Ken Burns apologizes for his “filibustering,” but it doesn’t stop him from talking and talking until the original question becomes a faint memory in the wake of an answer that goes on and on. But perhaps as much is to be expected from Burns, the documentarian whose films begin as…
Steve Allen is dead. I don’t think any of us has a problem with that.People who’ve lived long, prosperous and productive lives are entitled to long, uninterrupted stretches of inactivity, punctuated by blissful nada. And the spectacle-sporting comedian, who rose to prominence during the days of live television, certainly knew…
Dr. Octagon is dead. Been dead for almost four years now. The all-star project was great during its brief life span — Kool Keith’s pornographic science-fiction delusions, Dan the Automator’s way, way left-field beatsmithing and Q-Bert’s playful scratch routines were just what the dour hip-hop scene needed at the time…
The boxed set, that most ubiquitous and painstakingly completist of modern-day music anthologies, can be a force for good or ill. The form has given us both utter delights like John Coltrane’s 16-disc The Prestige Recordings and utterly useless dreck like (why? why?) Who Was That Masked Man?, a five-CD,…
When Sub Pop Records announced earlier this year it was releasing a tribute to Bruce Springsteen’s 1982 album Nebraska — the one he recorded in his bedroom, the one on which he sounded like Bruce Springsteen doing Bob Dylan doing Woody Guthrie doing Bruce Springsteen — it sounded like a…
Starting an indie label these days is ludicrously simple. All you need is a modest stash of cash (CDs are dirt cheap to manufacture), a smidgen of promotional savvy (two hints: Do hook up with an established independent publicist who’s into the music you’re flogging; and don’t send promo discs…
Whatever your opinion of Moonshine Records and its amazing tendency to fill store racks with a procession of Keoki mixes and comps inevitably featuring Cirrus, the label has definitely helped to bring electronic music to America’s attention. Over the past few years, Moonshine has also provided a massive boost to…
Greil Marcus is a rock-critic legend. A graduate of the late-’60s Berkeley scene, Marcus began his rock and social criticism with then-fledgling Rolling Stone magazine and quickly became notable for his highbrow style and brainy approach. His obvious talent and his professorial passion for dissecting rock ‘n’ roll had an…
In the bloated pantheon of sensitive-boy rock, with all its journal scribbling and conspicuous self-pity, it’s an accomplishment to rise above simple mediocrity — something that stellar virtuosos like Jonah Matranga (onelinedrawing) and Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes) do effortlessly, while Kind of Like Spitting’s Ben Barnett struggles and stumbles upon…
Laurie Anderson, you will not be surprised to learn, is a downright charming conversationalist. Furthermore, to the delight of anyone who’s appreciated her 20-plus years of storytelling art, she often strays from the trajectory of the central topic to indulge in illustrative narratives that somehow provide the perfect foil for…
It’s November 9, two days after the American presidential election, and the media are simply delirious, scrambling to provide the latest updates on the as-yet-undecided race, reveling in the chance to use words like “historic” and “unprecedented.” Almost everyone in the United States has an eye on Florida, awaiting –…
Within the combat zone of punk rock, growing old, and yes, even growing up, can be painful, sometimes troublesome. How does one do it? Reunion cash-in tours (Pistols, Damned), movie careers (John Doe, Henry Rollins), the college lecture circuit (Jello Biafra, Lydia Lunch, the ever-versatile Henry Rollins), or the more…
Listed below are 17 pounds of new and worthwhile music books all you fact-obsessed tune junkies will need to buy and haul around every time you move for the rest of your lives. There’s no shortage of pointless Grateful Dead books littering the bargain tables in bookstores, outnumbered only by…
I often picture myself lying naked in my trailer with the worst records imaginable spread across the floor around me. Empty beer bottles everywhere. I see myself lying there dead with a Limp Bizkit jewel case next to my head. There’s also a couple of REO Speedwagon reissues. The new…
The early winter air is crisp, but Robin Wilson is looking for a spot in the sun. Settling down on a bench, clutching a cigarette and coffee mug in one hand and a cell phone in the other, he’s about to hold court in front of his Tempe Mayberry recording…
Why is it that, while America is a perfect breeding ground, glorious bands like the Shazam always seem to find their true cult followings in Europe, where they are loved, worshiped and adored? Cotton Mather opens for Oasis in Paris, but plays to 40 folks in Austin. Meanwhile, the Shazam…
Both of these acts belong in a rock ‘n’ roll museum — Bono’s fly specs and Liam Gallagher’s eyebrow, preserved in amber behind Plexiglas (most of Oasis’ riffs are already sealed and on display, under the Beatles exhibit). They belong to another era, a time when it was possible to…
Named after the nautical pleasurecraft of Emilio Largo, Bond supervillain in Thunderball, Disco Volante sounds more like the kind of music Miss Moneypenny might be tempted to blast in the office when M wasn’t around. On the surface, it’s worldly wise pop; the opening track, “146 Degrees,” takes “The Theme…
The template quality of the Pistoleros’ story thus far resembles the first half of nearly any episode of the increasingly irritating Behind the Music specials seen on VH1. Band forms and pays dues playing myriad local gigs. A loyal following blossoms. A founding member quits and later commits suicide. Band…
Based on his reputation, you’d think you’re at the wrong place. The old wood-frame house in the heart of the Tempe ‘hood has the feminine air of a homemaker, not that of a rock ‘n’ roll hellion. But sure enough, sitting in the living room on a large white leather…
Everyone might be entitled to 15 minutes of fame, but most people don’t have any say about when that window opens. If, as in the case of Bratmobile, fate calls on three college students, two of whom are based on the West Coast while the other is attending classes in…
No one likes to be seen as the roadblock to a revolution. The unfortunate soul — or the dumb bastard — who chooses to impede progress is likely to be mowed down by those charging toward tomorrow. He will become a thing to be wiped off the shoes of those…
