‘The Beach Boys’ Documentary Brings the Sun and Surf to the New Kids
The Beach Boys documentary appeals to Gen Z and Gen Alpha via Disney Plus with a breezy, linear, appreciation of the band’s sunny legacy.
psychedelia
Manfred Mann, the Synthesiser Man, Hates AI in Music
Manfred Mann doesn’t think he’s the best synthesiser player in the world, but he brings a distinctive voice to the old technology. Just keep AI out of music, dammit.
The Beatles Shake Britain: The Beginning of Beatlemania
Shake It Up, Baby! breaks down the Beatles’ concerts, business deals, sleepless nights, and bloody fights month by month during the transitional year of 1963.
You Will Learn to Love the Beatles’ Movies
Steve Matteo’s meticulously researched and infectiously enthusiastic dive into the Beatles’ movies, Act Naturally, will make you love those silly films.
No Sex Please, We’re British: Coil’s Subversively Overt Homosexuality
Homosexuality drove experimental band Coil’s creativity, yet they rejected the demand that they either embrace performative homosexuality or remain discreet and closeted.
The Beatles’ ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ Outraged the Adults But Turned on the Kids
Magical Mystery Tour was an innovative hybrid if never quite adequately realized. As a chapter in the life of the Beatles, it continues to exert fascination.
When a Concept Became a Problem: Reconsidering the Beatles’ ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’
Humdrum, high and low, the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band sounds like a swirling, strident loss of pre-modern innocence.
The First Step in a Long Strange Trip: ‘The Grateful Dead’ at 55
More than 50 years since the Grateful Dead’s debut, how is it imaginable that they are still touring and the “jam band” scene has mushroomed? This is where it started.
Luísa e os Alquimistas’ ‘Gang da Leoa (Vol. 1)’ Is a Brega Psychedelia Party
Inspired by hippie culture, psychedelic art, brega music, and Latin cultures, Luísa e os Alquimistas’ act is a complicated and brilliant promise of Brazilian pop.
Los Bitchos Are Ready to ‘Let the Festivities Begin’!
Los Bitchos brings together four women from different countries who create instrumental rock with a global vibe on Let the Festivities Begin!
Todd Rundgren’s 50-Year-Old ‘Something/Anything?’ Is a Paean to the Possibilities of the Studio
Todd Rundgren’s Something/Anything? showcases all of his myriad strengths. It houses his best pop songs, best rock track, and stylings peppered with peculiarities.
How the Beach Boys Went Political in the Early ’70s
For a brief period in the early ’70s, the Beach Boys went political and gained relevance in the tumult of the “Me Decade”. If only it had lasted.