Contrary to common belief, pop starlet Ke$ha isn’t worthless. However oversexed or perceivably vacuous the 24-year-old might be, her electro-rap debauchery is one of the more redeemable sounds on commercial radio. Let’s face it: The predominating trend in pop music these days is a lack of mirth and imagination. Most…
The rise in popularity of Southern and Midwestern hip-hop has given otherwise overlooked American cities a voice. For example, the multitalented Big K.R.I.T. was raised in Meridian, Mississippi. Yelawolf, meanwhile, hails from Gadsden, Alabama. But rappers aren’t particularly thick on the ground in Bowling Green. Indeed, the tiny Kentucky town…
In May, Oakland rapper Kreayshawn bubbled up from the underground with her smash single “Gucci Gucci.” Now she’s the talk of hipsterdom. With its propulsive, jackhammering beat, “Gucci Gucci” was skillfully produced, but the content left something to be desired. Kreayshawn rapped about dining at Arby’s and selling pills to…
Update: This post has been edited to fix an error regarding the venue Lil Wayne is scheduled to perform at next week. Perma-stoned New Orleans rapper Lil Wayne has been hip-hop’s eccentric golden boy for five years now. On the heels of his magnificent breakthrough album Tha Carter II, Wayne…
Everyone, it seems, loves The Smiths. Morrissey and co. hasn’t played together for nearly 25 years, yet the hyper-literature jangle rockers have had an enduring influence on bands across the spectrum. Good luck finding an indie scenester who doesn’t know every morbid word to “The Boy with a Thorn in…
Dredg has never been shy about taking risks. The Bay Area quartet’s music is heavy with prog signifiers, but Dredge is usually game for anything: a little synth-rock here, a little noir psychedelia there. It felt curiously appropriate when the band announced it would be working with Dan the Automator…
Jessica Lea Mayfield’s slow, countrified roots rock sounds distinctly Midwestern. Having spent the better part of the past three years touring globally, though, 21-year-old Mayfield has found that her aesthetic translates pretty much everywhere. “I feel like I don’t come off the same way in other countries,” she says over…
Bruce Springsteen fandom knows no geographical bounds. In America, rustic patriarchs like Gaslight Anthem and Titus Andronicus wear their Springsteen influence on their sleeves. Now, Canadians are getting in on the act, too. Dubbed “The E Street Band on crack,” Victoria, British Columbia’s Slam Dunk makes overwhelmingly hooky stadium rock…
