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 spin on Primus’ chunky alt-prog metal-funk that featured a rant from Henry Rollins and lots of bowed handsaw. There’s Oysterhead, his jam-rock collaboration with Phish frontman…
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 really, but Mr. Morrison did just join the elite circle of artists who’ve earned a coveted “0.0” album review from that online arbiter of all…
Ladies and gentlemen, introducing Snow Patrol — an alternative for those of you put off by Chris Martin’s floppy Muppet histrionics and questionable baby-naming skills. This Scotland-via-Ireland quartet is led by Gary Lightbody, who is also known in indie circles for leading the low-key supergroup Reindeer Section, which comprises members…
“. . . Holy shit, this is some good shit, man [cough, cough]. The hydro-fuckin’-ponic, dude! Oh, duuude, I almost forgot, man, you gotta check out this band, right . . . what? Oh, I’m watchin’ Aqua Teen Hunger Force, man [cough, cough]. It’s a marathon — sweet, right? Yeah,…
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 ska revival! New York City’s Toasters are honest-to-goodness American ska pioneers, and they’ve stayed true to the genre’s Jamaican R&B roots while many of their peers…
These days, whenever he puts out a new album from either of the two bands he fronts — the clamorous Cursive or the comparatively subdued, acoustic-based the Good Life — Tim Kasher knows the phone calls are coming. Not from family and friends wanting to congratulate him for the achievement…
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 want to. Thirty years into their deliciously decadent career, latex-clad howler Lux Interior and six-string-slinging supervixen Poison Ivy Rorschach (and whatever rhythm section they’re employing this week) are just…
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 Nubian never earned the kind of universal love given to “conscious” contemporaries A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul. Why? Because all of its…
“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 MC/producer Wiley at the beginning of “Wot Do U Call It,” the third track on his solo debut, Treddin’ on Thin Ice. Like it or not, Wiley understands, his captivating,…
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 antidepressants (the jury’s still out on whether it was accidental or suicide), the honey-voiced, fatalistic British folkie has attained mythic stature, directly…
“Repeated use of it [marihuana] has led to mental weakness, dullness and an insanity either of a violent sort in which the victim is pursued by terrible sense-illusions, with insomnia and acute mania, or of an imbecile-lethargic kind, resulting in incurable dementia. . . . Children of addicts are said…
“We were a fine drinking band, and most of our best work was done in the pub,” says Rod Stewart in the liner notes to the phenomenal new Faces four-CD boxed set, Five Guys Walk Into a Bar. It’s true — in their day (1969-1975), the raucous British quintet was…
From the Oxford Encyclopedia of Indie Rock Mythology, page 1,174: Sebadoh (seh’-blargh-chwynugllwgg): Founded in Massachusetts in 1986 by Tascam test engineer Lou Barlow and circus magician Eric Gaffney. Both shared songwriting duties: Gaffney’s songs sounded like the neighbors being chain-sawed; Barlow’s songs sounded like kittens softly weeping. After being asked…
With more punky power-pop out there than you can shake a chain wallet at — what were there, 739 bands on this year’s Warped Tour? — this four-song debut EP from Seattle’s Lashes could easily get lost in the three-chord shuffle. Which would be a shame, really, because the high-spirited…
Where would we be without VH1? How could we possibly live without being hipped to the celebrity trend of “butt facials,” watching vegan reality-show contestants spar with Ted “Kill It and Grill It” Nugent in the backwoods of Michigan, or getting a snarky rehash of ’90s pop culture (sorry, but…
With Soulfly — the band he’s been fronting since a less-than-pleasant split with metal giants Sepultura eight years ago — Max Cavalera has been on a mission to both delight and challenge his longtime followers. While there’s no lack of hardcore bark and guitar growl on the band’s latest album,…
Eddie slowly walked into the room and lifted his tired eyes toward his two anxious bandmates. “He said, `I’m finally getting my solo career going, and Van Halen doesn’t fit into my plans.’ And then he hung up on me,” the guitarist whispered. “Oh God! Game over!” Michael sobbed, lunging…
EPs can serve several functions: as a way to keep impatient fans happy while they wait for another full-length album; as a cost-effective means for new artists to get material into the hands of the public; as a chance for established artists to get weird and experimental without much risk;…
From all accounts, Denver-based screamo/hardcore foursome Planes Mistaken for Stars flat-out leveled stages on the recent politically charged Plea for Peace tour, stealing the thunder from headliners Cursive with jackknifing Mack truck riffs and gone-haywire howls. And their dirtbag, anti-emo pretty-boy looks (they’ve been referred to as “an entire group…
Who’s your favorite two-piece act? The White Stripes? Mates of State? Local H? Donny and Marie? After this show, it might be the Portland duo Helio Sequence — singer/guitarist/harmonica player Brandon Summers and drummer/keyboardist Benjamin Weikel (late of Modest Mouse, where he spent a year subbing on the skins for…
Dear Diary, Here I am on the tour bus. It’s been a while since my last entry, but I’ve been so busy. We played L.A. tonight, and the show was great. The kids were really into it. Saturday we’re in Scottsdale. I don’t know if I’ll have time before sound…
He rose from humble beginnings to conquer the pop music charts, indulged in all the excesses that celebrity affords, walked away at the height of his fame to embrace religion, and then, years later, made a triumphant return to the mainstream music world. Ladies and gentlemen . . . the…
