Luscious Jackson – Magic Hour (City Song Records, 2013) It’s been fourteen years since the last Luscious Jackson album. In their late-90s heyday, their infectious tunes spanned the divide between the underground and overground, breaking into modern rock radio playlists…
Tag: pop music
Album Reviews: Johnny Marr, Bastille, They Might Be Giants
Johnny Marr – The Messenger (Sire Records, 2013) Over his tenure with The Smiths, and in the two and a half decades since that band split, Johnny Marr has built a reputation as the greatest guitarist of a generation. His…
Single Reviews: Luscious Jackson, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Veronica Falls
Luscious Jackson – Are You Ready? (self-released, 2013) Luscious Jackson were one of the great genre-bending pop groups of the 90s, turning out folk-inflected trip-hop, harmonic disco torch songs, slither-funk party raps, and whatever else they felt like. They were…
The Beach Boys- That’s Why God Made The Radio (Capitol Records, 2012)
That’s Why God Made The Radio is a nearly inconceivable thing – a Beach Boys album in 2012. It marks the group’s 50th anniversary. And it’s their first new release in ages, though exactly how long is largely a matter…
Pop Music Comics: Brilliant! Tragic! (inspired by the songs Of Art Brut)
There’s a category of pop comic that I haven’t really discussed yet: the anthology devoted to a specific band/musician. Starting in the mid 90s with Kitchen Sink’s Grateful Dead Comix and continuing through the musician-themed volumes from Image Comics in…
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. …
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 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,…
Stretch And Bobbito Reunion at Le Poisson Rouge, 2/10/11: Photos and Review
Sometime around 1990, two guys went into a college radio station late at night and spent the next few hours playing hip-hop records and cracking each other up. They called themselves Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Garcia, and both went on…