Baseball Project – Vol. 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying QuailsJust on the surface, this great album about baseball is worth hearing, but what it tells us on a deeper level is its (and baseball’s) case for greatness. Bigelf – Cheat the GallowsAll that’s grand gets both celebrated and criticized on this amazingly present retro album. De Novo Dahl – Move… Read more »
Label: Image Entertainment Released: November 18, 2008 I’ve always known that the Beatles are rock’s greatest band. There’s no denying it. But I do have to wonder why I question that every time I listen to the Who. I think it’s because the Beatles made rock music what it is, but the Who actually embodied it like no one else…. Read more »
Label: Coming Home Media Released: November 11, 2008 In June of 2007, the reunited Smashing Pumpkins (or Billy Corgan, Jimmy Chamberlain and some new members) decided to forgo a US tour and instead do two residencies, one in Asheville, NC and the other at the vaunted Fillmore in San Francisco. This was, as Jimmy Chamberlain said in the documentary portion… Read more »
The Kinks’ “Father Christmas” is still my favorite song for the season. It’s fun, it rocks and it has an important message to boot. This is one of the saddest, but there’s hope in there too. Blues Traveler added this ??????????????????????. (Sorry it’s not really a video) U2’s version of “I Believe in Father Christmas” is easier to take than… Read more »
Label: Afan Music Released: December 9, 2008 Amadan incorporate bits of the Clash, Billy Bragg, John Fogerty and the Mighty, Mighty Bosstones, but what I suspect they’re really going for is the Pogues mix of traditional Irish folk and biting punk rock swagger. They don’t nail the latter, but their success in other areas makes them a worthwhile listen. There’s… Read more »
Label: Temporary Residence Limited Released: November 4, 2008 Few albums start off with the level of frantic energy of Thursday’s “As He Climbed the Dark Mountain.” There are songs with fireworks and there are songs that are like the fireworks factory exploding and this is clearly the latter. Thursday’s dense layering walks the fine line between noisy and melodic, without… Read more »
Label: Image Entertainment Released: December 2, 2008 For years, the Warped Tour has managed to find a healthy balance between DIY punk ethics and corporate involvement. Granted, the corporate presence has increased quite a bit over the last decade, but Kevin Lyman and company still put on a great show while keeping tickets and merchandise cheap and leaving at least… Read more »
COHEED AND CAMBRIA TO RELEASE 9-DISC BOX SET ON MARCH 17, 2009 TO COMMEMORATE THEIR HISTORIC NEVERENDER SHOWS IN NEW YORK CITY Columbia Records is excited to announce that on March 17, 2009, Coheed and Cambria will release Neverender, The Children of the Fence boxset, a release that is possibly as ambitious as the event itself. Neverender marked the triumphant… Read more »
The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn has not been quiet about his love for The War On Drugs, saying ” I still haven’t seen this band live… but they made an amazing record that I was obsessed with for most of the year”. Well, Craig and his bandmates will finally get their chance; twelve of them actually, as The War On… Read more »
Label: Jagjaguwar Records Released: October 7, 2008 Some albums kick off with the strongest or most accessible song as a means of sucking the listener in. Others, ease their way into the real meat of the album so as not to scare the listener with their boldest material. But very few jump in with their most grating and difficult content…. Read more »