“Big in Serbia” might sound like a joke to the public at large, but dance music cognoscenti know better. Balkan beat conductor Marko Nastic is huge in his home country, but he’s also making ripples in the global sine-wave ocean. He discovered electronic music courtesy of an uncle who spun…
There’s a line in Gogol Bordello’s 2002 song “Let’s Get Radical” that goes something like this: “You know, Mother, some things are actually sacred, and tapping your foot to the ceremony just won’t do.” The tune is one of the New York group’s more abrasive and melancholy (it actually begins…
The Tim Version, hailing from Tampa, comes with a pretty good punk rock pedigree. These ne’er-do-wells have taken their wares across most of the States, parts of Europe, and even Japan using that old trick: hard work. Collectively they boast a nothing-fancy, no-frills, no-pretty-faces kind of attitude that, on this…
You really can’t fault entertainers claiming “player for life” status — at least they’re being honest. Everyone from Rod Stewart to Karrine “Superhead” Steffans knows that the promiscuous can’t be reformed, that once you get the taste of the easy-lovin’, high-livin’ lifestyle, it’s almost impossible to let go. That’s what…
The stateside release of Dizzee Rascal’s 2003 album, Boy in da Corner, found the grimy, reggae-influenced London rapper in a precarious spot: forced to follow fellow Brit the Streets in trying to break into the U.S. market. But whereas the Streets showcased a thoughtful, spoken-word-like flow, Rascal’s effort took a…
“The music industry,” declares Less than Jake drummer and lyricist Vinnie Fiorello, “is pointing towards bands becoming their own cottage industry. Which means bands being in charge of their own merch, distribution of records, and production of records.” Fiorello makes this claim of the power of independence with an assurance…
Like many of its Seattle peers (and famous followers, notably Nirvana), Mudhoney was branded with grunge’s scarlet letter. It’s a hollow label, of course, ignoring the pioneering group’s raunchy, bad-vibe rock and roll, which set it apart from the genre’s occasional this-close-to-metal posturing. Twenty years after its release, Mudhoney’s breakthrough…
You go out — some might even say you go way out. But you wouldn’t be able to do either if it weren’t for the work of the DJ, the kitten or the cat who soundtracks each and every wild night. For the next however many weeks it takes, New…
Much like a lover who keeps threatening to pack up and leave, The Cure’s Robert Smith has suggested often that each successive album or tour by the band would be its last. This has proven to be untrue so many times that fans have little reason to even bat an…
The title of the latest effort by Spiritualized is a play on accident and emergency ward, a place where the group’s songwriter and main man, Jason Pierce, spent nearly a month in 2005. That he was shriveled and bed-ridden from bilateral pneumonia, not from shooting junk into an eyeball, is…
It’s difficult to say which is more awesome: Rachel Goodrich’s catchy song “The Black Hole” or its low-fi video. In it, she sings while kneeling on her friend’s unmade bed; she’s wearing, for no real reason, a ladybug costume and a pair of sunglasses. Meanwhile, her friend Jon Estes plays…
Regardless of if you’re headed to the Pearl Jam show tonight in West Palm Beach, within the next two weeks, you’ll be able to buy or download a live bootleg of the concert to your computer or Verizon cell phone. Known for their ability to stay one step ahead of…
Last year’s Rock the Bells was headlined by Wu-Tang Clan, with all nine living members onstage (until Meth jumped into the audience). Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s son, “Young DB” was up there, carrying on his father’s legacy. This past January, I spoke with Raekwon and Ghostface about the future of the…
Lil’ Wayne Tha Carter III (Cash Money/Young Money/Universal) Possibly the most anticipated hip-hop release since Jay Z’s The Black Album, Tha Carter III is Lil Wayne’s 6th studio album and the final in the Tha Carter Trilogy. There’s been much hype surrounding this release seeing that many of the tracks…
Either go to college or you’ll end up like this deer. No pressure. Michigan based rocker Ted Nugent has sharp a message for high school graduates this year. The highly vocal 59-year-old conservative recently penned an Op-Ed piece in the Detroit News that he wants to circulate throughout the country…
Stevie Nicks Saturday, June 7 Hard Rock Live Better than: Watching Stevie Nicks 10 years from now. The body of Stevie Nicks turned 60 last month. Her voice has been 60 for a while. Maybe it was all that coke in the ’70s, or maybe it was that her vocal…
Little Brother with Double-O of Kidz in the Hall Paid Dues Tour Saturday, June 7 Club Cinema Better Than: Believing hip-hop is deceased. It would be great to say the hip-hop extravaganza known as the Paid Dues Tour went off without a hitch this past Saturday night. The vibes were…
Photo Courtesy of VBS.TV/VICE Films When it comes to documentaries, it takes a lot to make me say, “holy shit.” You put enough news headlines in front of someone’s face and, unfortunately, real life stories become less and less shocking. But Vice Film’s “Heavy Metal in Baghdad” had me holy-shitting…
…And so is the band’s whole tour, apparently. Here’s the official scoop: “YES CONCERT SCHEDULED FOR AUGUST 1 AT HARD ROCK LIVE HAS BEEN CANCELED HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – The Yes concert scheduled for August 1 at Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino has been canceled…
Yesterday evening, 99 Jamz’s K. Foxx and numerous hip-hop blogs announced that Lil’ Wayne had finally gone Hollywood and checked himself into rehab for drug addiction. The news wasn’t that hard to believe after Wayne’s admitted dependence on cocaine and syrup, and since a Styrofoam cup full of sizzurp seems…
I was originally supposed to write about the new Van Morrison album, Keep It Simple (which was released April 1), a few weeks ago, when other deadlines got in the way. Then a funny thing happened: The characteristically modest yet meticulous Simple shot to number 10 on the Billboard 200,…
Brazilian singer-songwriter Djavan got his start in the late Seventies while playing modern sambas with a clear bossa nova vibe. Over the years, he has expanded his musical palette by incorporating sounds from jazz, blues, and the Brazilian northeast. His resulting unique style boasts a sophisticated sheen but also remains…
