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
Wednesday, May 2 2012
Graham Coxon: A+E
The bespectacled Blur guitarist once again indulges his American indie rock fixation -- and it's a good thing he has.
Monday, March 26 2012
The Lucy Show: Remembrances
No band is ever truly forgotten these day, even if it was an also-ran post-punk act that had no distinctive sonic identity of its own.
Thursday, March 22 2012
The Diodes: Action/Reaction
The Canadian punk band's reissued sophomore LP is proof that an AOR makeover was exactly the right direction for the ensemble to go in.
Thursday, March 15 2012
The Submarines: The Shoelaces EP
Even when the Submarines try to strip their material down, they still sound fussy and slickly polished.
Wednesday, March 7 2012
Ceremony: Zoo
For its first LP for Matador, this California punk five-piece is quite comfortable eschewing extremes of excellence and awfulness (not to mention its hardcore roots) to be unambitiously average.
Blogs
Tuesday, May 22 2012
Death Disco: The (Death) Cult's Visit to "God's Zoo"
Before the big riffs and the arena-sized swagger, the band now known as the Cult injected disco and funk into its gothic theater for one riveting dance-rock smash.
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.
