With a barrage of lurid lyrics, NYC’s Cage spits the sort of storyboard rhymes on Hell’s Winter that sound like they’re ripped from an underground graphic novel. The dreary war-zone backdrops come from El-P, RJD2, and Blockhead, and their nimble, diesel-charged compositions help drive Cage’s reckless imagination over the edge…
From the childlike front-cover drawing of a unicorn humping a horse (that’s in turn humping a zebra that’s barfing all over the place) and the back-cover photo of the sister duo dressed like two Native American Boy Georges (we couldn’t make this stuff up), CocoRosie’s Noah’s Ark is out there…
For the last couple of years, Herv Salters has been the secret weapon of Bay Area hip-hop collective Quannum, supplying vintage keyboard sounds for Blackalicious, Lyrics Born, and Lifesavas. Now the French-born, Berkeley-based musician steps out front, releasing a solo album of playful, funky hip-hop, composed entirely with Clavinet, Hammond,…
It must be a bitch being better known as Nicole Richie’s fiancé than for your skills on the tables, but that seems to be the case with DJ AM (a.k.a. Adam Goldstein), at least outside of Hollywood and New York City. But for those in the know, AM’s developed a…
It never could’ve happened with Throbbing Gristle or Merzbow. But the fact that these are different times and that these accomplished clatter merchants have signed to Sub Pop gives us hope that we’re in for a new noise infusion. Everyone’s hedging their bets — even the VH1 Web site has…
If there were a Grammy for “Best Song Title by a Duo or Group with Vocal,” Seattle quintet Minus the Bear would’ve easily taken the statue every year since its 2001 inception. Among the potential winners: “Thanks for the Killer Game of Crisco® Twister,” “Absinthe Party at the Fly Honey…
Contrary to the VH1 version of history, Scottish twins Craig and Charlie Reid are not some offbeat one-hit wonders. While their singles haven’t caught on the way their breakout hit, “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles),” did, every one of their six Proclaimers albums contains tracks just as catchy and literate…
Seven months after the European release of Idlewild’s soaring single “Love Steals Us From Loneliness” (and six months after the album it comes from hit shops overseas), American fans were still wondering how to steel themselves against a world without a domestic release of Warnings/Promises. The group’s U.S. label, Capitol,…
Miss Hildebrandt’s fourth-grade reading class, 9:30 a.m. ” . . . very good, Sarah. Emily Dickinson was a fine choice. All right, Jeffrey, what poem have you brought in for us today?” “This is a new one I found called ÔFoxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo,’ by Jimmy Pop Ali.” “Hmm, I…
You have to concede a certain amount of praise automatically for the massive imaginative output in Princess Superstar’s My Machine, a dystopian sci-fi hip-hop concept album about a future celebrity who takes over the world with the help of a cloning machine. As in any good epic, apocalyptic replicant war…
1. Coheed and Cambria, Good Apollo I’m Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness (Sony) 2. Disturbed, Ten Thousand Fists (Reprise) 3. Death Cab for Cutie, Plans (Atlantic) 4. Kanye West, Late Registration (Roc-a-Fella) 5. Avenged Sevenfold, City of Evil (Warner Bros.) 6. Damian Marley,…
Kieran Hebden secured a contract for his English post-rock band Fridge while still in his teens. With the money he would’ve used for school, he bought a computer, and, after dropping out of school, began composing music on it during his off time from Fridge. Influenced by the hypnotic avant-jazz…
Mindless Self Indulgence hates you. Don’t worry, the band will still make out with you — but only after attempts at setting you on fire and maybe throwing feces at you. It’s a third-grade mentality, but it works. MSI aptly named its live album Alienating Our Audience, but the four-piece…
Andrew: What are you listening to? Sam: The Shins, you know them? Andrew: No. Sam: You gotta hear this song, it’ll change your life, I swear. Andrew: Hmm, the song is skipping really bad. Sam: Oh, crap, look, there’s a big scratch on the disc! Andrew: Oh well. Sam: Wait,…
In a 2003 interview, Ryan Adams’ idol, Paul Westerberg, suggested that it might do the younger singer-songwriter some good to get his teeth kicked in. This seemingly mean-spirited comment, despite coming from someone who’d slapped an audience member that same year, was taken personally. But Westerberg was right. Anyone who…
When last seen as a duo in 2002, Chief Xcel and Gift of Gab had just dropped Blazing Arrow, one of the most accomplished hip-hop albums in recent memory. An ambitious and humane collection, filled with eclectic samples, sensitive live instrumentation, and interesting guests (Ben Harper, Gil Scott-Heron), it was…
As the temperatures start to drop, Monday nights are heating up in the world of beats and thumps. The latest entry is hip-hop weekly Boom Bap Room at Big Fish Pub in Tempe (1954 East University Drive), kicking off on Monday, October 3. Brought to you by Universatile Music, the…
It’s feeling a lot like the early ’90s, with rock acts selling hundreds of thousands of albums on little indies, and the majors out in force with their bankroll-operated cherry picker. Coming out of the fertile Long Island emo scene, From Autumn to Ashes’ 2001 debut, Too Bad You’re Beautiful,…
To compare the real-world success of onetime labelmates The Queers and Green Day, consider that one of them has just made a successful transition to bloated arena rock, while the other apparently couldn’t leverage the rights to its back catalogue for a best-of album. For last year’s Summer Hits No…
The five members of Oakland’s Watch Them Die eat metalcore bands for breakfast — their sound is that ferocious. They look tough, too — two of them are wearing Goatwhore shirts in a photo on their home page — and they’re not just poseurs. Formed out of the ashes of…
Talk about a thrill ride. After two self-released EPs and a third out this summer on Sub Pop, Wolf Parade’s anticipated debut full-length is the kind of heart-pounding, emotional roller coaster we’ll gladly take again and again — except the line to jump onboard is bound to get longer. Hailing…
1. Paul Wall, Peoples Champ (Atlantic) 2. DJ Quik, Trauma (Mad Science) 3. Kanye West, Late Registration (Roc-a-Fella) 4. Mariah Carey, The Emancipation of Mimi (Island) 5. Bon Jovi, Have a Nice Day (Island) 6. Charlie Wilson, Charlie, Last Name Wilson (Jive) 7. Young Jeezy, Let’s Get It (Def Jam)…
