Tuesday, John Mellencamp called the Internet “the most dangerous thing invented since the Atomic bomb,” and railed against its impact on music, including mp3s. He said of remastered Beatles track: [Y]ou could barely even recognize it as the same song. You could tell it was those guys singing, but the warmth and quality of what [...]
Tag Archives: the Beatles
Julia Lashae, Eadem Mutato Resurgo (Independent)
January 1, 2010 – 12:01 am
The title phrase—if you substitute “mutata” for “mutato”—translates in Latin to “Although changed, I shall arise the same,” and Julia Lashae embodies that thought. For the occasion, the jazz vocalist has turned her attention from canonical standards to more singer/songwriterly material, and even though the change has consequences, ultimately the results are very Lashae. The [...]
Research Turtles, Research Turtles (Independent)
January 1, 2010 – 12:01 am
Channeling John, Paul, Ringo and George, the Research Turtles bring back simple pop-rock melodies and lyrics that only take a minute to learn on their nostalgic, self-titled debut. The opening song on the album makes a statement about what to expect from the type of music they play: “Let’s Get Carried Away.” It opens with [...]
Os Mutantes
October 1, 2009 – 12:01 am
“We were kids,” Sergio Dias Baptista says. “I was 16 when we had a coup d’etat here in 1964. Everything changed and there was repression. Of course, we would fight back, but we fought back laughing instead of being a part of any party.” Their refusal to take orthodoxies seriously made Os Mutantes political as [...]
The Minus 5 with Steve Wynn and the Baseball Project
October 1, 2009 – 12:01 am
Scott McCaughey says of his band, the Minus 5, that they “never wanted to get too serious, just an anything-goes kind of deal.” That philosophy has led to a revolving door lineup that has included members of R.E.M., Wilco, the Posies, the Decemberists and more. The players have often been friends, so the sessions are [...]
Kenny Bill Stinson, Kickin’ in My Stall (Independent)
August 1, 2009 – 12:01 am
North Louisiana’s Kenny Bill Stinson recorded Kickin’ in My Stall by himself at home, and the lack of anyone looking over his shoulder to keep him pious helps immensely. His production flirts with lo-fi as bits of distortion crackling through the album like lightning, and the upright piano may be a honky-tonk staple, but in [...]
Less Is More
July 1, 2009 – 12:01 am
In an indie rock scene featuring bands with as many as nine members, local psychedelic noise-rock duo Caddywhompus realizes that a little minimalism can go a long way. The duo, consisting of Loyola students Chris Rehm on guitar and vocals and Sean Hart on percussion, have been creating a local buzz with their sound showing [...]
Sean Manning (ed.), Rock and Roll Cage Match: Music’s Greatest Rivalries, Decided (Three Rivers Press)
December 1, 2008 – 12:01 am
Biggest All-Time (Rock/Pop, at Least) Music Rivalry Left Untouched: “Beatles vs. Stones,” maybe because too many readers would find the answer wrong no matter which author wrote which verdict. Finest Speaker of Truth: Richard Hell on “the Rolling Stones vs. the Velvet Underground,” where the irregular rock star and underrated scribe nails serious, subtle [...]
Reading and Listening More Is Good For you
September 1, 2008 – 12:01 am
I suppose I would never have started a business like this if I didn’t have a passion for reading and learning. I can thank my parents and teachers for instilling curiosity about the world in me early on. I read voraciously from the time I was a little kid. My first library book was a [...]
