Thursday, August 18 2005
The Cut-Out Bin #2: Soundtrack, Lost Boys (1987)
MTV's success in the 1980s led inevitably to teen 'films' that were really stitched-together music videos. This was one of the best of the resulting soundtracks, proving that while some genre music can be exclusionary, crap is universal.
Tuesday, August 16 2005
VOY
Percolating beneath the current crop of retro retreads and bland noisemakers is an art punk band that looks back to the past for inspiration to reclaim the gallery space for music.
Friday, August 5 2005
For the Sake of Future Days: Can’s Second Golden Era
After releasing four adventurous records that defined krautrock, the ever-restless Can continued exploring new directions in its much-lauded mid-'70s work, as the latest batch of remastered reissues reveals.
Wednesday, August 3 2005
Goldspot
Goldspot proves that an international background in pop can combine to create a formula that's ripe for commercial success without compromise.
Friday, July 29 2005
Kids Are Alright
At the Warped Tour, our would-be reporter confronts her fear of teenagers to indulge her fascination with their music.
Thursday, July 28 2005
Tuesday, July 26 2005
Inner Space
When should you feel more cheated at a rock show -- when the venue seems like a museum, an ersatz bazaar, or a toilet? A look at how space affects performance.
Friday, July 22 2005
Rhythm and Bullshit?: The Slow Decline of R&B, Epilogue
If the best new artists are shut out from urban radio, what's an R&B fan to do? Here, some suggestions of where to look for the genre's current torchbearers.
Wednesday, July 20 2005
Moonbabies
Joining the host of superb pop bands coming out of Northern Europe over the last several years, Moonbabies do it their way, from start to finish, with astoundingly assured results.
Tuesday, July 19 2005
A Load of Crapster
Though the Supreme Court's Grokster decision left the status of file-sharing software up in the air, it made this clear: File swappers are criminals, no different than pirate DVD hawkers at the swap meet. But does the entertainment industry really have clean hands in all of this?
Friday, July 15 2005
The Cut-Out Bin #1: The Wild Swans, Space Flower (1990)
This Liverpool band released its psychedelic sophomore effort at precisely the wrong time, getting lost in the indie upheaval that grunge triggered.
The Cut-Out Bin #1: Bob Welch, French Kiss (1977)
Remembering 1977: Welch's exquisitely sleazy sellout evokes all the era's cliches, the cocaine spoons and key parties, anonymous discotheque sex and the empty promises made in hot tubs while the 8-track of this album repeats and repeats, 'Sentimental lady, gentle one'.
The Cut-Out Bin #1: Jane Siberry, The Speckless Sky (1985)
This Canadian songwriter epitomized quirkiness in the mid-1980s, garnering her a few hits in her homeland and total obscurity abroad.
Tuesday, July 12 2005
The Ladies and Gentlemen
With light and airy electronic melodies forming a rich, warmly organic sound, this one-man show stands out from the pack of recent Canadian collectives.
Thursday, July 7 2005
When I Say “Debt” You Say “Relief”: Live 8 in Philadelphia
Live 8 in Philly made for a very good party -- just not for those in need.
Thursday, June 30 2005
Rhythm and Bullshit?: The Slow Decline of R&B, Part Three: Media Conglomeration, Label Consolidation
Throughout the late 1990s, the Clear Channeling of radio and record-label Universalizing left untold numbers of R&B acts undiscovered.
Wednesday, June 29 2005
The Gun Shys
Casually confident and ready to rock, the Gun Shys are quickly ascending the ladder of the Los Angeles scene.
Monday, June 27 2005
Kumite Across the U.S.A.
Whether it's dropping avant-garde, free-jazz-influenced metal or demolishing the barrier between performance and crowd, An Albatross wants us to confront real experience.
Friday, June 24 2005
PopMatters Gauges the Heat at NXNE 2005: Giving Back, Giving Up
Giving Back, Giving Up by Robert Wheaton - Bands struggled with venues and venues struggled with bands, but the audiences dispersed amid the NXNE festival in Toronto never coalesced into the true listening public necessary to consecrate the next big thing.
PopMatters Gauges the Heat at NXNE 2005: Searching For Those 40 Minutes
Searching For Those 40 Minutes by Jason MacNeil - NXNE has now matured into an event with its own rhythms and habits. But there's still that craving to hear something fresh.
