Viva subterfuge and theft that doesn’t harm anybody who doesn’t deserve it. But holy Girl Talk, Batman; at a certain point, one gets the sense that powerful music-biz suits aren’t the only folks falling prey to sample-happy activist-composers. To be more concise: If you simply must taunt copyright lawyers, flip…
When Bryan “Birdman” Williams walks through the doors of North Miami’s Hit Factory Studios on a recent Friday night, he cuts a commanding yet calm figure. The spray of diamonds dripping from his neck, wrist, and ears is almost blinding, but then there’s his understated swagger. Williams exudes successful music-exec…
Most hip-hop MCs are hungry, but LMS is starving like a late dinner guest to the Last Supper. You can feel it in his delivery, you can see the look in his eyes, but most of all you can hear it in his words. “Knowing the power of words, you…
Since their inception in 1977, the Village People have sold more than 85 million albums and singles. With omnipresent hits like “YMCA,” “Macho Man,” and “In the Navy,” the group has become universally known for catchy disco hits as well as distinct onstage costumes. Ray Simpson, who plays the policeman,…
Shine opens its Sleepless Night festivities Friday with an appearance by steamy DJ Colette. With her doe eyes and demure presence, Chicago native Colette is the very essence of postmillennial house music. Her sweet but sultry voice has been called “angelic” so many times it’s a wonder she hasn’t grown…
Chances are good it’s already too late to get yourself into Studio A for the only U.S. date on UK DJ James Zabiela’s fall 2007 tour. One thing that’ll probably be there is a small band of haters standing around with arms crossed, silently cursing Zabiela for bringing turntablism into…
We found this blurb on Yahoo!, describing the Kings of Leon’s official Web site: “Rock band from Tennessee whose songs teem with primal emotions and rangy rhythms.” First, somebody from the Kings’ camp wrote this. Second, somebody in the Kings’ camp thinks their songs teem with primal emotions and, moreover,…
It’s difficult to believe it’s been almost 20 years since the Reverend Horton Heat released his first album — and he hasn’t changed a bit. Of course, the whole point of psychobilly is an unabashed dedication to purity of sonic identity. (That, and getting just fucked up enough to let…
Juliette and the Licks October 30, 2007 Culture Room Better Than: Patti Smith fronting the MC5 – or just as good anyway. It’s a sad state of affairs when more people turn out on a Tuesday for the Tiki-fied floor show at Mai Kai than for a second South Florida…
The Hawaii-born trio Pepper is based in Southern California, played this year’s Warped Tour, and mix in Jamaican rhythms with a little punk rock ‘tude. But don’t call ‘em any variation of s-k-a. Rather, they look a little further later in the history of Caribbean beats, mixing in a classic…
If you plan on going to Sleepless Night this Saturday, make sure you head to Collins and 21st around 1:00 a.m. That’s when Habana Abierta, the Cuban supergroup – by way of Madrid – will rock the beach. For an excellent profile on the band, read Julienne Gage’s February New…
Although the band originally about ten years ago in Minneapolis, Minnesota, things really started picking up for Motion City Soundtrack within the last few years. A booster: a big helping hand from Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus, who fell for the band’s high-powered, punk-inflected, Superchunk-y rock. Hoppus later produced the band’s second…
Last Night: G Records Presents Lil’ Blaze & Yungen Monday, October 29, 2007 Vice at the Cameo, Miami Beach Better Than: Watching reruns of I Love New York 2 on VH1. OK … so maybe it’s not as good as watching Tailor Made get his ass beat by Midget Mac…
BY ANDY VIHSTADT E=CD^2 The Eels are kicking off 2008 time-capsule style. Along with the Essential Eels Vol. 1 2CD/DVD greatest hits collection, the band will releasing Useless Trinkets (also 2CD/DVD), an all-inclusive anthology of B-sides and rarities that makes the cache of import singles I’ve been collecting just that…
Toots and the Maytals Sunday, October 28, 2007 City Limits–Delray Beach Better Than: Getting Swept in the World Series Reggae fans around the world should be familiar with the raspy yet powerful voice of Toots Hibbert, enigmatic frontman of legendary band, Toots and the Maytals. The group has left their…
It was just last week that CrossFade reported news out of Miami that R&B/pop star Kelis was heading to trial for her recent run in with the law this past March in South Beach. As if that’s not enough to deal with (aside from everyone hating on her fashion style)…
This week, I wrote about Tommy Lee and DJ Aero’s tag-team DJ/live remixing project in my column, Suicide Blonde. (Click here to read it and get background info). A lot of stuff got cut out necessarily for space, so here’s the full Q&A. — Arielle Castillo Details: Tommy Lee and…
DJ Qbert October 24th, 2007 Studio A, Miami Better Than: The fat lady singing on a gondola in Venice Q-Bert All photos by Eddie Rosenstock The Review: If you’re not familiar with Qbert, he is the best scratch DJ on the planet earth, zectar and any other distant solar system,…
Popular reggae star Jah Cure has announced that he’s performing a show close enough to South Florida that it almost feels local. He’ll be in Nassau, Bahamas on November 3rd as part of the Millennium Countdown and the show is just his third concert since being released from prison in…
Back in March of this year, R&B star Kelis, famous both for her songs, “I Hate You So Much Right Now” and “Milkshake” plus obviously for being married to Queensbridge rapper Nas, got arrested in South Beach for interrupting an undercover prostitution sting. If you want specifics on that event,…
There is no better way to dismissively sum up a rock band than by labeling it “emo.” This is probably why Fall Out Boy’s bassist and de facto face man, Pete Wentz, insists the term doesn’t apply to the group’s breakout album, Infinity on High, released in February. “I wanted…
In the video for Barcelona-born Dani “Macaco” Carbonell’s song “Sideral,” a quote by Polish philosopher Stanislaw Jerzy Lec scrolls across the screen. “We should learn languages, including the ones that do not exist,” it reads in various tongues, such as Korean, Russian, and English. The singer-songwriter, it’s evident, is deeply…
