By Nancy
August 23rd, 2008
I first saw the impossible in the summer of ’91 at a late, great Jersey Shore club called Tradewinds, which was one of the best concert venues in the tri-state area. Like most great things in New Jersey, it was razed to put up McMansions during the last real estate boom. Even more pathetic, most of the units aren’t even sold out now that the market is a bust. (Note to would-be impresarios—there is ALWAYS a market for live music no matter how bad the economy is). Read More…
By Brian
August 23rd, 2008
When I’m bored, I like to play “I’m a major record/movie executive” and daydream the next big turns in popular culture. I was playing this very game the other day, at work, when I probably should have been, you know, working, and I started thinking about all those goofy old rock-and-roll movies put out by Elvis, the Beatles, and others before we got our MTV. Read More…
By Elliot
August 22nd, 2008
With the U.S. presidential campaign in full swing, the airwaves are inundated with Barack Obama and John McCain and more staged, bland talking points than I can stomach. It’s all so frightfully boring. No drama, no excitement. Every move, every word uttered, every glance, smile, and handshake is meticulously choreographed. It got me thinking about what the country really needs: a badass rock star to lead, not just the U.S., but the entire freakin’ world! With that in mind, the good folks at JamsBio created the ultimate political race with a full governmental cabinet for your selection. Power to the people!
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By JBev
August 22nd, 2008
| **** |
A classic |
| *** |
Deserving of a place on any mix CD |
| ** |
Worthy of a download, but not of frequent play |
| * |
Dump it like a hot rock |
Ray Davies has never been your average rock hero. Case in point: The Kinks’ 1971 album, Muswell Hillbillies, in which Davies and the band spurn sex, drugs, and rock and roll in favor of tea, solitude, and the simple life. But does all of that simplicity add up to great music? Only a song-by-song album review could possibly tell the tale. Read More…
By Nadia
August 22nd, 2008
This past Sunday I finally attended one of McCarren’s Pool parties. I had previously avoided the place because I kept hearing negative comments regarding this summer’s shows. One in particular was MGMT, which according to more than one person (probably the majority of the people who attended), was horribly organized and far too packed. Apparently some people were waiting in line for hours and did not even get through the door. Read More…
By Rick
August 21st, 2008
When the mercury is pushing the upper 90s, it’s time to nice up the dance, like they do in Jamaica. There’s nothing that sounds better in a sweaty summertime club than the slack rhythms of dancehall reggae. Read More…
By James
August 21st, 2008
I’m not such a fan of pop music, to be honest. Although every artist must, undoubtedly, take commercial considerations into account at some point or another, the world of pop has taken profit-driven ‘music’ to new depths. The whole pop industry is founded on exploitation; guilty of forcing a marketing profile to manipulate emotions and manufacture desire within children. Read More…
By Nadia
August 21st, 2008
I started off this article with the intention of picking apart the Beatles’ Rubber Soul. At the time I considered it my favorite album from the fab foursome. But as I listened to it while writing, I realized that this was no longer true. Rubber Soul is not my favorite Beatles‘ album. This is because such a title would require that I like the album in its entirety, from beginning to end, and that is simply not the case. I love certain songs, but Rubber Soul, as a whole, does not impress me in the same manner as some of their other albums. It isn’t Sgt. Pepper’s. Read More…
By Metal Marcy
August 20th, 2008
Judas Priest recently launched a world tour in support of their latest (double) album, Nostradamus. They’ll be hitting the local amphitheater in my hometown this weekend with Heaven and Hell, Motorhead and Testament. It will be complete metal mayhem. I haven’t seen Priest live since high school and I’m looking forward to reliving my wilder days as a big-haired headbanger. This recent bout of nostalgia spurred me to dig out my faded Turbo-era t-shirt and VHS copy of “Heavy Metal Parking Lot,” one of the greatest relics of metal’s heyday in the mid-1980s. The concept of this wildly entertaining “documentary” is simple. Two dudes (Jeff Krulik and John Heyn) with no budget and a video camera troll the parking lot of the Capitol Centre in suburban Maryland before a 1986 Judas Priest concert, shooting and interviewing tailgaiting teenage metal fans. No plot needed. The mullets, cut-off shirts, big hair and wasted youth do all the talking. “Heavy Metal Parking Lot” is a time capsule, a cultural artifact that brilliantly captured the zeitgeist of this bygone era. Read More…
By JBev
August 20th, 2008
In lieu of any overwhelming new releases to review this week, I thought I’d share with you the contents of a mix CD I recently made with some of the best songs that I’ve heard so far in 2008, a mix that helped me stave off insanity while stuck in a seemingly endless traffic jam on my return from a vacation in Myrtle Beach, SC. Check these songs out, and I promise they’ll take the stress out of any interstate hell. Read More…
