The PopMatters Music Blog 2012-02-09T15:22:34Z Copyright (c) 2012, PopMatters.com ExpressionEngine tag:popmatters.com-sound-affects,2012:02:10 tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/sound-affects/34.154189 2012-02-09T17:00:44Z 2012-02-09T17:00:44Z David Ensminger Unlike potboiler musicians with kiss-off egos, the Shadow proves that Blank Generation music was open-ended and robust, a welcome home to punk brands of all stripes. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/sound-affects/34.154220 2012-02-08T15:00:00Z 2012-02-08T15:00:00Z Enio Chiola In the wake of Madonna'a ostentatious Super Bowl halftime performance, PopMatters presents a rundown of the Queen of Pop's 15 finest singles. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/sound-affects/34.153604 2012-02-07T17:00:21Z 2012-02-07T17:00:21Z Allison Taich Hundreds of disposable cameras? Alter-egos known as "Captain Tipsy"? Determining what makes a Tickhead? All in a day's work for Deer Tick, who tells PopMatters all about it while still basking in the critical glow of its latest disc. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/sound-affects/34.154174 2012-02-06T15:30:22Z 2012-02-06T15:30:22Z Jacob Adams “The Sounds of Science” is essentially a three-movement suite about hip-hop bravado. Rarely has science sounded hipper. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/sound-affects/34.153508 2012-02-03T17:00:26Z 2012-02-03T17:00:26Z Jason Mendelsohn and Eric Klinger As Coltrane said, “One thought can produce millions of vibrations and they all go back to God.” A spiritual jazz masterpiece is the 67th most acclaimed album of all time. Counterbalance has a listen. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/sound-affects/34.154109 2012-02-03T15:00:53Z 2012-02-03T15:00:53Z Sean Murphy Soul Train creator/host Don Cornelius will be remembered--and should hereafter be celebrated--for giving a voice to Black America, and he should also be acknowledged—and praised—for making White America less white. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/sound-affects/34.153679 2012-02-02T15:02:19Z 2012-02-02T15:02:19Z David Ensminger On their album Little Heaven Big Sky, alt-rockers Jealous Creatures aim to never droop or drag, just heave forward with well-crafted--not corporate--tendencies. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/sound-affects/34.153870 2012-02-01T15:25:58Z 2012-02-01T15:25:58Z Jacob Adams The process of deciding which Trane solos are the best of the best gave me a good reason to go back and listen to his catalog once again, as if an excuse is even needed. I hope you do the same. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/sound-affects/34.153550 2012-01-31T15:00:05Z 2012-01-31T15:00:05Z Evan Sawdey The sample-based electro-rock sound of Phantogram is undeniably unique, as the duo's latest mini-LP Nightlife demonstrates, but when answering PM's 20 Questions, Josh Carter reveals to us a rather strong affinity for the works of Charlie Kaufman, a desire to travel through dimensions, and lists no more than 15 different discs that could potentially qualify as "the greatest album ever" in his mind. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/sound-affects/34.153845 2012-01-30T15:00:44Z 2012-01-30T15:00:44Z Jacob Adams Despite the more solemn subject matter, on “High Plains Drifter” the Beasties still give us the chance to play that old game “spot the pop-culture allusion”, with references to Clint Eastwood, Hunter Thompson, The Andy Griffith Show, and more. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/sound-affects/34.153265 2012-01-27T15:00:19Z 2012-01-27T15:00:19Z Jason Mendelsohn and Eric Klinger Winter, spring, summer, or fall, all you have to do is call. Counterbalance will be there—this time, discussing the 66th most acclaimed album of all time, Carole King's 1971 megahit Tapestry. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/sound-affects/34.153456 2012-01-26T15:00:00Z 2012-01-26T15:00:00Z AJ Ramirez 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. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/sound-affects/34.153646 2012-01-25T15:00:00Z 2012-01-25T15:00:00Z Alexander Heigl Etta James was memorialized before she died, and it illustrates a new and common plight among older artists. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/sound-affects/34.153331 2012-01-24T15:15:05Z 2012-01-24T15:15:05Z Jacob Adams As if to prove that an accomplished work of art can be inspired by anything, no matter how trivial or adolescent, on “Egg Man” the Beasties turn their shell-cracking exploits into a mock-heroic epic full of faux pathos and legitimate laughs ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/sound-affects/34.153554 2012-01-23T15:00:37Z 2012-01-23T15:00:37Z Elias Leight Across decades and genres, you always know Etta James when you hear her; it would be difficult to think of anyone who sang so well for so long. While we embrace the body of work she left behind after passing away on January 20, it’s hard not to imagine how much more we might have gotten from her, if she’d managed to hook up with a label that knew how to handle a peerless voice. