RIP Ray Manzarek (1939-2013)
Some bands from my youth have fallen by the wayside, but not The Doors. I always return to them and each return pays back my youthful devotion. RIP Ray Manzarek.
Kula Shaker – K (Sony)
The London dreamers have borrowed their favourite parts from music’s past to create a headrush of love and mysticism
A review of ‘Muchacho’ by Phosphorescent based only on the front cover
Is it irresponsible to write an album review without having heard a single note from said album? Maybe. It would probably depend on the album.
Some random thoughts on ‘Still Crazy After All These Years’ and Paul Simon in general
This appears to be the opposite of crazy. It’s mundane. Why would somebody describe their encounters with normal everyday situations and then call themselves crazy? Why indeed. They’d have to be delusional.
Secret Memo Regarding Nirvana’s ‘In Utero’ Reissue Leaked
People not only like to read the same story over and over again, they demand it. Our job is to retell the story, to reinforce the legends, to emphasise the inflexibility of the narrative.
Beck – Song Reader (Faber/McSweeney’s) THE BAD REVIEW
Beck selling sheet music is like McDonald’s selling a recipe book. “Hey, we’re not going to sell you the Super-Ultra-Mega Big Mac, but you can buy our recipe book and make your own version.” Those recipes might even look complex on paper, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t consuming garbage.
The iPod and the Function of Music
Unless a particular artistic discipline has massive popular support then it ceases to become culturally relevant.
Hating Hipsters: How The Mainstream Hijacked Authenticity And Made Non-Conformity A Joke
Why exactly does the whole world want to distance itself from the term hipster?
22 of Wallace Wylie’s favourite songs of 2012 (most of which are actually from 2012) so far
2012. I’m not going to lie to you, it’s been a shit year in terms of my personal life.
Ignorant Fantasies | Race and Class Delusions From David Thomas
The fantasy world that David Thomas inhabits reeks of privilege and conceit. Perhaps I expected a bit more intelligence, a bit more individuality, a bit more adventurousness to his thinking. Then again, he is a white middle-class American male. We can’t expect too much.
Grimes – Visions (Arbutus Records/4AD)
Visions seduces me a little more, yet at the same time, I know I will never truly love it
The Weeknd – House Of Balloons / Thursday / Echoes Of Silence (XO)
Sex, drugs, more sex, more drugs, each song details another night of Bacchanalian excess with no redemption in sight. Are you ready to party?
Brian Wilson tired of music critics putting him in a box
Turns out some cold-hearted bastard had gotten Brian in a box and then nailed it shut. It took me almost an hour to get him out.
Alternative Music Fan Notices Contradiction In Jessie J Hit Song
The update sparked two replies and got 9 ‘likes’, the second highest amount McMillan has ever gotten for a status update.
Why Pop Music Matters (No Matter What Age You Are)
Pop outflanked all of its critics by making them extreme traditionalists or anti-populist cranks.
English Blues – The Untold History of the Chunka-Chunka Song
It was The Supremes’ ‘Baby Love’ that really brought back that Chunka-Chunka feeling
THE ALTERNATE REVIEW: Can – Tago Mago (Spoon/Mute)
Can belong to the iconoclasts, the cynics, the lovers, the thinkers and the visionaries with hungry ears and a low threshold for boredom.
The 10th Anniversary of the 20th Anniversary of October by U2, by Jeff Pollack
I thought of The Beatles line, “It was 20 years ago today”, probably because it really had been 20 years ago to the day
Ryan Adams – Ashes & Fire (PAX-AM/Capitol)
The words have died of boredom before they have even left the singer’s lips.
Teenage Moods – Mood Ring (25 Diamonds)
I would call it pop-punk, but then you’ll think of Green Day or some shit like that.
8 Things You Should Avoid Saying in Response to a Music Review You Dislike
Have you read Lester Bangs? Guess what? He was a failed musician.
