Friday, March 16 2012
Textbook Oppositions and Alternatives: Re-Thinking the Role of Race in ‘60s Rock and Soul Music
Black rock musicians like Jimi Hendrix, Sly Stone, and Arthur Lee (Love), as well as white soul musicians in the racially integrated bands playing on recordings of singers like Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett, existed during the '60s. So why is rock and soul so black and white?
Thursday, November 10 2011
Ólöf Arnalds: Ólöf Sings EP
The Icelandic singer-songwriter serves up a fine quintet of English-language songs; highlights include covers of Springsteen, Dylan, and Johnny Cash.
Wednesday, November 9 2011
Marc Carroll: In Silence
A couple of tracks stand out on their own, but In Silence, as a whole, is an awkward hodgepodge of Irish folk music and sappy piano ballads.
Friday, November 4 2011
John Wesley Harding: The Sound of His Own Voice
Bob Dylan and Joan Baez's self-proclaimed bastard son looks back in whimsy.
Thursday, October 13 2011
Various Artists: The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams
The only thing more exciting than the release of 12 previously unrecorded Hank Williams lyrics is the group of artists recruited to put them together.
Tuesday, October 4 2011
‘All Star Western’ Is at Home, Back East
In a longstanding tradition of using company-wide shakeups to offer a new and engaging visions of Jonah Hex, All Star Western offers perhaps the sincerest reboot of the entire New 52 run.
Thursday, September 29 2011
Musical Auteurism: Recognizing Genius
An album is not an insulated document, but rather something that breathes and grows within an artist's discography. I challenge music fans to not simply find songs or albums that they like (though certainly that has a completely worthwhile place), but to find entire discographies (from acknowledged classics to forgotten albums) to grow with over time.
Friday, September 9 2011
Counterbalance: Year One
In this special one-year anniversary edition of Counterbalance, Eric Klinger and Jason Mendelsohn discuss their first year combing through the pop music canon (as determined by Acclaimed Music's calculations of every best-of list available), share a few favorites, and justify a couple items on their expense account.
Wednesday, September 7 2011
Tom Russell: Mesabi
Tom Russell's Mesabi offers powerful meditations on heroes and legends.
Thursday, September 1 2011
Between Church & State
Can ideology be passed on without being radically altered? In Damaged #2 creators Michael and John Schwarz along with writer David Lapham and artist Leonardo Manco explore this question that is at once artistic, relevant to the digital economy and core American values. Explore more of the story in the free-to-download preview attached to this story.