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/sound-affects/34.152940 2012-01-20T15:00:00Z 2012-01-20T15:00:00Z Jason Mendelsohn and Eric Klinger This week’s look at the all-time most acclaimed albums talks about the passion, and the 1983 debut from the pride of Athens, GA. Combien de temps? Depends on how fast you read. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/sound-affects/34.153452 2012-01-19T15:00:50Z 2012-01-19T15:00:50Z AJ Ramirez 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. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/sound-affects/34.153365 2012-01-18T15:00:24Z 2012-01-18T15:00:24Z Corey Beasley PopMatters's Corey Beasley can't knit you a blanket, but he can do the next best thing: here are five classic wintertime records to help you through the big chill. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/sound-affects/34.153007 2012-01-16T15:00:23Z 2012-01-16T15:00:23Z Jacob Adams With “Johnny Ryall”, the Beastie Boys manage to challenge the audience’s ideas of what it has come to expect from hip-hop. The Beasties were no longer just rappers--they were crafters of one of the 1980s’ great short stories. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/sound-affects/34.152678 2012-01-13T15:00:02Z 2012-01-13T15:00:02Z Jason Mendelsohn and Eric Klinger Can Joy Division’s 1979 debut make you feel the pleasures of a normal man? It's the 64th most acclaimed album of all time. We’ll share a drink and step outside for another Counterbalance. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/sound-affects/34.152277 2012-01-11T15:00:30Z 2012-01-11T15:00:30Z Brice Ezell The song, while the product of an artist with a unique vision, has the capability to become something else once it is put out for everyone to hear. Once a song is out in the open, it could very well undergo a transformation unlike the original artist ever anticipated. Fortunately, due to the skills of many artists, that need not be a bad thing. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/sound-affects/34.153047 2012-01-10T15:00:00Z 2012-01-10T15:00:00Z Alexander Heigl By hiring Wynton Marsalis as its new "cultural correspondent", CBS is setting jazz music back, and it's everybody's loss. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/sound-affects/34.152705 2012-01-09T15:00:16Z 2012-01-09T15:00:16Z Jacob Adams The first Between the Grooves series of 2012 focuses on the new Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Beastie Boys’ postmodern, sample-heavy masterpiece Paul’s Boutique (1989). First, Jacob Adams explores how “To All the Girls” establishes a deceptively mellow vibe only to have “Shake Your Rump” groove the listener into a funky reality. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/sound-affects/34.152590 2012-01-06T15:00:33Z 2012-01-06T15:00:33Z Jason Mendelsohn and Eric Klinger Counterbalance gives Led Zeppelin's 1969 sophomore effort a squeeze. There was no juice, just the 63rd most acclaimed album of all time. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/sound-affects/34.152252 2012-01-05T16:59:59Z 2012-01-05T16:59:59Z Corey Beasley Van Pierszalowski, formerly of Port O'Brien, discusses his new work in WATERS, the hard winters of Norway, and the importance of staying on the move. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/sound-affects/34.152813 2012-01-04T15:00:21Z 2012-01-04T15:00:21Z Corey Beasley Maria Taylor (Azure Ray, Bright Eyes) speaks to PopMatters about her new solo record, Overlook, and why going home to the South can be good for the creative soul. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2012:pm/blogs/sound-affects/34.152255 2012-01-03T17:00:04Z 2012-01-03T17:00:04Z Evan Sawdey What happens when you combine one member of He Say She Say and one of the pop masterminds behind OK Go? You get PYYRAMIDS, and a delightfully warm 20 Questions feature as well. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2011:pm/blogs/sound-affects/34.152475 2011-12-19T15:00:05Z 2011-12-19T15:00:05Z Christopher J Lee Although Demolished Thoughts was released before the announcement of the breakup of Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon, it is unavoidably a document of this personal and professional transition. ]]> tag:popmatters.com,2011:pm/blogs/sound-affects/34.152082 2011-12-16T15:01:41Z 2011-12-16T15:01:41Z Jason Mendelsohn and Eric Klinger This week's Counterbalance is so swishy in its satin and tat, in its frock coat and bippity-boppety hat. Hunky Dory celebrates its 40th anniversary this week, and it's No. 62 on the Great List. Oh look out, you rock ’n’ rollers. ]]>