The concept of a series of pop songs concerning the cancer deaths of two friends is dubious at best–likely to succeed neither as philosophical exploration nor as enduring pop. On his new album, Magic and Loss, however, Lou Reed, still one of rock’s most contradictory figures, comes impressively close to…
Although he’s being diplomatic, Jason Newsted is thinking something a little more pointed about people who say Metallica’s gone soft. Part of his frustration comes from having to answer questions about how big the band has become, how tunes like “Enter Sandman” are pop and why the band that defined…
Scottsdale musician Ray Herndon couldn’t be happier with the success his band, McBride and the Ride, has achieved. Well, actually, he probably could be happier, but Herndon is reluctant to knock a good thing. “Oh, I’m very content,” the tall, longhaired lead guitarist for the harmonic-happy, neo-country trio asserts, leaning…
It seems like only yesterday that the once-rebellious Mick Jagger uttered those portentous words, “I don’t want to be doing this when I’m 40.” Or was it 50? Either way, Jagger was speaking about music, of course, not business. Because when it comes to business, the Stones will never retire…
You and Your Sister, the first album from Gainesville, Florida’s Vulgar Boatmen, typified an emerging new movement in American alternative rock. Like New York’s Silos and Canada’s cult faves the Odds, the Vulgar Boatmen played music that had more in common with traditional rock ‘n’ roll than most 1980s pop:…
Someone smart once said that the most courageous act an individual could make was to change his mind. Consider Buffalo Tom a courageous act. The Boston-based Buff Toms have a four-year rø¡esumø¡e of hard-charging guitar songs ranging in texture from crunch to grunge. The band’s 1989 debut was appropriately released…
Somewhere near the end of Going Blank Again, the aptly titled recent release by Ride, there’s a point at which the unfortunate listener is presented with a dubious set of choices. Singer-guitarist Mark Gardner and the rest of Ride have muddled their way through almost 50 minutes of monotonous moans…
In lyric and life, on stage and in stereo, Robert Earl Keen Jr. is a very funny fellow. However, the Houston-born-and-bred musician with the cool, slightly quirky Southern tones and clever lyrics found nothing humorous about a poster heralding his appearance at one of his 150 road shows in 1991…
To say that former Motley Crue lead singer Vince Neil has a tarnished driving record is a bit of an understatement. While driving under the influence of alcohol in 1984, the now-30-year-old rocker plowed head-on into an oncoming car, killing his passenger and severely injuring the couple in the car…
In 1963 the Who’s Pete Townshend made a shocking musical discovery. A fellow art-school student played an album by American jazz-blues pianist Mose Allison. My American friend,” recalls Townshend in the liner notes of an old Mose Allison reissue, grins like his eyeballs are on fire and produces the cover…
Remember Mork and Mindy? On that TV series, writers used Robin Williams’ alien to make trenchant observations about American culture. Because the lines came from Mork, they seemed amusing and thoughtful, not threatening. Several years ago, my wife and I hosted our own Mork. Only his name was Moulaye and…
There’s something very intriguing about photographs of jazzman Al Di Meola. In every recent shot, the guitarist’s handsome looks are overshadowed by an uncomfortable intensity. Even when smiling, Di Meola conveys the kind of anger and pain seen in someone recently jilted. And in a sense, the jazz guitarist has…
If Rodney Crowell’s father had had his way, his son would have become a baseball player instead of the major-league singer and songwriter he is today. Rodney would be ripping triples to deep center instead of garnering triple Grammy Award nominations and winning one. He’d be lining his mantle with…
Becoming famous overnight can be hell. Just ask Nirvana. Or Teenage Fanclub. Two years ago, both groups were struggling indie bands whose latest records, while not stiffs, were not setting the world on fire. Still, these discs, Bleach and A Catholic Education, respectively, were solid enough to warrant A&R flybys…
Art and Aaron Neville were standing in the tunnel leading to the Celebrity Theatre stage. Like most headliners who take on local bands to fill out the bill, the Nevilles rarely know, let alone watch, their openers. But this night, the brothers had been drawn out of their dressing room…
Chris Griffiths doesn’t want to hear about dance music. At least not the contemporary, guitar-oriented kind. He doesn’t care about rave” dance parties or anything that bands like the Happy Mondays or Stone Roses are doing. Griffiths says he’s tired of the neodisco that’s infected his native England and that…
Yo La Tengo does a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams” that’s so loving, so unexpectedly true to the spirit of the original that probably even Stevie Nicks would approve. The band also does a version of Lou Reed’s It’s Alright (The Way That You Live)” that bests the Cowboy Junkies’…
As promised, here is the second half of the local tape and CD roundup, the first installment of which ran in February. Given the volume of local music we’ve been receiving, this feature may have to become a continuing series. To those bands wondering where the reviews of their cassettes…
In the mid-Sixties, Roosevelt Nettles had a future in music. A doo-wop/R&B singer in Phoenix, he was a regular on the local club scene. His first record, “Matilda,” was a regional hit. He was touring with national acts like Sam Cooke. To top it off, he inked a deal with…
Don’t blame Dan Hicks for being a bit cantankerous these days. Just as his career is once again gathering momentum, the Bay Area-bred “folk swing” king has turned 50. “People come around asking me how I’m gonna wrap things up,” complains Hicks during a telephone conversation from his hillside home…
It’s time for a long-overdue look at what kind of “product” is coming out of the local music scene. The number of tapes submitted was so large this time that one week won’t cover them all. Be prepared for a second installment to run soon. The variety of local music…
Adam Franklin, singer/guitarist for Swervedriver, remembers the last time he and his band encountered America. Swervedriver flew across the pond a few months ago with fellow Brits Ned’s Atomic Dustbin for a five-show, five-city tour stretching from New York to L.A. “We were constantly flying from zone to zone,” says…
