the-newest-songs-you-can-get-along-with-great-reissues-in-new-formats
FORTY-FIVE REVOLUTIONS PER MINUTE #36: Shag Motor Pony
SAD CAFE “Run Home Girl” b/w “Feel Like Dying” (A&M Records #2111, 1978)
What do the words “Manchester, England” mean to me? (Football hooligans and songs from Hair aside.) Probably the same things you’re thinking: Factory Records, Joy Division, Crispy Ambulance, New Order, The Smiths, The Buzzcocks, The Fall, Happy Mondays, John Cooper Clarke, Tony Wilson, 24-Hour Party People, that damn “Blue Monday” 12-inch, The Stone Roses, The Verve, The Hacienda, the whole “MADchester” proto-rave scene that […]
New Release of the Week: Eminem’s “Relapse”
After a lengthy build-up, it’s finally here. Eminem ends the half-decade break between albums with his new set, Relapse.   Despite the lukewarm reception the singles from it have received, all indications point to this album being a blockbuster. Somewhat surprisingly, given the quality of the singles, reviews I’ve read for the album have been overwhelmingly positive, but then again, it doesn’t appear that Eminem is capable of doing wrong in the eyes of most rock […]
Check ’em Out: Passion Pit
All of a sudden, pop is the new “indie”. Bands like The Ting Tings are the latest thing in the alternative world, but their sound seems taken more from Eighties pop like Madonna than it does from anything off-center or truly “alternative”. After all, how much difference is there between the Tings’ “That’s Not My Name” and Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl”?
Enter Boston’s Passion Pit. Formed and led by Michael Angelakos, this band combines falsetto and […]