Email Author Michael Alan Goldberg

2006 Stories by Michael Alan Goldberg

• Bleeding Through, and I Am the Avalanche

  published December 21, 2006

  You want The Truth? Can you handle The Truth? SoCal emo-metalcore sextet Bleeding Through's third album hits like a falling anvil to... More >>

• The Elected

  published November 16, 2006

  Based on polls conducted last week, here are some of the reasons Americans chose The Elected this year: 1) They ran a positive, intelligent,... More >>

• Hard Luck of the Irish

  published September 28, 2006

  Shane MacGowan's continued existence on the planet is nothing short of a miracle that would test the resolve of even the most determined atheist.... More >>

• The "Up Close and Personal" Tour

  published September 28, 2006

  The lineup for the hip-hop/R&B-flavored "Up Close and Personal" extravaganza is everything the Arizona Diamondbacks weren't this year... More >>

• Nitzer Ebb

  published September 21, 2006

  While you can credit (or blame) The Pixies for kicking off this whole reunion thing of the past couple of years, it's nice to see the trend... More >>

• Southern Culture on the Skids

  published September 14, 2006

  A little more than 10 years ago, I actually proposed to my girlfriend at a Southern Culture on the Skids New Year's Eve show in New Jersey. Why... More >>

• Mary J. Blige

  published August 31, 2006

  Is Mary J. Blige still the reigning queen of hip-hop soul? It was looking iffy a few years ago, when she released her lukewarm Love & Life,... More >>

• Those Damned Devil Bands

  published August 17, 2006

  Hello, Dan Quayle here. As the 44th Vice President of the United States of America, I all but coined the phrase "family values" back in 1992, when... More >>

• The Clientele

  published August 17, 2006

  Remarkably lovely U.K. trio The Clientele, whose sound primarily falls somewhere between the bright psych-pop of late-'60s Britain and the lush... More >>

• Ben Harper

  published August 10, 2006

  Poor Ben Harper. No matter where he goes, no matter what new songs he brings, he always gets slapped with either the "poor man's Lenny Kravitz" or... More >>

• Shakira

  published August 10, 2006

  Had Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll (yeah, truncating it, Cher/Madonna-style, was probably a good idea) — the 29-year-old, Colombian-born... More >>

• Puffy AmiYumi

  published July 27, 2006

  "We ain't no Harajuku Girls/We just straight-up rock 'n' roll," Puffy AmiYumi sings on "Call Me What You Like," the opening track from their... More >>

• Pete Yorn

  published July 27, 2006

  Second only to the fabled Sports Illustrated cover jinx is the curse of Winona Ryder, whereby most musicians who date the actress —... More >>

• Baked on the Beach

  published July 20, 2006

  Singer/guitarist Nathan "Naybob" Shineywater and singer/Rhodes pianist Rachael "Raybob" Hughes form the core of anodyne groovers Brightblack... More >>

• Free Throw

  published July 6, 2006

  Who would've imagined that a poke in the eye during a pickup basketball game would have a profound effect on Doug Martsch's life and music career?... More >>

• Young People

  published July 6, 2006

  It's interesting, yet not all that surprising, to learn that when not working with the bicoastal, avant-garde duo Young People, singer Katie... More >>

• MSTRKRFT

  published July 6, 2006

  When not causing a dance-rock ruckus with his bass-drums duo Death From Above 1979, mustachioed four-stringer Jesse Keeler likes to team up with... More >>

• Ozzfest

  published July 6, 2006

  This year's Ozzfest — the 11th annual orgy of leather, tattoos, long hair, beer, boobs, pit surfing, devil horns, heat exhaustion, and... More >>

• The Sword

  published July 6, 2006

  The classic Sabbath/Led Zep/Motörhead style of metal is like one of cooking's essential "mother sauces" — add just a few ingredients to... More >>

• Tilly and the Wall

  published June 29, 2006

  Hmm, what's this little story . . . Tilly and the Wall? Let's have a read: "So the three girls and two boys from Omaha, Nebraska,... More >>

• Band of Horses

  published June 29, 2006

  After 10 years at the helm of minimalist indie-mopers Carissa's Wierd [sic], Pacific Northwesterners Ben Bridwell and Matt Brooke decided,... More >>

• Bane

  published June 22, 2006

  Though somewhat overlooked over the years because of similar yet much-hyped scenes to its south -- primarily in New York City and Washington, D.C.... More >>

• Time for Torture

  published June 15, 2006

  The two years since The Walkmen released their critically hailed second album, Bows + Arrows? Pure joy. The New York City band... More >>

• Mohave 3

  published June 15, 2006

  Neil Halstead and Rachel Goswell have been down the reinvention road before. Back when they were the core of British shoegazers Slowdive, the pair... More >>

• Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood

  published June 15, 2006

  "Thank you to members of the media for coming today. As press secretary for country-pop superstars Kenny Chesney and Carrie Underwood, I'd like to... More >>