Two poems
Of heart and eye. They stood on supreme heights.
Rupert Brooke 3:30 p.m., Aug. 15
Shows Just Announced
Topping the Spotify charts in over 20 countries
Maggie Rogers, Pink Talking Fish, Beartooth, Film School
I was hearing about “Give a Little,” the poppy new hand-clapping earworm by 24-year-old Maggie Rogers, for several days before I finally gave it a spin. Fearing another Meghan Trainor/Cher Lloyd knockoff like “Dog Years,” ...
Expanding the dancefloor boundaries
Thievery Corporation, Jerry Paper, Prophet, Yndi Halda
For over 20 years, Rob Garza and Eric Hilton have been expanding the dancefloor boundaries of EDM as Thievery Corporation. Though early efforts were paint-by-number exercises in straight dub and acid jazz, their evolution toward ...
Giggling and gurgling as they frolic
Shonen Knife, Escape the Fate, Dia de los Deftones, Goblin
The very first description I ever heard of Shonen Knife, back in the mid-80s when they were still a cult-ish underground sensation, is the one that remains for me the most accurate. I was working ...
Long before American Idol, X-Factor, and So You Think You Can Dance
Swingin’ Utters, Gregory Alan Isakov, Dance With the Dead and Paula Abdul
For a while, it didn’t look like San Francisco punk rockers Swingin’ Utters would survive into the new century. Founded in the late 80s (though not named Swingin’ Utters until 1994), their glory days included ...
Re-imagining cinema soundtracks
Morricone Youth, Nina Nesbitt, Exploded View, Mutual Benefit
Although they’re usually considered a quintessential NYC art-rock band specializing in re-imagining cinema soundtracks, Morricone Youth actually has roots in mostly long-gone San Diego groups such as Rust, Creedle, aMiniature, Crash Worship, and one of ...
Soft and dangerous
In This Moment, Shortly, Birdtalker, Todd Rundgren
Few metal bands take their theatrics as seriously as LA’s In This Moment, who have been known to wear costumes themed to the music, with masked guests onstage enacting bits of scene-setting that make performances ...
Less whimsical and more muscular
Ceramic Animal, Dale Watson, Mat Kearney, Monster Magnet
To call Ceramic Animal mere psych-rock is to unfairly relegate them to the same paisley parking lot spinners who never figured out that Their Satanic Majesties Request was just the Stones mocking them and their ...
Styx returns to rock opera
Plus Alan Parsons, Greensky Bluegrass, the Lil Smokies, and Ghost
A little over 20 years ago, when a bunch of Hit Parader contributors pooled writeups for a 20 Best Debut Albums of All Time feature, I took a lot of flack for doing mine on ...
Sometimes you just gotta move to Austin
Matthew Logan Vasquez, Thrice, King Khan & The Shrines, Dawes, Dermot Kennedy
After a decade spent in the frontman slot of mainstream rock bands like the mostly-local Delta Spirit, as well as Middle Brother (featuring members of Dawes and Deer Tick), famous former neighbor Matthew Logan Vasquez ...
Guitars amble and shimmer, drum tracks roll out like bubbles
Covet, Patrick Sweany, Florence & the Machine, Troye Sivan, Clan of Xymox
Based around Oakland and San Jose, “adventure math rock” band Covet features Yvette Young and David Adamiak, who together make sounds best described as music to watch dragons and hobbits by while you test a ...
"Music that's made for having fun," plus other stuff
Eric Paslay, Daedalus, Anderson East, Honne, Shannon & The Clams
In an age where major labels seem the last and least likely place for new talent to develop, it’s a surprise when a big concern like EMI Nashville actually backs a winner that nobody saw ...
What does KOD mean to you?
J. Cole, Omar Apollo, Jade Bird, Timbiriche, and The Flatliners, plus Young Thug
J. Cole’s KOD Tour pulls into Viejas Arena on August 22, promoting a same-named full-length released in April with a title said to either stand for Kill Our Demons, Kids on Drugs, or King Overdosed, ...
Three decades of liquor, women, drugs, and killing
Eddie Spaghetti celebrates 30 years of Supersuckers
It’ll be a few months before Chicago-based doom metal band the Skull releases their sophomore album, The Endless Road Turns Dark, so your first chance to hear a selection of tracks may be when they ...
Not conned
Dennis Quaid's had a couple of toes dipped in the music pool since 1987
Headquartered in Sweden, but sporting two British members, Hillbilly Moon Explosion is celebrating 20 years of playing jump blues, swing, and barroom rock ‘n’ roll with a tour that hits Soda Bar on June 9. ...
Never mind the songs, it's the lineups that are on shuffle
A whole lot of Yes men are coming to town
Even the most die-hard Yes fans are probably confused about two different bands hitting the road this summer with productions billed as Yes 50th Anniversary celebrations. Having hosted dozens of members over the years since ...
