Vijith Assar

Blues Child: An Interview With Eli Cook

By Vijith Assar

PopMatters talks with 21-year-old bluesman Eli Cook about cranking it up, turning it down, and balancing the expectations of different crowds. [10 October 2008]

Gwar: 13 December 2009 - New York

By Vijith Assar

It's almost hard to consider Gwar "shock rock", since gasping instead of laughing would mean you've somehow managed to discount the campiness. [21 January 2010]

Nine Inch Nails: 26 August 2009 - New York

By Vijith Assar

Trent Reznor has been on the ol' Debbie Downer kick for 20 years, always singing about things dying and ending and breaking, and it's probably time to close up shop. [1 October 2009]

Sonic Youth: 3 July 2009 - United Palace Theatre, New York

By Vijith Assar

Classics like "Tom Violence" occasionally worked their way in, but for the most part the set list consisted of tunes from this year's triumphant new album The Eternal [28 September 2009]

Festival International De Jazz De Montreal: 30 June-12 July 2009 - Montreal

By Vijith Assar

Every summer Montreal hosts its enormous annual jazz festival, always with a potent lineup of performers which stretches out over two and a half weeks -- if only I could see it all. [16 September 2009]

Kaki King: Mexican Teenagers EP

By Vijith Assar

The previously-acoustic guitarist successfully plugs herself in. [27 April 2009]

Tibet House Benefit Concert

By Vijith Assar

Many of the musicians get two or three songs at most, implying that far more performers have been scheduled than is sensible in order to cast the widest net of appeal and draw in as many people as possible. [9 March 2009]

Kronos Quartet

By Vijith Assar

Sometimes it's not the name in lights that's the main attraction. [3 March 2009]

My Brightest Diamond

By Vijith Assar

I'm all for artistic growth and boldly traveling into new musical territory, but unfortunately these adaptations are a little too haphazard -- or maybe just understaffed -- and Shara Worden's magic has been lost in translation. [10 February 2009]

Blip Festival 2008

By Vijith Assar

Blipfest remains unique among concert experiences because I went home with the knowledge that I already had all the tools necessary to do what I had just seen on stage. [9 January 2009]

DragonForce

By Vijith Assar

Dear Herman Li, can you please grow a moustache? Love, PopMatters. [18 December 2008]

Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid: NYC

By Vijith Assar

Jazz drummer Steve Reid is a fascinating contrast to the rigid grids typical of Four Tet. [20 November 2008]

Chris Thile + Brad Mehldau

By Vijith Assar

With just his mandolin for company, Chris Thile's set included the expected folk tunes, some originals, and a sprinkling of the classical pieces that he found influential. [4 November 2008]

Squarepusher: Just a Souvenir

By Vijith Assar

Jenkinson seems to have just decided that he wants to become a real person again, casting off the gleefully elitist Borg existence he usually inhabits. [30 October 2008]

Nullsleep

By Vijith Assar

There's a minimalism to Nullsleep’s equipment which you'd think would parallel the compositional philosophy, but in fact it seems to be the inverse. How much noise can we make with this? How complex can the songs get with just two toys? With eight bits? [29 October 2008]

Staind

By Vijith Assar

It's tempting to dismiss Staind as marketable one-dimensional depression, which is true, but that in itself is not a crippling flaw -- in this corner of the rock world, bands like Rage Against The Machine and A Perfect Circle have established themselves as perpetual sourpusses without making it this excruciating. [8 October 2008]

Aesop Rock

By Vijith Assar

"This is one of the best days of my career right here," Aesop Rock says as the turntable belts start to cool. Musicians are generally full of shit, and usually they're lying when they say things like that in Cleveland, but here I'm inclined to buy it. [11 September 2008]

British Sea Power

By Vijith Assar

What’s worse: biting off more than you can chew or living entirely on a diet of McNuggets and Gummi Bears? I'm not sure I have an answer at this point. [22 May 2008]

Nine Inch Nails: The Slip

By Vijith Assar

One more in the coffin of the record industry. Seven more to go? [13 May 2008]

