Music

The party’s over.They finally figured it out.  After 24 months, New Times realized that it has been paying me to party hard with music celebrities. They’ve been shelling out cash for me to dance at night clubs, to hang out at rock concerts, and to simply dive in and write…

The naked body of Amanda Lepore, the world’s self proclaimed #1 transsexual, is about as good of a metaphor for change as any so it was suiting that the first sight of 2009 that the crowd at The Raleigh’s Burlesque New Years saw was Ms. Lepore clad only in balloons…

On the corner of Breakbeat and Bass, in the town of Danceville, there hangs a cat whose scratch is surely as deep as the hiss of some vintage vinyl. I’m not talking about some throwback turntablist trying to revive the art of the back-cue, mind you — hell, most of…

Trying to make a New Year’s resolution stick is like trying to get all of your friends to call you by a self-appointed nickname. (Dudes, from now on, call me “Shatterstar.”) This year, I’m gonna buckle down and really stick to my resolution. Of course, I say that every time…

Luz Marina Coincidencias (Cacao Música) www.cacaomusica.com Venezuelan singer/songwriter Luz Marina makes her debut for Cacao Música with 14 tracks of heavy-breathing soft numbers full of sexy insinuations and personal moments. It works. “Noche a Noche” (“Night to Night”) and “Cómo Dueles” (“How You Hurt”) were a little more my cup…

You thought we were done examining the past year in music? No way! What are music critics to do around January 1 without a little navel-gazing over the previous 12 months? In last week’s issue, we listed the tops in dance music, indie rock, Latin rhythms, and preposterous hip-hop. This…

Metallica Death Magnetic (Warner Bros.) Five years after their last comeback, they did it right. Combining the punishing thrash of their early glory years with the thick, bluesy grooves of their Nineties output, the members of Metallica reclaimed their throne as America’s kings of metal. Songs such as “That Was…

Billy Joel The Stranger (Columbia/Legacy) As punk and disco exploded, the Piano Man’s deeply unhip 1978 breakthrough proved top-shelf Broadway/Brill Building songwriting could still sell — and, occasionally, rock. “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” and “Anthony’s Song (Movin’ Out)” remain priceless snapshots of Annie Hall-era NYC, the title track bares…

Kanye West 808s and Heartbreak (Def Jam) West’s fourth album almost completely dispensed with rapping, thereby perplexing and vexing scores of fans and supporters. The music itself was low-key, chilly techno that featured West’s Auto-Tuned croon as the most prominent element; inevitably, what support West loses from his fan base…

1. CarcassNecroticism (Earache)Arguably grindcore’s finest hour, Necroticism captures Carcass hitting previously unheard-of heights of technical proficiency with such jaw-dropping skill that the album sounds absolutely fresh 16 years after it came out. Rarely has a grind band achieved the thrilling, epic majesty of classical music, but Carcass took the cake…

Logan FazioSouth Floridians tend to complain that they are often overlooked by music tours, but 2008 was definitely a busy and surprising year for the area’s live music scene. Radiohead kicked off their world tour at Cruzan, while Madonna ended the U.S.-leg of Sticky & Sweet tour at Dolphin Stadium…

6. Jesu Why Are We Not Perfect (Hydra Head)Technically not a heavy release, but how can we discount Justin Broadrick, founding member of both Napalm Death and Godflesh? Fed up with the single-minded bludgeoning of those classic acts, Broadrick’s intention from the start in forming Jesu was so that he…

Boris(Photo via Boris’ MySpace page.)Was 2008 another renaissance year for metal? Well, yes — but the point should be moot by now. Whether metal is “in” or “out” during any given year, the music has gone through a creative revitalization every year — especially when you consider heavy music and…

It’s hard to understand why Jah Cure’s trajectory hasn’t been as strong as many people thought it would be in 2008. He was the hottest name in reggae in 2007 but this year has been sort of a cool-down. In a sense, that’s just setting him up for an even…

About a year ago, local DJ Induce and his West Coast buddy Sven Barth, under the name Casual Sax, made a funny little song called “Baby, I’m Black,” which was an ode to being blessed in the genital region. Well after Perez Hilton posted it up on his site it…