Hailing from California, AJ Ramirez graduated with a BA in English in 2006, and then spent two years working as co-music director at freeform college radio station KDVS 90.3 FM. Since 2010 he has been editor of PopMatters’ Sound Affects music blog. He’s most at home scouring libraries for band biographies and reading old print music articles archived online.
Features
Friday, September 30 2011
The Year Alternative Went Massive and Defined a Decade
Above all else, musically 1991 will forever be remembered as the year alterna-rock conquered the masses. PopMatters explores how alternative became the dominant form of rock music in the '90s.
Thursday, June 9 2011
In the Lap of the Gods: The First Five Queen Albums
Consummate showmen and masters of the studio environment, in their first five albums the members of British rock group Queen transformed from ambitious contenders into elite practitioners of the genre.
Thursday, November 5 2009
Nirvana: Bleach
Starting with Nevermind, Kurt Cobain intentionally simplified his compositions in order to emphasize their pop components. Less song-focused than later Nirvana works, Bleach acts as an interesting showcase of the band’s musical chops.
Reviews
Tuesday, February 7 2012
Spectrals: Bad Penny
One need not dread this album’s hazy production acting as a smokescreen to mask any shortcomings Spectrals might harbor as a songwriter or performer—his tunes would be just as fetching if recorded 40 years ago.
Tuesday, January 24 2012
Kramies: The European
This Dutch-American singer-songwriter knows how to make grand, sweeping gestures couched in strong hooks without coming off as cheap or hackneyed about it.
Friday, January 20 2012
Brett Anderson: Crash About to Happen
Somber yet tuneful, the Suede frontman's latest digital single is of a caliber to match his band's best efforts.
Monday, January 16 2012
Washed Out: Amor Fati EP
The fact that this EP has some choice tracks can't hide the fact that the title cut itself is a rather weak effort.
Wednesday, December 14 2011
Smashing Pumpkins: Gish (Deluxe Edition) / Siamese Dream (Deluxe Edition)
Freak out, give in: these generous repackages of the Chicago alt-rock heroes' first two albums chart the upward trajectory that took them from a promising-yet-overextended debut to one of their genre's all-time greatest masterpieces.
Blogs
Thursday, January 26 2012
10 Songs That Will Make You Love U2
As the documentary From the Sky Down marks its arrival on DVD and Blu-Ray this week, Sound Affects list ten songs intended to help you warm up to the biggest band in the world.
Thursday, January 19 2012
AFI’s “Girl’s Not Grey”: One of the Best Rock Songs of the Past Decade?
Often too pretentious for its own good, in 2003 goth-tinged punk group AFI surmounted its shortcomings and excesses to craft at least one near-perfect single.
Tuesday, December 13 2011
Snubbed!: Why the Cure Deserves to Be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Guns N' Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and the Beastie Boys were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame just last week--but not fellow ballot finalist the Cure. Here's why goth's flagship group deserved to join them.
Monday, December 5 2011
All That Glitters: Led Zeppelin - "When the Levee Breaks"
At the end of Led Zeppelin's masterpiece lies a doomy, bottom-heavy monster that connects the dots between the blues and heavy metal--and provided dozens of hip-hop artists with the perfect drum track to sample.
Monday, November 28 2011
All That Glitters: Led Zeppelin - "Going to California"
In the second of Led Zeppelin IV's two acoustic offerings, the band pays tribute to Joni Mitchell as Robert Plant quests for the hippie promised land.