Blue Man Group

By Vijith Assar

I'm racking my brain trying to come to some grand conclusion about the message they're sending about emotional isolation and modern technology, but it's hard to stay reflective when the guys on stage are barfing up marshmallows on some poor girl's head. [14 April 2008]

Kaki King: Dreaming of Revenge

By Vijith Assar

Once again, the talented guitarist takes two steps forward and one step back. [13 March 2008]

A Concert for Virginia Tech

By Vijith Assar

PopMatters' Vijith Assar, himself a former resident of Blacksburg, VA, reflects on his home town, as Dave Matthews and a host of other musicians usher in a new semester at Virginia Tech. [20 December 2007]

Lucinda Williams

By Vijith Assar

Resident fan-rankler Vijith Assar takes a country legend to task for distracting orchestration and overbearing activism. In love with Lucinda? Check back Monday for a contrasting view. [12 October 2007]

Tim Reynolds

By Vijith Assar

Dave Matthews cohort Tim Reynolds is a small, vaguely impish man, and his fretboard moves are entirely inhuman -- nimble, mischievous, and just a little magical. [8 October 2007]

Bill Callahan

By Vijith Assar

Free of his smog. moniker, Bill Callahan searches for new ground on which to lay his guitar and shaker. The question: can he survive the search, and, if he does, is there any uncharted land left? [3 October 2007]

A Concert for Virginia Tech

By Vijith Assar

PopMatters' Vijith Assar, himself a former resident of Blacksburg, VA, reflects on his home town, as Dave Matthews and a host of other musicians usher in a new semester at Virginia Tech. [14 September 2007]

The B-52’s

By Vijith Assar

Despite my tremendous appetite for absurdity, watching the B-52's in the middle of the pouring rain is one of the most depressing things I can possibly imagine. [13 August 2007]

Battles

By Vijith Assar

History will look back on "math rock" with as much ridicule as it does Gwar and nearly all musical taxonomies ending in "-core." But what about artists with a genuine sense of mathematic structure? [9 July 2007]

Notes from the Road: 8 Bits from Blip Festival: 17-19.Dec.2009 - Brooklyn [4 February 2010]

Notes from the Road: Ghostland Observatory: 5.Dec.09 - New York [11 December 2009]

Notes from the Road: CMJ 2009: Day 5 - The Temper Trap + Midnight Juggernauts [25 October 2009]

Notes from the Road: CMJ 2009: Day 4 - Punch Brothers + Holly Miranda + Cymbals Eat Guitars [24 October 2009]

Notes from the Road: CMJ 2009: Day 3 - YACHT + James Murphy [23 October 2009]

Notes from the Road: CMJ 2009: Day 2 - Suckers + Fool’s Gold [22 October 2009]

Notes from the Road: CMJ 2009: Day 1 - Kingston + Die!Die!Die! + Kidz in Space [21 October 2009]

Sound Affects: Subprime: Animated Short [11 June 2009]

Sound Affects: Body For Karate (MP3 / video) [6 March 2009]

Sound Affects: Hey, something seems different about Max tonight [4 March 2009]

Sound Affects: Michael Hearst definitely deserves a Klondike bar [27 February 2009]

Notes from the Road: CMJ Music Marathon 2008 Day 5: Dragons Of Zynth [27 October 2008]

Notes from the Road: CMJ Music Marathon 2008 Day 5: Minus The Bear

Notes from the Road: CMJ Music Marathon 2008 Day 5: Annuals

Notes from the Road: CMJ Music Marathon 2008 Day 3: Giveamanakick [24 October 2008]

Notes from the Road: CMJ Music Marathon 2008 Day 2: The Dexter Romweber Duo [23 October 2008]

Notes from the Road: CMJ Music Marathon 2008 Day 1: Vivian Girls [22 October 2008]

Sound Affects: Hi Needle, I’m Haystack [23 May 2008]

Sound Affects: Wake Up Call [21 May 2008]

Sound Affects: All Together Now: YAAAAARRRRGGHHH

Sound Affects: Sorry, can you repeat that? [19 May 2008]

Sound Affects: Connecting the Dots