths first graced our TV screens.
Thursday, May 9 2013
In Defense Of ... Going to the Movies
The popcorn. The posters. The previews. The audience camaraderie. Try as they may, big-screen televisions and streaming services will never be able to duplicate the moviegoing experience as long as the theaters stay open and the films keep coming.
Wednesday, May 1 2013
In Defense Of ... The Music Collector
With the rise of streaming services and viral videos, many argue that the art of collecting may be facing its imminent demise sooner than later. For true believers, however, the digital age may be the single most convenient time in the history of music consumerism.
Tuesday, April 23 2013
In Defense Of ... The Rock Drummer
Bobby Gillespie once said it best: You can't have a good band if you don't have a good drummer. As rock music has proved over the years, that adage is far more true than one might think.
Reviews
Wednesday, May 15 2013
The Black Crowes: Wiser for the Time
A massive live set from one of the 1990s' most successful rock acts chronicles a band that might be unparalleled in its resiliency.
Thursday, March 14 2013
SXSW 2013: Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carrabba Returns with Twin Falls
Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carrabba returns to the spotlight at SXSW with his new project, Twin Falls. The result has fans wondering why he left his preeminent work light years behind.
Thursday, January 31 2013
Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite: Get Up!
With Get Up!, Ben Harper may have finally found his musical soul mate in one of the great electric harmonica players of our time and this inferno of a record is proof.
Tuesday, January 29 2013
Kris Kristofferson: Feeling Mortal
One of the greatest country and western singer-songwriters of the last half-century returns with a startling reminder of just how affecting his music can be.
Thursday, January 17 2013
Mint Condition: Music @ The Speed of Life
R&B group's latest is a predictably solid collection of modern day crooning that proves there's nothing wrong with merely being pretty good.
Blogs
Monday, March 18 2013
Hey Marseilles Soft-Rocks SXSW
If a dive bar, tiny stage, and light beer couldn't phase this Seattle septet, nothing could.
Wednesday, March 13 2013
Striking a Match at SXSW
Upstart pop country duo outshines bigger, more established names in surprising Tuesday night set.
Wednesday, January 23 2013
The 10 Greatest Lyricists in Hip-Hop
From the type of honest and revealing storytelling that some have mastered to the wit-centric, mind-bending lines that ooze with double entendres and third, fourth, and fifth meanings, the best hip-hop will forever be contingent on the power of its lyrics. Here, PopMatters takes a look at 10 of the best lyricists the rap form has to offer.
Tuesday, December 11 2012
Bubbling Under the Top 75: Leonard Cohen - 'Old Ideas'
PopMatters spotlights a few additional 2012 albums that didn't quite crack the Best 75 list.
Monday, August 8 2011
Hip-Hop’s Heartbreak: Kanye West – "Coldest Winter" and "Pinocchio Story"
808s & Heartbreak -- and this Between the Grooves series -- wraps up with a two-song tandem that exemplifies everything Kanye West's masterpiece-before-the-masterpiece is about.
