new release Archive
13 Apr 2015
Book Review: Geek Rock
Rock’n’roll and scholarship make strange bedfellows. At first blush, the idea of approaching the work of rock bands from a scholarly point of view is patently absurd; such juxtapositions give […]
09 Apr 2015
DVD Review: Freak Jazz, Movie Madness and Another Mothers
The back catalog of Frank Zappa is massive, and massively intimating. Never the most commercially-minded of artists, the virtuoso Zappa recorded and released more than fifty albums during his lifetime. […]
08 Apr 2015
Album Review: The Mavericks — Mono
There’s much talk these days about the sorry state of country music. The genre – commercially, more popular than ever – is overrun with what its detractors call “bro country.” […]
02 Apr 2015
Beatles vs. Rolling Stones: Another Round
Back when I was a kid, the Beatles-or-Stones question was a real thing: among my childhood peers, one had to pick a side. That one could like both groups was, […]
01 Apr 2015
Back to School with Les McCann (Part 3)
Continued from Part Two… I make the (not at all original) observation that many American musical forms seem to get more respect in Europe than at home. “That’s all right,” […]
31 Mar 2015
Back to School with Les McCann (Part 2)
Continued from Part One… Among the most celebrated releases in Les McCann‘s extensive catalog, Swiss Movement is his 1969 live collaboration with saxophonist Eddie Harris. The album was controversial on […]
30 Mar 2015
Back to School with Les McCann (Part 1)
Invitation to Openness is not only the title of one of jazz great Les McCann‘s most celebrated albums (newly reissued; more on that later); it’s also the title of his […]
27 Mar 2015
On the Fringe of Consonance: Double Naught Spy Car + Stew (Part 3)
Continued from Part Two… Bill Kopp: So the actual sessions for Panorama City took place ten years ago? Paul Lacques: Actually thirteen; we did these sessions in 2002. Y’know, we […]
26 Mar 2015
On the Fringe of Consonance: Double Naught Spy Car + Stew (Part 2)
Continued from Part One… Bill Kopp: The press release that accompanies my copy of Panorama City also uses the phrase “group ESP” when describing the interaction among you and your […]
25 Mar 2015
On the Fringe of Consonance: Double Naught Spy Car + Stew (Part 1)
The members of Double Naught Spy Car don’t seem put off by the genre labels that (cough, cough) certain rock writers tend to apply to musical artists. In fact they’ve […]