Stoner rock is largely thought of as a sub-genre of heavy metal, but Queens of the Stone Age, perhaps its most prolific band, far transcends its limitations. This has been increasingly true as they’ve regenerated from the ashes of Kyuss. Now that they’re really just the Josh Homme show on their new album, Lullabies to Paralyze, it’s more true than… Read more »
Barsuk Records released a political fundraising comp last year called Future Soundtrack for America. At first glance, the track listing looks almost too eclectic. It includes the avant-garde pop of David Byrne and They Might Be Giants, the pop-punk of Jimmy Eat World and Blink-182, the alt-folk of Bright Eyes and Elliott Smith, the Americana leanings of the Old 97s… Read more »
Everyone knows about Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Street Survivors (with the band pictured in flames just before the tragic plane crash) and many also know about the Who’s Who Are You cover (with Keith Moon sitting in a chair bearing the words “not to be taken away” on the last album before death did in fact take him away). But these are… Read more »
While I don’t think Black Flag had derivitive music in mind when they wrote that line, the rage easily be applied. Chuck recently asked me to listen to a few tracks off of Anberlin’s Blueprints for the Black Market. Having little background in punk and emo, he wasn’t sure if it was really good (just like I’m usually not sure… Read more »
The new And You’ll Know Us By the Trail of Dead album, Worlds Apart, is pretty much incredible. The first track came on and it was like a post-hardcore Queen. The following track was more like straightforward emo and I started thinking that this might be a transitional album where they try some new things, but aren’t quite ready to… Read more »
50 Cent is really just a Britney Spears who’s been shot nine times. The whole idea of him as a credible artist is based on him getting shot and not his contribution to the music released under his name. He must be real if he’s been shot, right? Seriously, when you boil it down, he’s no more talented a rapper… Read more »
Three Way Tie for Last is like a punk rock “O Brother Where Art Thou.” It made sense to put the two together. The everyman genuineness of good punk has a certain commonality with the everyman genuineness of old-time country and bluegrass. This Bike is a Pipe Bomb packages it all up in an album about the struggles of the… Read more »
The new Kills album, No Wow, is like an album of love songs with all the romance of a seedy strip club. W’s sensuous, almost bluesy vocals have the allure and raw sex of an erotic dancer while Hotel’s mechanical neo-new wave beats are a reminder that you can’t touch. Hotel’s fuzzy garage guitar is just enough edge to make… Read more »
In a previous post, I suggested that Mars Volta may be on the verge of becoming the next Pink Floyd and releasing an album on par with Dark Side of the Moon. Tonight, while driving home and thinking of what to post, I wondered, “What if they don’t release something on the level of Dark Side?” A few seconds later,… Read more »
I just noticed today that Rhapsody has added Better Than Ezra’s Greatest Hits. Greatest hits? Should that really be plural? I remember “Good” being a decent song at a time when most things on the radio were decent. I vaguely remember that they had another single (from the next album?) that charted, but didn’t get that much play. Maybe I’m… Read more »