10/20/2010
Detroit. The one-time home of John Lee Hooker, of Berry Gordy, the Supremes and Hitsville USA. The industrial mecca that helped give rise to the MC5, P-Funk and house music. Seminal hip-hop groups like Slum Village have emerged from the city, and Eminem’s continued connections merely cement the link.
10/08/2010
By all accounts, Tyler Clementi was a talented musician and a gifted young man. It seems impossible to even Google his name without coming across pictures of him with his violin under his chin, that focused-yet-tranquil look on his face of someone who gains great contentment from his art.
He hadn’t yet declared a major at Rutgers--it was, after all, only his first semester--but his audition for the university’s symphony orchestra had its director, Kynan Johns, wondering why Clementi didn’t simply declare as a music major.
“He played very well, and that qualified him for private lessons,”...
09/20/2010
No two ways about it: if you listen to American music, then your life has been affected by Irwin Silber. He wasn’t a musician or artist. There are few, if any, recordings of “his” songs to be heard. Silber’s place was as a journalist and publisher. But no fewer than two generations of folk musicians knew his name.
09/10/2010
Imagine, if you will, what it would be like to conduct a survey of musical tastes among members of the Tea Party. Granted, the Tea Party is far from a monolithic organization with registered membership--even with the millions of corporate bucks that keep the “movement” afloat. Still, given what we know of this crowd it would be a safe bet that certain trends would be clear.
08/23/2010
With a combined four decades in the biz and a prolific output on both ends, Tom Morello and Boots Riley must be two of the most seasoned revolutionaries in music today. So it speaks volumes that while their second release as Street Sweeper Social Club isn't their best (as a group or individuals) it's still an engaging piece of work.
08/07/2010
The signs are unmistakable as you walk through downtown. In fact, the closer you get to the lake, the more they slap you in the face. The cold, gray chain-link fences, the almost Orwellian jumbo-trons, an absurd police presence--even for Chicago--all underpinned by the giant blue and orange sign reading “Lollapalooza.”
07/30/2010
Dear Elton,First of all, I hope you don’t mind that I refuse to call you “Sir.” Knights swing swords and ride horses. You play a piano. And nobody can really deny that you play that piano well. You are about as close as one can get to being a living musical legend. “Benny and the Jets.” “Crocodile Rock.” “Levon.” “Rocket Man”. Great stuff.But I have to say: I only admit that begrudgingly. Over the past few months you have managed to severely piss me off. And I’m not alone. In fact, it’s safe to say that you’ve pissed off thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people who...
07/23/2010
It was 1980. The ‘60s were definitely over. Then-president Jimmy Carter had spent the past few years deregulating everything but the kitchen sink. With Ronald Reagan about to win the White House, the sink was now on notice. An era of unchecked corporate power was on the rise.
07/14/2010
It’s created a buzz well before its release date. For the past several months, every pop music outlet has speculated on its content. It’s provoked fervent anticipation among fans, censorship from the World Wide Web, and derision from elitist establishment journalists (I’m looking at you Lynn Hirschberg).
07/05/2010
It's not infrequent in our highly depoliticized society for an outspoken artist to be attacked for daring to take a stand. As long as profit comes before integrity, then "shut up and sing" will be the rule of the day in the music industry; musicians will be in the position of defending their views and actions. There's a difference, however, when the denunciation comes from an ally.
06/28/2010
The Gaslight Anthem must be sick of the Springsteen references by now. Ever since bursting into international consciousness a few years back, there’s been no shortage of critics willing to draw the connections between them and the Boss.
06/11/2010
Lately it seems like the only thing following M.I.A. around more than controversy is bad journalism. To call Lynn Hirschberg's recent New York Times Magazine article on Mathangi (M.I.A.) Arulpragasam "weak" would be too generous. "Hatchet job" might be more apropos.
05/31/2010
Kanye West. Massive Attack. Tenacious D. Sonic Youth. Joe Satriani. On the surface these artists might not have much in common. But on May 25th, all joined on with the latest wave of outrage directed at Arizona's draconian new immigration law.
05/24/2010
"We tryin' to build some schools in Africa with this one, and trying to build empowerment... So, the record's... all about really the 'hood and Africa also..." -NaS to MTV, at the 2009 Grammy Awards
