Issue Articles
A Grand Reopening
New Orleans lost its theaters to Hurricane Katrina, with the Orpheum, the Saenger and the Mahalia Jackson Theatre of the Performing Arts all suffering extensive damage. On January 8, the […]
Jimmy Hughes, Best of (Fame/EMI)
Often, we think of R&B and soul music as expressions of individual, passionate greatness—Otis, Aretha—when often, it’s nothing more or less than black pop—think Motown. The Best of Jimmy Hughes […]
Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs, Dirt Don’t Hurt (Transdreamer)
Golightly and the Brokeoffs are a duo, which I suppose makes her partner, Lawyer Dave, the Brokeoffs. They treat country blues like a fetish item, but not like a Faberge […]
R.E.M., Murmur (A&M)
Twenty-five years ago when Murmur was released, R.E.M. sewed the seeds that would grow into indie rock. At the time, it was an anomalous recording with loose ties to the […]
Charlie Haden Family and Friends, Rambling Boy (Decca)
By now, the story’s been told of bassist Charlie Haden’s return to the folk and bluegrass music he grew up playing with his family band. Occasionally, his bass steps to […]
Sugarland, Love on the Inside (Mercury)
Nashville is the last place where anybody over 18 is trying to make music for the masses, and Sugarland fits right in. Jennifer Nettles has a twang she turns up […]
Trent Reznor: Before the Slip
Trent Reznor speaks in full sentences. Most interview subjects don’t, but it’s likely that the architect of Nine Inch Nails has sorted out his relationships to his demons through an […]
Kerry Grombacher, It Sings in the Hi-Line (Independent)
There’s something naturally curious about a city guy singing western music in Ian Tyson’s mold. Kerry Grombacher sings about the wide open spaces and rural towns, where there aren’t as […]
Fight the Big Bull, Dying will be Easy (Numero Group)
Matt White leads Fight the Big Bull, an adventurous nonet from Richmond, Virginia. His compositions draw from a host of jazz idioms, with big band moments and blues passages alternating […]
