If one wants to write a book about a rock ‘n’ roll band, there are only two ways to do it: give new information that adds to the band’s legacy or chop up old information in a new way that… Read More
There isn’t a logical explanation for the persistence—or, really, the swelling—of interest in music of the Grateful Dead in 2020. The Dead’s visionary and spiritual center of gravity was singer/guitarist Jerry Garcia, and when he died in 1995 after years… Read More
When Strange Days released in the US in the fall of 1995, the internet and the idea of digital connectivity was new enough that forward-thinking philosophers and artists had begun speculating on its potential, and in often alarmist ways. The… Read More
Given the shadowy avant-gardism of their self-titled debut a year earlier, it may come as a bit of a surprise to find how bright This Heat sounded on this 1980 12″ EP. In truth, Hayward and Bullen had both been… Read More
Ariana Grande’s Positions is a perfect pop album in a very conservative sense of the term. The songs average under three minutes. Innovation is on hold for the moment, and the experimentation—the muffled house of “Motive”, which imagines Grande and… Read More
The most distinctive aspect of Canadian singer-songwriter Jennifer Castle’s latest release, Monarch Season, is its stillness. Castle sings and plays guitar and piano quietly on this solo release. Even when Castle blows on the harmonica, there is a calmness to… Read More
In the midst of a global pandemic, 22-year-old singer-songwriter Rosie Darling seems to be faring just fine as she sets the stage for the next phase of her career. While a harried nation in one mad, mad world of chaos… Read More
A new pop release, “Tell Me” from inspiring bicultural artist Amirah, is a unique aesthetic call for unity and peace. Especially considering the time of the release when US elections are the central theme for many, the song’s message is… Read More
The French New Wave finally made its way to Africa in the late 1960s, thanks in part to the French postcolonial presence on the African continent, which gave rise to the particularly influential artistic output of directors in Senegal, with… Read More
The weird and wonderful Jim White is as much a performance artist as he is a musician. He deftly combines different pop styles in juxtaposition with each other. Then White mixes these products with a plethora of noises: snippets of… Read More