[rating=6.00] The first I heard of Shonen Knife was “Cycling Is Fun,” their contribution to 1989’s Flipside Vinyl Fanzine Vol. 3. The cutesy twee pop leanings of that song were
[rating=6.00] Sometimes, the best music is not always the most perfect. Sometimes the sheer act of overcoming adversity is far bigger than a perfect mix. Sure, the Dark Sides and
[rating=7.00] There is no question that bluegrass was a significant part of the Grateful Dead’s DNA, so doing bluegrass covers of a couple of songs that frequented the Dead’s repertoire
Researching the Blues is not, for better or worse, Neurotica, but in the most important ways, it is very connected to the spirit of what made its predecessor great even if it never quite digs deeper than the veneer of a generation raised on sugary cereal and Saturday morning cartoons. It moves around its many 60s and 70s influences in a way that is peculiar and wonderful and thoroughly Redd Kross.
Girl in a Coma is band that has shown tremendous growth since their debut five years ago. While Both Before I’m Gone was a solid though not exceptional debut, it was the vast expansion of their sound on Trio BC and the significant dose of some good ol’ crazy on last year’s Exits and All the Rest, not to mention the ability to really make their mark on covers evidenced on 2010’s Adventures in Coverland, that makes them an incredibly exciting band. Their ability to take their broader sound and really go off on Exits is what made this show so promising.
Don’t Know How to Party and Question the Answers were probably the high point of ska’s third wave. They mixed the fun and soul (something oddly missing with most third wave bands) with a hardcore edge and a dose of serious honesty. In a decade of ponderous self-consciousness the Bosstones were refreshing. However, if you want a rehash of “The Impression That I Get,” pick up a copy of one of the older albums. The Bosstones have grown.
We pushed as far as we possibly could within the realms of reality." That’s a pretty bold claim from Lou Reed regarding his collaboration with Metallica, a collaboration most view as bizarre, but Reed seems to think is quite natural. Unfortunately, those are only words and not a true reflection of what the two disparate rock forces achieve throughout most of their album, Lulu.
Some documentaries are for casual fans, others are for more serious fans and others are almost for musicians themselves. This one falls into the latter two categories. There is a bit of narrative that takes him from childhood to the London of 1967 and a bit more that surrounds his death, but the focus is more on his music, his legacy and the many wild guesses as to what he would have done had he lived.
While the stream of new vinyl continues to find space in the better record stores, a lot of stuff, both mainstream and underground, is once again easy to find (though I seem to have missed the boat on the last Dead Weather album at my local shop). However, there is also quite a bit of very nice vinyl that may not find its way to every shop.
If you thought that Raising Sand, Plant’s dabbling in country, with modern bluegrass great Krauss, was an unlikely musical success story, Band of Joy will be every bit as much of a pleasant surprise.
