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Elvis Costello Gets Dark and Brooding on 'Hey Clockface'

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Elvis Costello is a complex man of dark humor and flashes of anger as he keeps fighting the good fight armed with a razor wit.

Punk rockers Johnny Thunders and Wayne Kramer exist on a continuum of wild-eyed, angle-headed anarchists—a continuum filled with poets and artists and guitar-pickers, living and dead, who show us how to resist The Man.

Black Sabbath created the template for heavy metal and thrash. But it's instructive to acknowledge just how unique Black Sabbath were when they first emerged. Those first eight albums are essential.

Nine Inch Nails' 1992 EP is half an hour of visceral, undiluted anger delivered through muscular, caustic guitars and Trent Reznor's anguished screams. It's concise, focused, and arguably the pinnacle of Nine Inch Nails' discography.

David Menconi's Step It Up is an absorbing love letter to the artists, scenes, and sounds of North Carolina's contributions to American popular music.

Cherry Red's new box set finds Iggy Pop and the Stooges on their final death trip, falling apart for audiences between September 1973 and February 1974.

Between the Grooves takes a deep dive into Tom Waits' Bone Machine. It's the one fans keep hidden amongst themselves, a secret treasure only the devout are privy to and the seasoned are worthy of. Simply put, it is not for the faint of heart.

Between the Grooves examines Led Zeppelin's awe-inspiring fourth LP. Nowhere is the band's carefully balanced blend of eardrum-bursting heavy rock and delicate folk strains better realized than on Led Zeppelin IV.

With Warren Zevon's acerbic, graceful, and macabre wit still lingering long after his death, PopMatters looks back on his most lasting lyrical contributions.

Randy Newman's satirical narrators lack self-reflection. This makes Newman the ideal songwriter to dismantle what would come to be called toxic masculinity.

For their ninth album, 10 Songs, Scotland's Travis go back to basics.

On Trouble and Strife, Joan Osborne goes Americana and interviews immigrants and tells a story of persevering in these extraordinary and difficult times. Osborne chronicles what she sees and challenges listeners to take action.

Classically trained pianist Holly Bowling is releasing her latest recording of Grateful Dead songs in a few weeks. PopMatters catches up with the virtuoso to discuss the intersection of jazz and rock with classical technique.

After a big lineup change, Philadelphia metal-gazers Nothing play to their strengths on their fourth album, The Great Dismal.

Adulkt Life eschew catchy hooks on Book of Curses, and its brevity works in its favor. At 26 minutes, the band's abrasive punk is quite listenable.

Rock goddess Cathy Richardson speaks out about honoring the legacy of Paul Kantner, songwriting with Grace Slick for the Jefferson Starship's new album, and rocking the vote to dump Trump.

Surfer Blood's 2010 debut put them on the map, but their critical sizzle soon faded. After a 2017 comeback of sorts, the group's new record finds them expanding their sonic by revisiting their hometown with a surprising degree of reverence.

Wildflowers is a masterpiece because Tom Petty was a good enough songwriter by that point to communicate exactly what was on his mind in the most devastating way possible.

Rather than listening to Spotify's latest playlist, give the tunes from this reminiscence of lost '90s singles a spin.

When you feel bombarded with overpriced consumerism disguised as love, here are ten albums that look at love's hangover.

British rocker Peter Frampton grew up fast before reaching meteoric heights with Frampton Comes Alive! Now the 70-year-old Grammy-winning artist facing a degenerative muscle condition looks back on his life in his new memoir and this revealing interview.

Just about every Cure album is worth picking up, and even those ranked lowest boast worthwhile moments. Here are their albums, spanning 29 years, presented from worst to best.

With today's release of Tom Petty's Wildflowers & All the Rest (Deluxe Edition), we're revisiting Petty's 20 best songs.

San Diego's Kimm Rogers taps into frustration with truth-masking on "Lie". "What I found most frustrating was that no one would utter the word 'lie'."

Power trio Bad Wires' debut Politics of Attraction is a mix of punk attitude, 1990s New York City noise, and more than a dollop of metal.

Low Cut Connie's Private Lives captures the spirit of the times. Adam Weiner is the James Dean of our time. We are the Sal Mineos and Natalie Woods in his orbit.

John Lennon would have been 80 years old today. After the Beatles, Lennon created a treasured solo catalogue, and we take you through the history and the music album by album.

Fifty years after its original release, the Doors' Morrison Hotel is reissued as a two-CD /one-vinyl set that includes 19 bonus cuts.

John Lennon helped transform the art and image of the pop star. His very public political activism and socially and politically aware lyrics have earned him a prominent place in the creative and political history of rock.

Thank you for your life, Eddie Van Halen. Long live the music, the joy, and all the little dreamers you inspired.

The 10 Best Snippets from the Solo Sonic Psychology of John Winston Ono Lennon.

This year looks a lot like 1984 to Bob Mould and he is most definitely, not happy. Not happy at all. His guitar sounds like it's on fire.

One of the best rock bands of the 1980s, the Replacements show what alternative rock was all about on Pleased to Meet Me.

In the decades since John Lennon's death, "Imagine" ironically has become associated not with revolution or anti-establishment protest, but with the warm fuzziness of a comfortable dream that seems beyond our grasp.

John Lennon's new adopted country and hometown became the inspiration for one of his most sprawling, savage albums, Some Time in New York City.

Guitarist Jason Sissoyev speaks about Coastlands' emotionally-charged new LP, a meditation that is heavy in more ways that one. "It pummels you, then there's this release and then it keeps going," he says.

How an audacious, daring record from disgruntled ex-Beatle John Lennon became a major musical landmark.