Rodrigo y Gabriela Prove Their Metal at The Fillmore Miami Beach

Rodrigo Sanchez really wants you to like heavy metal. “Sometimes people don’t even have a minute for metal,” the guitarist notes. “They think it’s too loud, or whatever stupid thing they think.” As half of Rodrigo y Gabriela — the dynamic Mexican duo who became international world-music superstars with their…

Black Kids

Last year Jacksonville quintet Black Kids released a free four-song EP full of electro-tinged dance songs addressing themes of incest and gender ambiguity. Girls went wild — well, bloggers did anyway — and somehow the group got signed to Columbia Records. The band’s debut full-length, Partie Traumatic, contains all the…

Nas

Since his classic debut, Illmatic, Nas has been mostly coasting on his charm, gift for public relations, and skills as an MC. But on Untitled, he’s clearly hoping that by name-dropping big issues (reparations, single motherhood, media control) and dazzling you with his acrobatic flow (“I’m over they heads/Like a…

Various Artists

David Bowie undoubtedly has been through some ch-ch-ch-ch-changes. From Ziggy Stardust to Aladdin Sane, from the Thin White Duke to an oddly mottled chameleon colored by postindustrial dissonance, Bowie and his personas have inspired many and outlasted far more. Now Rapster Records/!K7 strives to find out if Bowie’s songs can…

Pinetop Perkins

At age 95, Mississippi Delta-born pianist Pinetop Perkins is still an active performer and one who is still able to hit his piano’s keys with amazing dexterity. The proof is in this beauty of a blues CD, on which the veteran shares the spotlight with an array of friends and…

WDJA-AM 1420 Switches to a Caribbean Format

If you’re a lover of reggae music, you’ll be happy to know that local station WDJA-AM 1420 (Based out of Delray Beach, has recently switched it’s format to 95% Caribbean music. The station, which previously existed as a banking and financial talk radio is under new management and they’re giving…

Video: Dead Prez at Rock the Bells 2008

So in continuation with yesterday’s post, today we bring you our sit down with Tallahassee duo Dead Prez. They chat to videographer Jacob Katel about “the white man,” Al Sharpton and throw a rhyme or two our way. Check it out! – Jose D. Duran…

Rappers or Republicans?

In May, we posited that southern hip-hop and Fox News share much in common. Possessing both an anti-intellectual streak and a populist one, they’re beloved by red-staters and hated on by the coastal elites, be they liberals, hipsters, Ghostface or Nas. The piece concluded: If you’re still not convinced that…

Craze and Dave Nada at The Vagabond August 14

Local turnable deity Craze will be stopping by The Vagabond (30 NE 14th Street, Miami) for its weekly Thursday night Money Shot party on August 14. Freshly off of Kanye West’s Glow In The Dark tour (or How I Completely Ripped Off Daft Punk’s Live Show and Called It My…

Tonight in Live Music, Wednesday, August 6

Today, a former prison guard (who won’t admit it) gives back to his old ‘hood in Miami, spacey nu-prog rockers touch down in Ft. Lauderdale, and two top-notch weekly events keep on keeping on. — Arielle Castillo *This is really more of a free daytime charity event, but if you…

Video: B.o.B. and Playboy Tre’ at Rock the Bells 2008

Rock the Bells came and went, but we still have plenty of extra goodies to share with you, including some sit-down discussions with some of the performers that videographer Jacob Katel was able to document. In the first video, New Times catches up with Georgia MCs B.o.B. and Playboy Tre’…

Tonight in Live Music, Tuesday, August 5

Tonight looks good for those who like, well, beats. Beyond a regular open mike, tonight’s picks involve hip-hop, reggae, and the blues. — Arielle Castillo *Up-and-coming Broward County MC Swazy Styles travels south across the county line to hit Flavour, in Coconut Grove. Nice to know this underused performance space…

Last Night: Rock the Bells 2008 at Bayfront Park

Justin Namon Nas performs at Rock the Bells at Bayfront Park in Downtown Miami. Click here to view the full slide show. Last Night: Rock the Bells 2008 featuring A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, Method Man & Redman, Mos Def, etc. Saturday, August 2, 2008 Bayfront Park, Downtown Miami Better…

Last Night: Projekt Revolution at Cruzan Amphitheatre

Sayre Berman Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington performs with the band during the Projekt Revolution tour stop at the Cruzan Amphitheater in West Palm Beach. Click here to view the full slide show. Projekt Revolution with Linkin Park, Chris Cornell, The Bravery and more Friday, August 1, 2008 Cruzan Ampitheatre,…

The Cool Kids Latest EP Brings ’88 Back

The Cool Kids The Bake Sale EP (Chocolate Industries) With frivolous brag lines and clean, minimal beats, the Cool Kids urinate willfully all over the idea of crack narratives and trigger-happy posturing, and are relishing every step of the way. At the pace of a pregnant snail, these two Chicago…

Rock the Bells Setlist…Plan Accordingly

If you’re planning to attend the Rock the Bells concert tomorrow and want to know who’s playing when, we’ve got you covered. The name that’s most noticeably missing from this list is Santogold. Honestly, she was probably the person that I’m most excited to see live. And I’m bummed that…

On The List – Vagabond Redux, Skream and DJ Huggs

There is only one word that could describe last weekend: Boring. It was so boring, personally I went to bed most nights by 1 a.m. Come on Miami! I know we are at the height of the low season, but that doesn’t mean we have to get lazy. Unfortunately, things…

Marc Knopfler

When you hear the phrase guitar god, you most likely think of a young, long-haired, tight-trousered fellow playing shrieking guitar leads at a thousand notes per minute. You probably don’t think of a quiet, balding, middle-age man holding thousands of people enraptured with a few sparse, bent notes. Yet Marc…

Aquiles Báez

Venezuelan-born composer and guitarist Aquiles Báez has been known for confusing audiences. “For jazz fans, I am too folkloric, while for those into folk, I am too academic,” he writes in the liner notes of La Patilla, his latest release on Cacao Música. “I believe that my music is as…

George Michael

The passing years can be unkind to rebels. You survive booze, bad marriages, and car crashes, only to have the march of time leave its muddy bootprint on your shining legacy. Still, George Michael has gotten off lightly: He merely lost his American audience. On the surface, calling the British…