Most people think of Beck’s Guero when they hear “Black Tambourine,” but Black Tambourine was a band long before a song, and a musical anomaly at that. The four-piece of Pam Berry, Brian Nelson, Archie Moore and Michael Schulman formed in the greater Washington D.C. area in 1989, recorded a total of ten original songs, played a small handful of live shows and then disbanded in early 1992. They released only two EPs and Continue reading
Mark Kozelek made his name during the early 90’s as the leading man and singer/songwriter behind Red House Painters. Since the Red House Painters’ disbanding in the late 1990’s, Kozelek has continued to release acclaimed albums under the guise Sun Kil Moon. Kozelek’s latest installment as Sun Kil Moon, Among the Leaves, comes 20 years after the RHP’s epic debut Down Colorful Hill. With the possible exception of the confused Modest Mouse cover album Tiny Cities, he has a critically untarnished record. Sun Kil Moon is Continue reading
Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991 by Michael Azerrad
Our Band Could Be Your Life is probably the most compelling book on music that I’ve read since Simon Reynolds’ Rip it Up and Start Again. Published in 2001, Michael Azerrad was the first to sing the praises of an era of music largely overlooked: the American independent scene from 1981-1991. Our Band Could Be Your Life documents thirteen bands in particular: Black Flag, The Minutemen, Mission of Burma, Minor Threat, Hüsker Dü, The Replacements, Sonic Youth, Continue reading
When I heard that there was going to be a Trailer Park Boys live show locally at The Egg in Albany, I immediately bought a ticket. Trailer Park Boys is a show that I have been drunkenly plowing through for the past three months. I was unsure as to how Ricky, Julian and Bubbles would pull off a live performance, but I figured that they had a better shot than most television comedians because some of the funniest moments in the show are seemingly off-the-cuff exchanges between characters. I could not have anticipated Continue reading
I was rather looking forward to seeing Passion Pit regardless of the fact that they were playing at Northern Lights on a Monday night. It’s usually okay to show up fashionably late, or just plain late, and not miss much at a Northern Lights show. The doors for this particular event opened at 6:30 Continue reading
This past Tuesday Helm’s wife and daughter asked fans to pray for Levon as he had end-stage cancer. At 1:30pm on Thursday, Levon Helm passed away at age 72.
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A lot of young music enthusiasts go through a classic rock phase when they are younger. You come home from school one day and ask your parents “What did you guys listen to when you were my age?” Continue reading
TOPS is the Montreal-based foursome of singer/synth Jane Penny, guitarist David Carriere, bassist Tom Gillies and drummer Riley Fleck. Their debut, Tender Opposites, was released in February of this year on Arbutus Records (also home to Grimes). I read only two things prior to hearing this record: 1) The production is similar to “new” Ariel Pink, and 2) TOPS bites a Fleetwood Mac sound, particularly Continue reading
Lotus Plaza is the solo project of Deerhunter guitarist Lockett Pundt. Spooky Action at a Distance is Pundt’s second release after 2009’s very bright but somewhat washed-out debut, The Floodlight Collective. Like Deerhunter frontman and bandmate Bradford Cox did with last year’s Parallax (#2 on my Top 11 Albums of 2011), Lockett Pundt proves once again that members of busy bands can produce wonderful things on their own time. It should also be noted that the outspoken Pundt may be the Continue reading
Chicago’s Disappears has been busy, busy. Three albums in three years: 2010’s Lux, 2011’s Guider and this year’s Pre Language. Disappears is admittedly not doing anything new. Their three albums reclaim late 60’s garage rock (the Velvet Underground aesthetic on Lux and the White Light, White Heat structure of Guider), early 70’s proto punk and Krautrock, late 70’s post punk (particularly The Fall and Wire) and early 90’s shoegaze. Their sound also incorporates elements of frontman Brian Case’s former band The Ponys.
Pre Language wasn’t exactly what I expected Continue reading
April 5th, 2012 marks the ten year anniversary of the death of Alice in Chains’ frontman, Layne Staley. Staley was the lead vocalist and predominant songwriter for Alice in Chains which is one of the most memorable and influential Grunge/Alt. Rock bands of the 1990’s. AiC’s debut, Facelift, their iconic follow-up, Dirt, second, acoustic EP, Jar of Flies and final self-titled LP (sometimes referred to by fans as Tripod because of the three-legged dog on the albums cover) are all certified platinum.
Alice in Chains’ sound, owed heavily to Staley’s dark, pain-stricken vocals and Continue reading
the self-hating hipster 