Editor’s note: Last November Daniel Johnston missed a flight and was forced to reschedule his stop at Crescent Ballroom. But time flies, and this weekend, on Sunday, February 3, he’s slated to make up his date with a special performance. We ran this piece from New Times contributor Chris Parker…
It’s peculiarly fitting that these two punk trailblazers should arrive in town on the same night, because they’ve been inextricably bound together for more than 35 years since the beginnings of Los Angeles’ punk underground. For one thing, they’ve endured, even though (or perhaps because) their members have solo careers…
Ed Masley is the poet laureate of romantically challenged, over-educated, ne’er-do-wells, channeling the clever knock-kneed misanthropy of Elvis Costello. The Breakup Society frontman formed the band from the ashes of his old outfit, The Frampton Brothers, who broke up while recording the songs that would comprise TBS’ 2004 debut, James…
If Robert Fripp had discovered mandolin and bluegrass instead of guitar and classical symphonies, he might have formed a band like The Punch Brothers instead of King Crimson. The honor of actually founding the Punch Brothers goes to former Nickel Creek mandolin player Chris Thile. The MacArthur Fellow kick-started the…
“It’s funny how money changes situations” rapped former Fugees singer Lauryn Hill in the opening line of her multi-platinum solo debut, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. It’s a “no shit, Sherlock” moment, but its prominent placement seems indicative of the old showbiz saw that you can make anyone a success,…
There’s no better illustration of the fine line between brilliance and madness than Daniel Johnston. Indeed, the childlike simplicity and directness of his lyrics suggests the two are inseparable at times. A talented cult fave who spent years and years listening to and dissecting the Beatles, Johnston has a gift…
Other Lives don’t write songs so much as soundtracks. That’s not to disparage frontman Jesse Tabish’s breathy, languid croon. It’s more to note the epic sweep and orchestral mien of their widescreen compositions. Their soundfield suggests a dry river bed extending to the horizon line, ringed by mountains with twilight…
A year ago, Citizens for Tax Justice, a Washington nonprofit, studied the tax returns of 280 corporations. What it found was a Beltway version of a mafia protection scheme. From 2008 to 2010, at least 30 Fortune 500 companies — including PepsiCo, Verizon, Wells Fargo, and DuPont — paid more…
The wheel’s come back around for doom-metal trailblazers Saint Vitus. It took some time, but what’s three decades among friends? “Like anybody, we were kind of surprised this hard-rock return was happening,” says Scott “Wino” Weinrich, who sang for Vitus on three albums during their ’86-’91 heyday and has fronted…
We’ve almost weathered the ’80s revival without anybody rear-ending the morons stalled at the intersection listening to Spandau Ballet, but it’s official: The ladle’s scraping barrel when it comes to that decade’s nostalgia. The Winona Ryder/Christian Slater movie Heathers is getting turned into a series on Bravo. (Bitchy fictional teens,…
Like any great artist, Fiona Apple is uncompromising in pursuit of her muse. Her vision is exceptionally personal and uniquely her own. Beyond intimate, it runs to the brink of claustrophobia. Most confessional songwriters wear their hearts on their sleeves; Apple pulls the still pumping mess out of her chest…
Like any great artist, Fiona Apple is uncompromising in pursuit of her muse. Her vision is exceptionally personal and uniquely her own. Beyond intimate, it runs to the brink of claustrophobia. Most confessional songwriters wear their hearts on their sleeves; Apple pulls the still pumping mess out of her chest…
See also: Swans Reboot Sinister Grandeur with The SeerSwans frontman Michael Gira is an underappreciated impresario. He led one of the most pioneering acts of the early ’80s until their initial dissolution in 1997. Their early grim, repetitive throb had the same menacing quality as the factory in David Lynch’s…
Swans were one of the most original acts of the early ’80s. Formed in New York City, they created grim, ominous throb that suggested industrial music at its most minimalist and fatigued, the entire structure on the verge of inward collapse. Early on, concert volume approached levels that could drown…
Bobby Ruffin Jr. was only 14 when a recruiter from Ashford University called. The boy from Birmingham, Michigan, thought he’d clicked on a link promising help finding money for college. It was actually just a lead generator for the for-profit online school’s sales staff. At the time, Bobby was an…
“Spotify? I’m not a fan,” says Maynard James Keenan from his home in Cornville, where he balances his winemaking and numerous musical projects. “I haven’t made enough from them for a cup of coffee. Rhapsody? Same sad story.” That’s the complaint circulating among musicians as industry buzz builds around the…
Jason Anderson’s been quiet and he’s been loud, but you would never accuse him of not being earnest. Anderson was attending Clark College in Portland during the mid-’90s when an Elliott Smith performance inspired him to make music. He eventually started noisy, hook-laden twee-tinged rockers Wolf Colonel and released several…
J-Diggs is paying forward a debt laid on him by close friend Mac Dre, who was shot and killed on a Kansas City highway eight years ago. Born Jamal Diggs in North Vallejo, California, Diggs had success rapping at an early age but deferred to his Crest neighborhood buddy Mac…
You probably knew a kid like Steve Brooks in school. He was the rugrat in the Kiss T-shirt flipping the devil horns and flashing heavy metal attitude. He was in training for stoner-pop bruisers Torche from a tender age. “I had an early cousin who got me into Kiss in…
You probably knew a kid like Randy Randall in high school — a skateboarder and crate-digger with his own sense of fashion, generally seen plugged into a Walkman. (These were pre-iPod days.) One day, a girl at school asked him what he was jamming out to, and Rogers answered, “Scratch…
When you’ve turned nothing into something once already, you tend to feel you can do it again. There’s faith your luck will turn. Perhaps it’s delusion. But for a professional poker player, self-confidence is essential. So it is for Walter Wright, who now finds himself in Costa Rica. He left…
Twin Cities hip-hop crew Doomtree has come a long way in the nearly four years since the collective’s 2008 self-titled debut, let alone the decade since it came together. The members have grown more comfortable not only in their own skins and talents, but with each other propelling them to…
