Friday, August 25 2006
Bubblegum Pops the (Counter-)Culture
Fake and faceless, bubblegum pop in the late '60s and early '70s offended the prevailing rock myths of artistic creativity and rugged opposition to the powers-that-be.
Thursday, May 11 2006
Lonnie Donegan and the Birth of British Rock
As skiffle's working-class trailblazer, Lonnie Donegan infused '50s British rock 'n' roll with a regional accent and music-hall comedy style missing from the popular American exports.
Monday, March 27 2006
The Redcoats Are Coming! The British Invasion of SXSW ‘06
Ellis spends four days in Austin looking for the finest exports from Tony Blair's Cool Britannia. In lieu of monkeys, magic numbers, and Moz, his search yields Casio-pop, California harmonies, and communal sing-along epics.
Friday, February 17 2006
Wild Wanda Jackson
The self-described 'Fujiyama Mama' of '50s rockabilly was a hard-headed, bare-knuckled antithesis to the era's prevailing gender expectations.
Friday, January 13 2006
Chuck Berry: A-Merry-Can Rebel
Hail! Hail! One of rock 'n' roll's most innovative mavericks whose dissenting rebellion was fueled by subversive humor.
Friday, November 18 2005
Cab Calloway: Original Rapper
Rhythmic emphases, rhyme infatuations, celebrations of decadence, slang, bling, and an overall manifestation of cool: Cab Calloway was hip-hop's preeminent godfather.
Thursday, October 13 2005
Laughin’ Louis Armstrong: The Trickster
Satchmo's subversive humor struck multiple targets simultaneously: it commented on the very music he was transforming; and, as a survival tool, it presented a league of oppressors with unexpected resistance.
Wednesday, March 30 2005
Messin’ With Texas: Some Sights and Sounds from SXSW
As the final day unfolded, things grew more hazy as the rush to consume all one could in the final hours was not limited to the music.
Wednesday, March 9 2005
Mike Skinner’s Blues: Traversing The Streets of Anglo-America
Noticeably absent from Streets stories are the guns, bling, fast cars and ho's that so many American rappers invoke to establish their credentials. Where U.S. rappers emulate the fast-paced content of American action films, The Streets is more in tune with the Mike Leigh sensibility in his scenes of working class desperation and blank nothingness.
Wednesday, December 29 2004
Growing Up With John Peel: A Memoir
In John Peel I know that I (and many others) found a voice that championed the cultural margins and artistic mavericks; this voice, in turn, fostered a receptive sensibility with which to open-mindedly and open-heartedly appreciate marginal artists.
