Of Note
Zac Pennington, leader of Parenthetical Girls, is as skinny, pouty-lipped, and androgynous as a young Mick Jagger. His stage moves are so fey and effeminate that, in comparison, Morrissey looks like Johnny Cash. And his …
Listen to the online-only live album that Brooklyn band Asobi Seksu released in October 2006, and the first thing you hear is a loud burst of guitar feedback. Guitarist James Hanna bends his notes, tweaking …
There are days that I O.D. on indie rock, especially when the newer bands put out stuff that seems headed toward ’80s import, meaning the dark days of synth and ugly haircuts. But then some …
Chrissie Hynde is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, a mother, an environmental activist, an animal-rights activist, and a restaurateur. (See her in this month’s Gourmet magazine, talking about her restaurant, the VegiTerranean, …
With the demise this year of Los Angeles radio station Indie 103.1, one wonders whether indie rock is doomed. Indie 103.1 left broadcast for the Internet, citing low ratings and outside pressure to blend mainstream …
If you don’t already know Primus, then there is no easy way to describe them. When they were an active band, Primus was one of my daughter’s favorites. She was around 15 at the time …
A friend of mine summarized Pat Travers best when he said, “Somewhere during the ’80s, ‘Boom Boom’ replaced ‘Louie Louie’ as the party song.” He was speaking of “Boom Boom (Out Go the Lights),” a …
Carl Newman is better known as the main man behind four albums by Vancouver supergroup the New Pornographers, but he has also released two solo albums as A.C. Newman. The first, his excellent release The …
Years ago, when I was trying to decide where I wanted to go to college, I took one look at UC Santa Barbara and said, “This isn’t going to work.” How on earth would I …
I’ve had to revise my first impression of Susan Tedeschi. Over a decade ago, when she was touring the country via chick band tours (e.g., Lilith Fair), I thought Tedeschi was just another out of …
As a pop culture observer, I hate to hang a performer’s career image on a single recording about roadkill and for the sheer gusto with which he sang it, but so be it. In 1974, …
Son, it’s time we had a talk about The Bird and the Bee. You see, sometimes a man meets a woman, and together they form a musical duo. Let’s say this man is Greg Kurstin, …
Eagles of Death Metal don’t sound like the Eagles, and they don’t sound like death metal. But with this band it’s not just the nonsensical name, it’s the whole package of ridiculousness. It’s the cheesy …
John Mayall is, at 75 years of age, tireless. With 56 albums to his credit (not including compilations), he says he will record number 57 soon and, following that, take his new band on the …