An even greater mystery than Carly Simon’s “who’s so vain” saga: Which real-life metal band most closely embodies the fictional travails of Spinal Tap? Few hit pay dirt better than that German musical concentration camp known as Helloween. They’ve got it all — the brooding mysticism of Dio, the Reaper…
Billy Idol has a cult following. Ironic, eh? One quick run-through of his Web site documents a wide range of praise from his fervent fan club. Along with the photos of several female fans decked out in their “White Wedding” dresses, there are pictures of a 5-year-old girl posing with…
Irony is the alternative musician’s path of least resistance. Asked to describe the driving force behind experimental Brooklyn band Enon’s fabulous new album Hocus-Pocus, band member John Schmersal doesn’t hesitate: “We were trying to get back to having more time to watch TV and play video games.” Sometimes, however, irony…
Folks who bought the Psychedelic Furs’ debut album digested the word “stupid” a riveting 14 times. And it wasn’t just any ol’ stupid. When Richard Butler’s croaky timbre does the syllable stretching, stupid becomes styoooopid, a distinction of noble beauty. Through the Furs’ decade-plus career, styoooopid became a recurring buzz…
No one can ever accuse Abe Ruthless of being highbrow. The 25-year-old former front man for punk rock misanthropes Slash City Daggers, current Fuck You Ups singer and guitarist and freshly christened solo artist is no art rocker. Ruthless bears all the pretty scars of a young manhood spent in…
As the first-born grandson in a family of 20 aunts and uncles, Ethiopian-bred synth-pop singer Kenna was accustomed to royal treatment. His grandfather, by virtue of cultural decree, demanded his respect, and the child was doted upon by nannies and some of the best teachers in Ethiopia. But, initially, there…
After several years of tributes and eulogies, with his work in vogue and a video meditation on his aging mesmerizing MTV viewers, Johnny Cash did about the most rebellious thing he could last Friday morning. He died. The symbolism — legendarily flawed man finds redemption time and time again and…
Steve Shelton plays with his cell phone between sips of English tea at the George and Dragon on Central. He checks the blue display screen for his call log, and then answers a quick call from a friend. Shelton, guitarist for Phoenix punk band Glass Heroes, looks amused by the…
On the back cover of the CD booklet that accompanies Richard X’s first full-length is an anti-piracy statement from EMI Music (Astralwerks’ parent), a strongly worded missive reminding listeners about the danger of the Internet. Strange, really, since that’s pretty much how Richard X made his bones, back when he…
Wildwood Flower’s liner notes are reason enough to recommend the final recording by June Carter Cash, who died from complications of heart surgery in April. Penned by stepdaughter and songwriter Rosanne Cash, they eulogize Carter Cash as a unique and loving mother and musician who for nearly 40 years nurtured…
Surprisingly, it’s taken post-punk 20 years to return to the indie rock lexicon. Yet in its new incarnation, it’s been nearly all surface and no process. Bands like the Liars and Radio 4 grab the most obvious totems of the era — Chic bass, scuttling claws of guitar, death-disco drums…
That which is too silly to be said is instead sung, claimed Voltaire, which may explain why Christopher Carrabba, the compact Floridian who leads Dashboard Confessional, is well on the way to achieving godlike status. A Mark, a Mission, a Brand, a Scar, Dashboard Confessional’s follow-up to that towering monument…
Believe it or not, the Exploited is nearing a quarter-century of cutting a crusty swath of anarchist destruction across the globe. Rest easy, though — with such ditties as “Fuck the System,” “Fuck the U.S.A.” and “You’re a Fucking Bastard” to their credit, one can pretty safely assume the corrosive…
Country singer Buddy Jewell isn’t on the cover of national music or entertainment magazines, nor is he being presented with the key to any city. Such are the perils of being an American Idol knockoff. Jewell, as five or six of you may recall, was named the next “Nashville Star”…
Most parents chart their child’s growth from notches on the wall. Diane and Chuck Simo can follow their son Jeff’s progress from the career memorabilia hanging in the family’s rec room. There’s his first guitar, a toddler-size Stratocaster called the Synsonics Junior Pro. Next, the folks show a photo of…
Atreyu is a band of young misfits and slackers from the suburbs of Orange County, California, that’s channeled its angst into developing an exciting style of hard-core punk. The kids are in the midst of what seems like a nonstop tour. Last week, that tour took a brief pit stop…
Daniel Lanois, superstar producer and occasional solo artist, took pains in his liner notes to thank all of the musicians who contributed to Shine, his first album in a decade. These fellow musicians include U2’s Bono, sensual country singer Emmylou Harris, prolific session drummer Brian Blade, longtime friend and collaborator…
Last month, New Times wrote about the Clubhouse, a rising venue in Tempe that promised to fill a niche once occupied by Nita’s Hideaway. Which is to say it was becoming a small but high-profile spot for local lovers of twangy rock and for an all-ages crowd that lives for…
Savvy businessmen familiar with the truism that more songwriting and production credits yield a more robust payday, the rainmaking Neptunes have done the entire album thing a couple of times. They’ve stretched their brittle candy-funk over the frames of Kelis’ Kaleidoscope and Clipse’s Lord Willin’ and juiced the live-band crackle…
A gold mine for Daniel Johnston fans and a great introduction for folks curious about the mentally troubled but gifted songwriter, The Early Recordings Volume 1 gives Johnston material previously only available via cassette or download a proper release. The double CD oozes Johnston’s odd universe, including pages of Daniel’s…
The Coral is a talented sextet of kids from Merseyside, England, whose improving songcraft and sense of self-expression threaten to eventually eclipse the kitsch and appreciation for pop history that earned them a cult following last year. The group’s 2002 self-titled debut was alternately ridiculous and fascinating. It blended an…
It’s difficult not to be struck by the similarity between Will Johnson and Guided by Voices’ Robert Pollard. Both deploy their tender and wounded but still hopeful baritones within the hushed buzz of lo-fi environs, wrapping their oblique lyrical imagery around melodic tunes that seep melancholia like athletes drip sweat…
