Email Author Michael Alan Goldberg

2004 Stories by Michael Alan Goldberg

• Various Artists

  published December 23, 2004

  Grandma may finally be out of traction after that unfortunate reindeer hit-and-run last December, but she's liable to have a stroke if she hears... More >>

• Various Artists

  published December 23, 2004

  Rather than just presenting a compilation album to promote their own roster, the folks at Five One -- a tiny, emo-ish label based in Santa Monica,... More >>

• The Aquabats

  published December 16, 2004

  Costumed shtick in the rock 'n' roll world is a tough road to travel -- just ask the guys from Dread Zeppelin and the Village People, if you can... More >>

• Electric Avenue

  published December 9, 2004

  Your buddy pops an unknown cassette into your car's tape deck. Your latest crush burns you a mix CD. One of your co-workers e-mails you some MP3s.... More >>

• Nirvana

  published December 9, 2004

  For all the cynical talk of grave robbing and misplaced mythology, this much-ballyhooed, litigation-delayed three-CD/one-DVD Nirvana boxed set... More >>

• Muse

  published December 9, 2004

  This English band, named after a Talking Heads song, originally formed in the late '80s after all the members met in art school. After recording a... More >>

• The Vandals

  published December 9, 2004

  While all the upstart pop-punk bands seem insistent on establishing their "maturity," the Vandals are like the guy who shows up to the 20-year... More >>

• Sparta

  published December 2, 2004

  Not since the Great Split of 1972 -- when the Jefferson Airplane splintered into Hot Tuna and the Jefferson Starship (later, just Starship) -- has... More >>

• Monster Magnet

  published November 25, 2004

  Monster Magnet main man Dave "Space Lord" Wyndorf could give Donald Trump a run for his money in the firing department. He sent founding guitarist... More >>

• Social Distortion

  published November 18, 2004

  Life has given Mike Ness plenty of opportunities to fold his hand. The 42-year-old Social Distortion leader has battled heroin addiction, seen the... More >>

• Yellowcard

  published November 18, 2004

  Yellowcard belongs to the very exclusive club of emo-leaning pop-punk bands named after soccer violations that prominently feature a violinist who... More >>

• Avril Lavigne

  published November 11, 2004

  Dear Abby: I'm a 20-year-old singer from Canada. People used to say I was a phony because the Matrix wrote all of my songs, and because I wore... More >>

• Wolf Eyes

  published November 4, 2004

  "My," said Little Front Row Kid to the Michigan trio onstage getting ready to play, "what big amplifiers you have." "The better to cause your... More >>

• Helmet

  published October 28, 2004

  Page Hamilton's first big break came in 1992, when his band Helmet's sophomore album, Meantime, went gold and set the template for '90s... More >>

• Good Charlotte/Sum 41

  published October 28, 2004

  "I don't want to grow up," spat Milo Aukerman, singer for pop-punk trailblazers the Descendents, nearly 20 years ago. Now two of their descendants... More >>

• Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains

  published October 21, 2004

  Primus main man Les Claypool is the undisputed king of the weirdo side project. Lessee, there's Les Claypool & the Holy Mackerel, a twisted-pop... More >>

• Travis Morrison

  published October 21, 2004

  This just in: Travis Morrison is teaming up with Sonic Youth, the Flaming Lips, and Liz Phair for the "Pitchfork Hates Us!" tour. Okay, not... More >>

• Eagles of Death Metal

  published October 7, 2004

  ". . . Holy shit, this is some good shit, man [cough, cough]. The hydro-fuckin'-ponic, dude! Oh, duuude, I almost... More >>

• The Toasters

  published October 7, 2004

  Finally, a reason to break out those checkerboard creepers that have been gathering dust in the back of your closet since the mid-'90s third-wave... More >>

• Snow Patrol

  published October 7, 2004

  Ladies and gentlemen, introducing Snow Patrol -- an alternative for those of you put off by Chris Martin's floppy Muppet histrionics and... More >>

• Love on the Rocks

  published September 30, 2004

  These days, whenever he puts out a new album from either of the two bands he fronts -- the clamorous Cursive or the comparatively subdued,... More >>

• Brand Nubian

  published September 16, 2004

  Although its skillful hip-hop style was linked with the Native Tongues movement when it burst out of the New York City suburbs in 1990, Brand... More >>

• The Cramps

  published September 16, 2004

  Like the black-blooded, flesh-rotted, brain-slurping demons of the kitschy B-movies they adore, you simply can't stop the Cramps. Nor should you... More >>

• Wiley

  published September 9, 2004

  "Wot d'you call it, gahhh-ridge? Wot d'you call it, uhhhr-bin? Wot d'you call it, tewww-step?" So gently pokes impish English... More >>

• Nick Drake

  published September 2, 2004

  Few artists have epitomized death as a career move as well as Nick Drake. In the 30 years since his demise at age 26 from an overdose of... More >>