Howard and Ron Albert Are Analog Kings

Few cinematic moments feature such a perfect marriage of image and song as one in Goodfellas, with protagonist Henry Hill coked out of his skull and packing a bag of guns. As he tries, by car, to outrace a helicopter chasing him, a suspenseful swell of piano rises in the…

Do This Many People Really Love Billy Joel?

So last night I was at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino when I saw an interesting poster on display. Billy Joel’s sexy mug was plastered on the wall. Come on, ladies still think he’ sexy…and I noticed that he’s got not one, not two, but three sold out concerts coming…

Q&A with LMFAO

STFU when LMFAO performs at Karu & Y. You’ve hear the track “I’m in Miami Bitch” more times than you care to count, but still it never fails to get you cracking a smile. And if the MySpace count is any indication, there’s almost 1.3 million people cracking smiles right…

T-Pain’s New Album, Thr33 Ringz, Leaves Room For Improvement

T-Pain Thr33 Ringz (Nappy Boy Entertainment) How has T-Pain done it? He’s not attractive, his fashion-sense leaves much to be desired (at least for those without Dr. Seuss/ LSD fetishes, in any case), and without the benefit of the computer program Auto-Tune his voice is nothing special. And yet, considering…

The Postmarks Brand New Album in Stores Today

By ANDY VIHSTADT After giving it away for a limited time on eMusic, the Postmarks’ sophomore effort, By the Numbers, is officially released worldwide today. The all-covers album boasts a numerical theme and includes renditions of songs by David Bowie, the Cure, Jesus and Mary Chain and even the Pointer…

Q&A with Secondhand Serenade, Performing Tonight at Revolution

The obvious similarities between Secondhand Serenade, hailing from the suburbs of California’s Bay Area, and homegrown sensation Dashboard Confessional are impossible to ignore. Like Dashboard Confessional, the name is a framework for a shifting project led by a singular talent; John Vesely is to Secondhand Serenade what Chris Carrabba is…

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone to Kick Off NADA Art Fair

With Art Basel only three weeks away, there is plenty of reason to be musically excited about South Florida. Why? Because art isn’t the only thing that rolls into town. Plenty of musical acts also stop by that week to entertain the crowds. In previous years Peaches, Iggy Pop, Justice,…

South African Songstress Miriam Makeba Dies

News has come in from Italy this morning that prominent South African singer Miriam Makeba has passed away today from an apparent heart attack. Makeba, who collapsed while exiting the stage right after performing in Southern Italy, essentially died doing what she loved most–singing. She was 76-years-old. Widely revered by…

Last Night: Coldplay at BankAtlantic Center

Coldplay November 9, 2008 BankAtlantic Center Better Than: You’d Expect Say what you will about Coldplay (and most folks do), but unlike a lot of so-called arena acts – nevermind their smaller setting counterparts – they’ve at least got sense enough to make a spectacle of themselves when they come…

Last Night: Rufus Wainwright at The Fillmore Gleason

John Hood Rufus Wainwright November 8, 2008 The Jackie Gleason Theatre at the Fillmore Miami Beach Better Than: Crooning a Storybook They call it a Rubus. In theory, one suspects the thing is related to the centaur (half man/half horse), the mandrake (half man/half plant) and the Minotaur (half man/half…

The Postmarks Release a New Video!!

Aww, I thought today would be a slow blogging day, but alas, there’s joy in Mudville. South Florida’s favorite indie-pop trio, the Postmarks, are releasing a brand new album next week, entitled By the Numbers and finally, there’s some material floating around to help give it a buzz. This video…

Kanye West Releases “Heartless” Video

So rapper Kanye West has teamed up with the once celebrated Hype Williams to create an animated video for his upcoming single, “Heartless.” What they put together isn’t bad (it’s sort of got that Waking Life feel to it) and I can’t complain about their choice to go with an…

Rick Ross and the Triple C’s Love Amsterdam’s Finest

So if you listen to Rick Ross’ music, you probably already know that he likes he’s ganja green and sticky. And according to Miami New Times reporter Jason Handelsman, he can also roll blunts one-handed. I’m not sure if the latter is true, but there’s a hilarious new video on…

Q&A with Crookers

Hailing all the way from Milan, Bot and Phra, who together make up the DJ duo Crookers, prove that globalization, at least when it comes to music, isn’t such a bad thing. Arguably, its been the Internet that has given them the power to become more popular than they are…

Head Spins: Chilly

“Just Chilly.” That’s how he said to write him up. No “DJ.” No “Mister.” No “Sir.” No nothing. “Just Chilly.” Which kinda makes sense considering the cat took his name back when “chill out” was the parlance of the day and anything more need not be said. Not that Chilly…

Toxic Love

Since time immemorial, skinny young men have learned how to play guitar in order to start bands to impress girls. French electro remix king Simon Delacroix, a.k.a. The Toxic Avenger, was no exception. From the onset of puberty, he sang and played guitar in a variety of punk, emo, and…

Local Motion

Tim Charron Tim Charron (self-released) www.timcharron.com Tim Charron is a singing and songwriting and guitar-slinging kind of guy. The work on this album is country-fried rock and roll for fans of modern country, Kid Rock, and American Idol. Actually, Mr. Charron has toured, recorded, and performed live with Idols Bo…

Luis Miguel

At 38 years old, this Mexican-raised (but Puerto Rican-born) singer is a bona fide veteran of the music business, with several platinum albums and Grammy Awards to his credit. Often dubbed “The Latin Sinatra” because of his cool, guarded personality and numerous high-profile love affairs in recent years, Luis Miguel…

Crookers

Score another point for Miami in the good fight to keep quality dance music coming here beyond WMC. The latest coup? Why, the only East Coast appearance on the current tour by white-hot Italian producer/DJ duo Crookers, who skipped down straight from Toronto. What’s even stranger is where they’re playing;…

MURS

The U.S. presidential election is over, but the campaign continues for rapper MURS, a.k.a. Nick Carter, as he vies for the presidency of hip-hop. The 10-year veteran of Los Angeles’s underground scene released his 13th album (counting those with projects such as Living Legends), MURS for President, this past September…

The Black Crowes

On Warpaint, their first studio release since re-forming in 2005, the Black Crowes show how a little time off from each other can work wonders. Warpaint continues to improve the band’s winning brand of Southern-fried power blues-rock, as opener “Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution” and “Movin’ on Down the Line”…

Rufus Wainwright Croons at The Fillmore Miami Beach

When Rufus Wainwright hits The Fillmore this Saturday night, prepare to swoon. This is one crooning troubadour who could probably turn a grocery list into a heartbreaking tale of terrible beauty. Not that Wainwright has to resort to grocery lists, mind you. With a song-soaked career that dates back a…