The Doobie Brothers, like so many classic rock acts, are easy to take for granted. For the past 50 years, the band has always seemed to be there. They’re a mainstay of the summer concert schedule and should be on the road right now to celebrate their golden anniversary if not for the pandemic. Too, […]
One of my earliest memories of MTV was seeing Joe Lynn Turner fronting Rainbow for the video of “Stone Cold.” Clad in a leather jacket, sporting a dark mane, and staring down the camera with confidence, he sang an atmospheric ballad of faded love and disillusionment while masked women circled him in front of a […]
Since its inception in the 1970s, hip-hop has consistently displayed a certain level of homophobia. Whether looking at the lyrics of the seminal tune “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five (in which two F-bombs are dropped) or tracks by Eminem such as “Criminal” (“A homosex, hermaph, or a trans-a-vest / Pants or […]
The creative process differs wildly. For some, it’s a caffeine-fueled routine. For others, it’s a substance-sustained free ride. For Leon Michels, it can vary from project to project. The co-owner of The Diamond Mine and namesake of El Michels Affair (which dropped a new album this year) boasts many producing recording credits with the likes of […]
The music world lost another great this week. The news broke on the death of Malik B., renowned MC and former member of The Roots, on Wednesday, July 29. “We regretfully inform you of the passing of our beloved brother and long time Roots member Malik Abdul Basit. May he be remembered for his devotion […]
If Stevie Wonder never croaked the alphabet through a plastic tube on a childrens’ show, a funk pioneer’s career arguably wouldn’t have happened. One day in 1973, Wonder stopped by Sesame Street to perform a tune he wrote for the show — and when Roger Troutman watched, his ears pricked up. “A-B-C / 1-2-3 / […]
When Fleetwood Mac proclaimed in 1977 that they’d “never break the chain,” one of their links was stranded in the past: Peter Green. His absence still haunts the band. “I’d always get people in the hotel room on tour and say, ‘Now I want you to hear Peter Green,’” their drummer Mick Fleetwood said in […]
Long live rock’n’roll, and long live Spoon. The Austin, Texas, quartet is one of those rare acts that live outside of time and in its own universe. Led by singer/guitarist Britt Daniel and drummer/producer Jim Eno, Spoon creates from an inner space of curiosity, caring little for the sounds of the world around it, consequently […]
If you wanna talk pop in 2020, you’ve got to speak a little Spanish. According to music analytics platform Alpha Data, Latin music was 2018’s fifth most popular genre in the U.S, surpassing country and EDM while making up 1% of all song consumption. The most-streamed song on Spotify for all of 2019 was “Señorita” […]
Since I was about 18 years old, I can honestly say that I have compared every man I dated to Jarvis Cocker. I have every one of the LPs by Pulp, the band he started as a precocious 15 years old. I have his solo albums. I remember going to see him on the first […]
