music-and-concert-reviews-you-wont-see-anywhere-else
First Listen: The Roots
You might have not been paying attention, but The Roots have been up there with The White Stripes, Radiohead, and Kanye as the most consistent artists of the past decade. With thought-provoking lyrics and rock-solid funk grooves, this is the kind of hip-hop that lots of people have either forgotten existed or never knew existed in the first place. While most of the attention behind the band gets focused on drummer ?uestlove (either because of […]
FORTY-FIVE REVOLUTIONS PER MINUTE #41: Hooked On Phoenix
MAC & KATIE KISSOON “Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep” b/w “Walking Around” (ABC Records #11306, Fall 1971)
Pop smashes don’t just write themselves. It takes actual people with actual brains to conceive of the melodies (with or without lyrical combinations) that will become the soundtrack to our difficult lives, brightening up otherwise cloudy days. And it can take teams of people, and lots of time and effort, to get that potential hit into the right hands, often after […]
“For All I Care” – The Bad Plus Adds Vocals
Recorded in April of last year and released on February 3rd , 2009, the latest Bad Plus album, “For All I Care”, is not exactly a “new†release anymore. Still, I feel compelled to review it here because I believe that the Bad Plus is the most important group in contemporary music today. Unlike the majority of other working bands, it is one of few to actively bridge the gaps between rock, pop, […]