Mark Josephson, Executive Director of the New Music Seminar said back in 1988 that “alternative music has real strength, real quality, real excitement, and it has to be socially significant, as opposed to Whitney Houston, which is pablum.” That’s a great explanation of what started during the late-‘70s to early-‘80s as college radio features like Dead Kennedys… Read more
Punk rock changed my life. But if you meet anyone as knee-deep into middle age as I am, who spent a good deal of their youth in dodgy bars and clubs, they are going to say the same thing; same words, same tone, same look on their faces. I can smell it on people like… Read more
With Coronavirus receding and the world slowly opening back up, the last year has allowed musicians to finally get back in the studio and record new music. Combine this with a pandemic’s worth of soul-searching and you find an entire generation of new talent making urgent music that meets this moment. From soul-searching singer-songwriters to… Read more
Photo Credit: Gregory Shamus/GI What happens when you put the Kings of Hip-Hop on the world’s biggest stage with the Queen of Hip-Hop and Soul? You get one of the best half-time shows in the NFL’s history, and this certainly was the case when it came to this year’s show. Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige,… Read more
Photo Credit: Getty Images Before he passed away on January 20th at age seventy-four, singer Michael Lee Aday had never quite been able to successfully quell the common misconception that his stage moniker, Meat Loaf, was the name of a band (within days of his death, the “People also ask… ” feature on Google revealed… Read more
Avril Lavigne – Love Sux, to be released: February 25th Photo Credit: DTA Records Her most recent videos suggest that pop-punk’s princess hasn’t aged a day in twenty years, and the recent songs themselves also imply that she’s having just as much fun as ever, too. John Mellencamp – Strictly a One-Eyed Jack, released: January… Read more
The Weekend – Dawn FM, released: January 7th Photo Credit: Courtesy Republic Records The Weeknd always brings some heat whether that is with his own projects or even as a feature. His latest release, Dawn FM, is loaded with perfect pop moments, and the album’s seamless, radio-inspired hits make Dawn FM an instant classic. Gunna – DS4ever, released: January… Read more
Black Country, New Road – Ants from Up There, to be released: February 4th Photo Credit: Rosie Foster With their bold, modern take on post-punk and jazz, English seven-piece Black Country, New Road built an instant – and fervent – cult following with their 2021 debut For the First Time. Barely a year out from that… Read more
Charli XCX – CRASH, to be released: March 18th Photo Credit: Emily Lipson So, how is Charli XCX feeling now that her record deal is on its last leg and she’s out of quarantine (at least for now, as far as I’m concerned)? Pretty cool, pretty reflective, and pretty hungry it seems, considering the vibe… Read more
The year is now 2022, electric boogaloo. 2k double deuce, ice-cold apple juice. Etcetera. The following are five albums to be released that I genuinely look forward to hearing (mostly), and five groups I wished would drop something during this year for which we have such high hopes. Guns N’ Roses – Hard Skool, to be… Read more