Wednesday, September 7 2011
In Appreciation of Nick Ashford: Love Songs, Unsung
Nikolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson stood for all that was true and eternal and clear-eyed about adult love and relationships. Romance resounded in every note.
Thursday, August 25 2011
Rock ‘n’ Roll 101: How to Handle a Dead Young Rock Star
In the wake of Amy Winehouse's death, record industry types and music journalists dusted off their Rock 'n' Roll 101 handbooks, revisiting the chapter on how to report on a Young Rock Star's death. Has it been handled any differently this time around than in the past?
Monday, August 22 2011
The Off-Handed Cool of Michael Franks
Is he just a "smooth jazz" hack? Or is Michael Franks a real jazz singer whose best work from the '70s remains a viable way to sing today?
Wednesday, August 17 2011
Lesbian Musicians These Days: More than Just Women with Guitars
In its July issue, Curve features a list of "101 Essential Musicians", admitting that the list doesn't "do justice" to a majority of the lesbian artists working today. We'll help Curve fill out that list, here.
Monday, August 15 2011
My Favorite Aaliyah Things
Ten years after her passing, R&B and popular music fans still love Aaliyah. The continued vitality of her legacy speaks directly to our connection to her style, poise, talent, and potential.
Thursday, August 11 2011
The Return of 120 Minutes
120 Minutes returns to guide us through the alternative/indie/hip-hop/whatever-else universe. But what's a show to do when nothing's as hard to find as it used to be?
Wednesday, August 10 2011
The Human Collision: A Conversation with Matt Nathanson About Modern Love
Songwriter Matt Nathanson has just made his finest statement with his new album, Modern Love, a diverse collection of songs about relationships, sexuality, and intimacy in a rapidly changing world.
Monday, August 8 2011
Steve Earle’s ‘I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive’
A been-there-lived-it-attitude and street-level redemption, all propelled by a songwriter's/storyteller's lyrical and narrative knack.
Tuesday, August 2 2011
Born Again, Again
Critically panned 28 years ago, Black Sabbath's bizarre 11th album, Born Again, has gone on to earn a cult following of its own.
Monday, August 1 2011
Knocking on History’s Door with Singer-Songwriter Tom Russell
Deep in the texture of Tom Russell's songs exists a well-examined stockpile of history told from the point-of-view of a sociologist with nimble literary prowess.
Wednesday, July 27 2011
Are These the New Faces of Classic Rock?
Pick an established classic rock band which celebrated its heyday in the ‘70s and early ‘80s. The group stubbornly refuses to hang it up. They just need a new frontman.
Wednesday, July 20 2011
Is Country Music Treading Water in 2011?
It's been a dead enough year in country music to make fans wonder what's going on. Is the genre taking a year off, or just jogging in place for a while?
Monday, July 18 2011
The Hate for Southern Hip-Hop: Why So Serious?
The way some of us disparage Southern rap, you'd think rappers like Gucci Mane and Waka Flocka Flame had recorded a record dissing Kool G. Rap and Big Daddy Kane.
Thursday, July 14 2011
I Was Dreamin’ When I Wrote This: A Trip to Tribute Land
For some fans, legendary artists of the past offer a fun diversion from the present. But what happens when that turns into an obsession?
Wednesday, July 13 2011
Call Me Uncontrollable: Deaf Muslim Filmmaker Sabina England
A Conversation with Deaf Muslim Filmmaker Sabina England about punk attitudes, Deaf identities, and Muslim treatment in post 9-11 America.
Monday, July 11 2011
Does ‘Treme’ Hate Modern Jazz?
Watching Treme, one might get the impression that modern jazz is the soundtrack for the soulless, and therefore has no place in New Orleans, pre- or post Hurricane Katrina.
Techno’s Labor Force, Rock’s Betrayal, and the Birth of the Fascist Groove Thing
Electronic music has always maintained an ambivalent attitude towards labor, at once rejecting the notion of wage internment and creative inhibition while embracing the beauty of the cyborgian mechanics of the factory and the allure of discipline and dominance.
Thursday, July 7 2011
Hall and Oates: Still Relevant. Still Rocking.
Hall and Oates use the internet and collaboration with young bands and artists to infuse their classic songs with modern sensibilities. This is why their concerts are filled with fans that were barely born when those songs were written.
Tuesday, June 28 2011
On Losing Superman: Gil Scott-Heron’s Rise, Fall, and All-Too-Brief Second Act
We thought Gil Scott-Heron was bulletproof. He wasn’t. We thought he’d know better. He didn’t. He was human. And I‘m New Here, not his greatest work, is his most human work.
Monday, June 20 2011
Waxing Nostalgic: The Mantras of the Music Geek
Four music geeks reunite to reminisce over their college days in the late '80s. Bold mantras about what's wrong with today's music ensue.
