If you’re still in mourning over the demise of the mighty Jesus Lizard (five years removed, I know I am) and, to a lesser degree, At the Drive-In, then let the frenetic post-punk roar of Seattle’s These Arms Are Snakes salve some of those wounds. Like the former, these guys…

The East Village bar I used to frequent during my New York City days had a copy of Sonic Youth’s 1995 disc Washing Machine in the jukebox, and it was usually entertaining when the epic 20-minute closer “The Diamond Sea” would come on. (In my opinion, it’s one of the…

There’s the “space-rock” of Pink Floyd, Mogwai, and Flying Saucer Attack, and then there’s the music of instrumental-experimental Brooklyn trio Black Dice that very literally sounds like it comes from the cosmos — something the microphones onboard the Cassini Saturn probe might pick up if it discovered a well-stocked zoo…

“. . . Welcome back to Entertainment Tonight, I’m Mary Hart! It’s been an up-and-down year for Hollywood’s famed Coppola family, and no one knows that better than Robert Carmine, actor and lead singer of the alternative-pop group Rooney, and son of Rocky co-star Talia Shire, whose brother, of course,…

Stop me, oh, oh, oh, stop me, stop me if you think you’ve heard this one before: Band (Vue) jumps from indie label (Sub Pop) to a major label (RCA) that’s trying to cash in on a hot music trend (garage rock), submits full-length album (Down for Whatever) that keeps…

At what point, exactly, did you really begin to hate garage rock? When legions of stylist-rumpled, wanna-be retro-rockers took over the airwaves? When ad agencies started tapping into that “hipster sound” to sell Subarus and Happy Meals? Or when you were in Guitar Center, cringing as some golf-shirted goober flubbed…

A conversation between two guys, “Jeff” and “Frank,” recently overheard at a diner at 2:45 a.m. JEFF: Okay, so if Glenn Danzig fought Henry Rollins, who’d win? FRANK: Man, that’s the oldest one ever! JEFF: C’mon, who’d win? I say Rollins — he’s like a foot taller and way tougher…

There are tons of great DJ Shadow concert bootlegs floating around on disc and vinyl, but the stunning clarity and seamlessly mixed content of the official In Tune and On Time Live! puts all the rest to shame. This 20-track, 78-minute CD (packaged together with a 24-track DVD) is culled…

Why let such a trifling thing as the death of your most important member (or members) stand in the way of gettin’ the band back together, maaaaaan? I mean, who needs that bloated ol’ Jim Morrison and his stank-ass leather pants when Ian Astbury can grow a mussy shag, throw…

Though it wasn’t as startling a musical about-face as, say, Pat Boone’s embrace of heavy metal, Josh Rouse took a pretty big leap from semi-depressive alt-country strummer to sunny ’70s blue-eyed soul man on last year’s 1972, the Nebraska native’s fifth album. Whatever the reason (was he tiring of the…

After 17 years, is No Doubt coming to the end of its New Wave/ska-pop road? You don’t need a Magic 8-Ball to see that signs point to yes: Gwen Stefani is currently at work on her solo debut with the likes of OutKast and Missy Elliott, and also getting her…

If you’ve ever sat in your third-period trigonometry class and daydreamed that Ben Folds would hook up with the guys from Weezer to record an album (and really, who hasn’t?), then boy do I have a band for you: Piebald. Don’t let the third wave ska-style name throw you off…

Underground hip-hop crews may not have the flash and bling of their mainstream counterparts, but they usually get the last laugh via artistic credibility and career longevity. (When was the last time you heard from a No Limit soldier or a Cash Money Millionaire?) On Saturday, June 19, you get…

Because bland people who have bland conversations at bland dinner parties need more bland background music to play once the Train CD ends, South Carolina’s Edwin McCain puts out a new album every two years or so. Really, though, what would you expect from a guy initially championed by Hootie…

Though he mostly emotes with a morose mumble instead of a caustic croak, Hayden just might be Canada’s answer to Vic Chesnutt: an endearing, love-troubled kook with a penchant for poignant, sometimes darkly humored yarns spun all indie-folk-like. In “Wide Eyes” — a mournful strings ‘n’ piano ballad that opens…

Dashboard Confessional, “Rapid Hope Loss” Discuss (18) Posted: April 19, 2004 03:31 p.m. Rapid hopelos is such an awesome song . . . but then again, any song written by chris is awesome! Posted: April 20, 2004 10:51 p.m. This song seriously blows. These songs are not deep and meaningful,…

Oh, you can count on plenty of blue-hairs lining up to vote this November — the old-lady variety, that is, not the ones surgically attached to a skateboard. Whatever the reason, our nation’s voting-eligible youth simply can’t be bothered to pull the levers on Election Day. Hoping to alter that…

Sure, William Shatner’s done T.J. Hooker, VH1’s One-Hit Wonders, and those damn Priceline commercials, but he’ll always be Captain Kirk to us. And speaking of one-hit wonders, the Los Angeles glam-industro-metal outfit Orgy is always gonna be the band that did “that New Order song.” Coming out of the box…

For six long years, the Canadian quintet Finger Eleven must have regarded America as a stubborn virgin on prom night: No matter how hard they worked it, they just couldn’t get lucky. Despite some well-crafted hard-rock albums, a whole lotta U.S. touring, and even a hearty push from labelmates Creed…

The adult sex industry barely has to lift a finger to separate people from their cash. But the savviest skin purveyors realize they can maximize profits by selling the fantasy of availability. Successful strippers aren’t just skilled at shakin’ the ol’ funbags — they chitchat the easy marks between sets,…

Right now, somewhere in suburban America, a perennial rite of passage is taking place: A pack of ratty, longhaired, disaffected 17-year-olds lolls in a high school parking lot, gettin’ stoned while Black Sabbath’s “Supernaut” rages from the blown-out speakers of someone’s primer-dappled El Camino. And to them, it probably doesn’t…