The Power of Music
Check out this video from the Christian Science Monitor about the Somalian refugee music scene in Nairobi, Kenya. You don’t have to like hip-hop to appreciate how important music is for these kids.
Author Archives: bobvinyl
Review: Hanoi Rocks – Street Poetry
Label: WolfGang Records Released: September 3, 2007 There really are far too many bands still lingering around from the hair band heyday of the late 80s. It seems like every time I turn around, there’s another one releasing an album that tries to recapture the days when they were more popular than they ever deserved to be or touring to… Read more »
Myspace: Bong Hits For Jesus
Taking their name from a recent free speech case decided by the Supreme Court in which a high school student sued the school system after being suspended for displaying a banner with this idiotic slogan, Bong Hits for Jesus have a bit of ground to make up before I even played the music. Granted their hearts are in the right… Read more »
Review: Sly and the Family Stone – Greatest Hits
Label: Epic/Legacy Released: 1970 (reissued August 28, 2007) Released in 1970 to fill the gap between Stand! and There’s a Riot Goin’ On, Sly and the Family Stone’s Greatest Hits compiles many of the top tracks from the band’s early years. While every song on this album is also contained on the later Anthology release along with selections from their… Read more »
Joy Division re-issues and box set
I posted a few days back about the upcoming Joy Division releases from Rhino. It all sounded great until I saw the price of the box set: $200! The individual LPs are only $18 each for the single LPs and $50 for the double LP (Still), so they want an additional $114 for the box? Frankly, even limited to 2000… Read more »
Review: Mars Hill – Fate Chance Luck Dance
Label: Sandbar Music Released: May 2006 According to Mars Hill’s Myspace page, they are “one of the most original and finest bands of the 21st century” and they are “genre-defying.” The former is beyond a stretch. No offense, but they aren’t even close. The latter, however, is pretty accurate. The list of genres touched significantly by Mars Hill is longer… Read more »
Bedouin Soundclash and the Briggs on tour…
THE BRIGGS(Supporting Bad Religion)9/30 El Paso, TX – Club 10110/1 Dallas, TX – House of Blues10/2 Oklahoma City, OK – The Conservatory (no BR)10/3 St. Louis, MO – Off Broadway (no BR)10/4 Detroit, MI – Clutch Cargo’s10/5 Chicago, IL – House of Blues10/6 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue10/7 Milwaukee, WI – The Rave10/8 Grand Rapids, MI – Skelletones (no BR)10/9… Read more »
Review: Frontier Folk Nebraska – The Devil’s Tree
Label: Hands on Deck Released: 2007 Desperation and salvation often have a parallel existence as evidenced by the role of religion in in the worst of times. Perhaps it is the hope of a better life to come, that light at the end of the tunnel, that allows people to hold on in these dire times. More likely it seems,… Read more »
Review: Patti Scialfa – Play It as It Lays
Label: Columbia Records Released: September 4, 2007 Patti Scialfa will always find herself in the unenviable position of begging the question, “Would anyone care if she wasn’t married to Springsteen?” Certainly, her marriage has proven to be a fine career move and she has an unfair shot at getting her music out compared to singers who aren’t married to the… Read more »
Review: Supagroup – Fire for Hire
Label: Foodchain Records Released: September 25, 2007 Not every copy is a bad thing. There are times when a band can ingest a variety of influences and spit them back as something fresh even if it isn’t entirely new. Supagroup is not such a band. On Fire for Hire, Supagroup manages to steal from a whole host of 70s and… Read more »