10 May 2006

Melvins Celebrate "Gluttony & Lust"

By John M. James
Still brutal - and baked - after all these years, the Melvins are back this coming Tuesday with Houdini Live 2005: A Live History of Gluttony & Lust, a live opus that squeals and cascades the sickest guitar tones in memory.
19 Jun 2001

Experiemental Artists Highlight Laswell's Material

By John M. James

• This Tuesday the Fuel 2000 label issues a savory new retrospective of Bill Laswell's Material collective, one of the 1980s' most intriguing hybrids of avant-funk and jazz. The 13-track CD, simply titled The Best of Material, documents when participants such as Sonny Sharrock, drummer Fred Maher, Chic's Nile Rodgers, Nona Hendryx, Michael Beinhorn, Fred Frith, and Henry Threadgill floated in and out of Laswell's ever-changing electric goo, massaged by his soon-to-be-legendary dub-production wizardry.

29 May 2001

Duo's Album Will Make You Hear Voices

By John M. James

• It's been nine years since the band's last full-length release, but advance word on the upcoming Utah Saints album sounds intriguing, with promises of a variety of guest vocalists - real, sampled, or digitally manipulated.

20 Feb 2001

Pearl Jam Releases "Bootlegs" of American Tour

By John M. James

• Beating the bootleggers to the punch, this Tuesday Pearl Jam unrolls the first batch of concert CDs from the band's recently completed North American tour. This continuation of band-controlled "domestic bootlegs" promises to cover 47 U.

06 Feb 2001

The Dead Kennedys Sell Out - By Going to Court

By John M. James

Further proof of our ever-growing litigious society: The original West Coast social-political anarchists, the Dead Kennedys, have stepped into the brown shoes of "the man," as the former members have just succeeded in a long legal attack against founder and new-media icon Jello Biafra for shared ownership of the group's vast archives.

05 Dec 2000

Holiday Goodies from the "Brown Elvis" and Others

By John M. James

Holiday high jinks! Animal instincts! Christmas camaraderie and much egg-noggery! Take musical arms my friends, and toss those lame superstar Christmas albums to the dustbin! Come with me, and let's dip into Santa's sack a little early this year and get the party started right! I've always thought Christmas was a lot like Elvis, all about love and all about showbiz.

21 Nov 2000

Stellar Book Traces Label's History

By John M. James

Over the years, certain record labels have captured an iconic image, often unknowingly preserving transcendental moments in time as they document cultural movements on their shiny black albums and CDs. Imprints like The Beatles' boutique Apple label, Greg Ginn's proto-Punk SST in its glory years, Bethlehem and Blue Note's aural and graphic explorations in jazz, Def Jam's beatbox hip-hop gentry, SubPop's grunge chronicles, and Ralph Records' bizarre run of performance art Nu-Wave have all left their impression in modern pop-rock history - rare instances of commerce germinating new sounds and directions in thought, speeding wildly through those hip enough to be there when serendipity strikes the bell.

Pages

Subscribe & Listen to Reader Podcasts

On Stands Now

 

Tagged Content

Two Ways to Subscribe

1. Subscribe to free weekly e-mail content updates.

You'll get both the current official narrative challenge and What's Happenin' in the Quad Cities.
(Did you know we publish a new Amy Alkon Advice Goddess, Real Astrology, Red Meat cartoon and RCR Crossword every week?) 

* indicates required

View previous campaigns.

2. Get 12 monthly issues mailed first class for $48

Get 12 issues mailed monthly for $48 per year.

Get the printed Reader edition mailed to you (or anyone you want) first-class for 12 months for $48.
$24 goes to postage and handling, $24 goes to keeping the doors open!

Click this link to Subscribe now.