In a genre that often traffics in sonic and visual conformity, blond-and-pink-haired singer Kelis is like the Dennis Rodman of R&B — brash, independent and alien, but too talented to ignore. Thankfully, she exhibits none of the self-destructive traits of Rodman, but she looks and sounds different from any of…

Remixing is kind of like rearranging the furniture in somebody else’s house. It’s like doing plastic surgery on your best friend’s wife to make her more attractive to you. It’s like cooking a meal with stuff from your neighbor’s fridge. The name comes from taking isolated snippets of the basic…

Pennywise is probably the most pleasant, friendliest band that sometimes pukes on people and takes hostages. The Hermosa Beach, California, quartet are punks, though they are positive rather than nihilistic, and thought-provoking rather than typically didactic. The band’s upbeat-yet-laid-back attitude makes sense considering its surf-town home base is the party…

Major record labels are still pissed off about digital distribution. The concern that free, nearly perfect copies of songs and albums would be scattered all over the world led to a concerted effort a couple months ago by the Big Five record companies, audio companies and electronics firms to make…

There are few equivalents in the business world to the independent record company. Most are labors of love rather than profit. To music lovers first, business people second, indie-label owners perform a valuable service in releasing music by artists that the big, corporate imprints can’t, won’t or don’t know about…