In 1961, Harry Belafonte returned his attentions to the strain of music that had made him a household name. Jump Up Calypso was Belafonte’s third album of West-Indies-styled tunes (following 1956’s Calypso and 1957’s Belafonte Sings Of The Carribean), and…
Category: Music
Urge Overkill: Live at The Bowery Ballroom, 5/17/2011
Urge Overkill visited The Bowery Ballroom on Tuesday night, touring in support of their new LP “Rock & Roll Submarine” (reviewed here). The band stepped onstage just past ten p.m., and proceeded to unleash an hour and a half of…
Album Review: Urge Overkill – “Rock And Roll Submarine”
Yes, this album is called Rock & Roll Submarine. It’s a ridiculous title, and that’s only fitting; Urge Overkill, better than most anyone, have always personified and reveled in the inherent absurdities of rock and roll. And they’ve finally returned. …
One Song Wonders: 90 M.P.H.- “Mackframalama”
I had never heard this song until a few months ago, and now it’s something that gets stuck in my head and I spin in a large percentage of my DJ sets. Much like the Freshco and Miz record I…
The Glory Stompers: Live at Brooklyn Bowl, 4/1/2011
The Glory Stompers are a five-piece band from Los Angeles; their thrilling brand of rock and roll melds heavy-metal riffing and dynamics with hardcore punk attitude and a stage presence that takes no prisoners. At Brooklyn Bowl last Saturday night,…
Album Reviews: Yuck, Gorillaz, Bob Geldof, Alex Turner
Yuck- s/t (Fat Possum Records, released 2/15/11) A couple years back, there was a band called Cajun Dance Party. I adored them; they recorded one album of glorious shimmering brilliance, and then they split up. Their vocalist and bassist (Daniel…
Album Reviews: Gang Of Four, R.E.M., Clinic, Wire, “West Indies Funk”
Gang Of Four- Product (Yep Roc Records, released 1/25/11) Well, Gang Of Four’s first record of new material in far too long is… Pretty good. Not phenomenal, but good. It contains all the squeal and rumble and resigned lashing-out one…
The Pogues: The Parting Glass Tour
This is the last tour the Pogues will ever do. Again. And as a farewell tour it’s worth seeing. Shane MacGowan’s voice is positively astounding. He can barely stand, his speech is absolutely unintelligible, there’s not a tooth in his…
Americana Chronicles: Arlo Guthrie, 1970-1976
Growing up, there was always music around the house. My parents and older siblings had extensive record collections, and there was a huge variety of styles and genres to explore. To this day I’m obsessed with music, still listening and…
Album Review: Radiohead- “The King Of Limbs”
On Friday, Radiohead released their new album for download. I bought it, and had every intention of playing it and writing up a quick review. And then after my first listen, I didn’t have a lot to say except “well,…