Let’s face it, none but the hottest Canadian/Portugese MILF could get away with lyrics like “It’s okay, we could do it in the dark/If you got a candle let’s light a spark.” Despite Nelly Furtado’s inherent MILFness, it was a stretch for diehard fans to embrace her latest LP, Loose,…
The members of the successful, tour-happy New Orleans group the Dirty Dozen Brass Band could have long ago acknowledged the sousaphone’s presence in the band’s three-decade history, and, with a solemn nod, replaced the fifty-pound mega-tuba with the more practical electric bass guitar. They could have still called themselves a…
Seal visits Miami during the last leg of a U.S. tour on Thursday, and he arrives in the Magic City at a critical point in his career. He hasn’t released any new studio material since 2003, and since then his sum output has been — shudder — a best-of album…
He’s Dolemite writ large and in cartoon, a big mean black guy dressed like a pro wrestler from the Sixties; the self-professed inventor of the Miami sound, writer of tracks for Betty Wright and KC and the Sunshine Band, and he’s in my face. And yours. Ladies and gentlemen, I…
Back in 2001, Ricky Martin was invited to perform at the Presidential inaugural for President George W. Bush. On that cold and snowy eve, Martin sang his hit “The Cup of Life” in front of the Lincoln Memorial. To everyone’s surprise, the ultimate Latin party boy invited Dubya to join…
When Peter Gabriel coined the term ‘world music,’ he never meant for it to be put in a ghetto. It was supposed to be the world’s music for the world, without distinctions,” explains Richard Blair, the front man for the Colombia-based electronica band Sidestepper. Blair should know. He worked as…
The guys of Underoath love Jesus, make no bones about it, and want you to know that. But the St. Petersburg-based quintet isn’t about that hands-in-the-air, holier-than-thou proselytizing stuff. Theirs is a mission of integrity and respect. “Something we try to do is be a real band for kids that…
On Still Stuck in Your Throat, the band’s first album in six-too-many years, Fishbone once again presents us with its merry-go-round assortment of horn-driven ska, funk, punk, soul, metal, and reggae music all wrapped into the legendary band’s signature style. Although the energy jumps out of the speakers before the…
Most cover albums typically feature an established artist paying respect to some of his favorite musicians, and they’re lucky if they match the original material. But Version, the newest release from London-born, New York-bred DJ/producer-of-the-moment Mark Ronson, essentially smashes a group of remixes from homegrown English artists such as the…
Although standout actress Aishwaria Rai’s pretty face adorns the cover of the newly released Rough Guide to Bollywood Gold, the music presented here has little to do with the young crossover star of Bride and Prejudice. The tunes, however, are all representative of the golden era of Bollywood films —…
Guitarist James “Blood” Ulmer is a strange duck. Though he started out in jazz organ combos, Ulmer made his rep with avant-jazz icon Ornette Coleman in the latter’s ebullient “harmolodic” period. But in the mid-Eighties, Ulmer began upping the ubiquitous blues elements of his playing — and singing — until…
Since its modest beginnings, the Friday-night party Revolver has become a weathervane of the latest in underground/indie/whatever (all contentious terms) culture, name checked by bands like the Sounds and even Rolling Stone. The weekly party has fueled hedonistic drinking and dancing from its early days as a gathering for moddish…
Bebel Gilberto fans know better than to expect the sort of bossa nova plied by her father, Brazilian guitarist and singer João Gilberto. Although there is a clear bossa influence in her style, the younger Gilberto has gone beyond it, pushing the boundaries of Brazilian music to suit her own…
The Eighties were like a virgin, touched for the very first time (Madonna was everywhere). While some of us were sporting feathered hair, sleeveless zebra-print T-shirts, and tight leather pants, others were listening to Suicidal Tendencies and skateboarding through the mall. Whether your fancy was for cock rock, punk rock,…
The New York Times may have raved about the Spam Allstars to no end. S.O.B.’s (also in New York) may have become the band members’ second home. MTV might feature them with a page of their own, and the festival circuit might have latched on to their patented brand of…
Okay, so John Fogerty won’t be there, but CCR’s original rhythm section will be. So will John Tristao, a Sixties one-hit wonderboy who actually opened for the original Revival way back when. And if you don’t know that Tristao once fronted the band People and had a hit with a…
It’s a thin line between punk and poser. So how do you tell the difference? Do Mohawks, homemade tattoos, and musical elitism comprise the punk checklist? Not so much. Try: fighting censorship, singing in an influential band, and running an indie label. Those are the major accomplishments of one Eric…
A s if the trademark T-Mobile ring tone hasn’t annoyed you enough, just imagine trying to freestyle over it. That’s what the up-and-coming Miami rapper Prelude was asked to do when he received a recent phone call from one Johnny Escardo. Escardo identified himself as an A&R exec from DTP…
Although her flamboyant outfits have never been polite, Björk’s past few albums certainly have been. The ice-crystal percussion and melodies on Vespertine were stunning but mannered, like an immaculately decorated parlor, while the nearly a cappella Medulla — an album in which beatboxing and throat-singing replaced traditional instrumentation — felt…
Here’s the secret about nerdcore: Either you get it or you don’t. This hip-hop subgenre is essentially music for folks who enjoy tinkering around with the insides of PlayStations and quoting from Star Wars like it’s Scripture. As for Frontalot, well, he’s nerdcore’s disseminator, originator, and poster child all wrapped…
Wilco may set the standard for eclectic indulgence. Shedding its Americana visage with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot in 2002, the band successfully redefined itself as an experimental outfit dealing in atmospheric soundscapes and sonic contradiction. This daring was rewarded with a pair of Grammy nods for the followup, A Ghost Is…
The calypso anthem “Big Tingz” on Kingston-based singer Nadine Sutherland’s new album, Say My Name, would be the perfect opener for the annual Best of the Best reggae festival over Memorial Day weekend at Miami’s Bayfront Park. You can visualize people bawling out “yeah” in a sea of Caribbean flags…
