Back in 1988, I caught an Amnesty International benefit show at the Towson Armory in Towson, MD. Having seen locals Black Friday a few months before, I was anxious to catch them again along with Pearl Fishers, Sunday Cannons and the Unknown. While the latter was fairly rotten (one of the few bands whose set I walked away from), the… Read more »
Check out this rough mix of the title track from the Gypsy Pistoleros’ forthcoming album (due in October on Lime Records). “Welcome to the Hotel de la Muerte” mp3 Myspace
Label: Warner Bros Released: June 23, 2009 Straightforward. Subdued. Accessible. If Octohedron had been recorded by just about any other band, those words would never cross anyone’s mind. However, the Mars Volta has pushed the boundaries of their music and their mania time and again, leaving the expectation that each album will be a further exploration of psychedelic insanity. This… Read more »
Label: self-released Released: March 10, 2009 Folk and punk has found some common ground over the years. From Billy Bragg’s incendiary love and politics to Elliott Smith’s dark beauty, the two genres have occasionally met in strange ways that have never been entirely one genre or the other, yet clearly rooted in both. Brian Bond is a similar artist in… Read more »
John Mellencamp will release Life Death Live and Freedom, the eight song live companion to last year’s Life Death Love and Freedom. Get a sneak preview mp3 until the album is released on June 23rd. “If I Die Sudden” MP3
Label: Hear Music Released: June 9, 2009 Elvis Costello has had quite a long and varied career to say the least, making albums bordering on punk on one hand and working with the likes of Burt Bacharach and Allen Toussaint at others. The genres he’s avoided, like metal or hip-hop, are surely more by choice than inability. There’s no question… Read more »