In the end, it may have taken Carlos Freaking Santana himself to put an end to rock en español’s favorite sport, Maná bashing. For 11 years, the Guadalajara-based band has been among the genre’s biggest punching bags, derided as fresas (“strawberries”–softies) who make crappy music for preppy kids who don’t…
The Canadian native with the medical condition was angry, and Of Montreal front man Kevin Barnes had no one to blame but himself. The girl had come out to see Barnes’ band in New York, thinking she was supporting musicians from her former country. Unfortunately for the patriotic well-wisher, Of…
Matt Riggle only recently started taking his band, 41 Gorgeous Blocks, seriously. The fact that he’s been in the group for almost three years–and three albums, including this year’s Swallow the Sandwich–doesn’t really matter. It was just something that he did, because he had to, more than anything else. Not…
RJD2 might just be the most talented hip-hop producer you haven’t heard of. Until now, the Columbus, Ohio, turntablist had only a couple of singles to his name, but Deadringer announces his arrival as a major talent behind the mixing desk, while recent tours with his label boss El-P and…
Though I’ve yet to witness the uninhibited live show that reportedly is the band’s raison d’être, New York-based “Ukrainian Gypsy punk cabaret” outfit Gogol Bordello asks an important question on its electrifying new album, Multi Kontra Culti vs. Irony: Why is so much American music of dissent joyless and tiresome…
In country music, as in rock, the dividing line between commercial and alternative has become fuzzy in recent years, as indie-oriented artists found Nashville hungry for good new songs and smaller labels strove to grab talent on its way up. The husband-and-wife duo of Buddy and Julie Miller could be…
Despite its moniker, which name-checks a ’60s soul singer best known for the proto-feminist declaration “Women’s Love Rights,” Division of Laura Lee is among a “new wave” of Swedish acts such as the Hives that are heavily influenced by vintage garage rock and punk. These musical elements are hardly novel,…
Not as raw as Hell’s Kitchen, not as bouncy as Human Condition, the latest offering from Junkyard DJs Ming & FS, Subway Series, is a funky, flexing display of free-flowing hip-hop and quirky subconscious breaks that waxes poetic through a mechanized playing field. The New York natives maintain mainframe traces…
The first thing that’s different about the guy we’re talking to is that he says “a boat” instead of “about.” He’s from Canada–Hamilton, Ontario, specifically–so it’s an easy and obvious joke, and it’s also very true, making us smile to ourselves every time he does it, and he does it…
Squarepusher (a.k.a. British electronica maverick Tom Jenkinson) led off his last album with “My Red Hot Car,” one of the catchiest and pop-hook-laden dance tunes of 2001. Following that moment of clarity, however, said disc, Go Plastic, dissolved into a synapse-melting pile of 200 mph breakbeats and cut-up noise that,…
Conor Oberst, the man who is Bright Eyes, does not aim small. Speaking about his most recent album, Lifted or The Story is in the Soil Keep Your Ear to the Ground, he touches on what he considers its overarching theme: “It’s sort of about…celebrating music and the love I…
The members of Phantom Planet have problems. It might not sound like it, but they do. Listen: The band’s second album, The Guest, has drawn kudos from critics, garnered national press attention and spawned one legit hit, “California.” Consequently, their label, Epic Records, is 100 percent behind them, as befits…
MC Slug, the voice of Minneapolis underground rap group Atmosphere, is a slippery cipher, a quagmire of contradictions. He says he’s ugly, but he’s got a bigger female following than any rapper this side of Nelly. As co-founder of the Rhyme Sayers collective, he’s committed to the DIY approach–for years…
Sure, Elvis Costello sounds crankier than he has in a while on When I Was Cruel, the fine new album he released in April. And, yeah, it features more of his own guitar playing than guest spots by respected string sections or fancy opera singers. Oh, and Burt Bacharach’s not…
“From my point of view, I was in this band that people considered so important, and people thought it really made a difference, and it touched so many people’s lives and changed the direction of popular culture. Now, that’s not necessarily how I look at it, but a lot of…
Even if it is part of your job description, we wouldn’t recommend going out nine nights in a row, and certainly wouldn’t suggest that liquor and cigarettes be involved for the duration. That said, we recently did just that, and though we sound (and, dear Lord, look) like Bea Arthur…
Tom Petty’s as pissed as a millionaire gets, meaning you’d best take this (ahem) concept album about rock-and-roll corruption with a grain of salt the size of Mike Campbell. What happens when this album, financed by a multinational, gets airplay? Will it be considered victory or surrender, ironic or just…
Remember earnest Pennsylvania Dutch Country rockers Live? Jason Wade does, and he’s built a career around the memory to prove it. On Stanley Climbfall, Wade’s band Lifehouse’s second album, he resurrects the idea, once championed by Live in songs with titles like “The Beauty of Gray,” that muscular alt-rock can…
Dubbed by TV Guide as the “best show you’re not watching,” the WB’s Gilmore Girls is also the best show you’re not listening to, judging by this comp that doubles as a primo mix tape that triples as a rock critic’s makeout collection (I know, gross). In other words, it’s…
Perhaps Tenacious D have done more harm than good. (If you’re not into micro-sized arena rock and “cock push-ups,” you’ve probably already reached this conclusion.) Sure, they’ve revivified the idea of intentional rock comedy at a time when goateed rap-metal front men are holding down the accidental department, and, yes,…
The well-known radio DJ Nic Harcourt’s daily Morning Becomes Eclectic show on Santa Monica, California’s KCRW is a good place to observe the effects of the Internet on popular alternative music. Harcourt gives lots of airtime to the types of bands that thrive on the word of mouth chat rooms…
The last time Wilco played in Dallas, the band was awful. That’s what singer-guitarist Jeff Tweedy is saying on the phone right now, groaning as he’s reminded of the ill-fated gig. He’s at home in Chicago, taking a couple of days off between tour stops, stealing a few moments with…
