Ask Kevin Smith how he’s doing and you’re liable to get a detailed, ten-minute answer involving everything from the tour bus industry to his family in Florida. Anecdotes bookend each topic and serve as segues that conflate his stream-of-consciousness into a narrative whole. Smith, writer and director of some of…
There’s a particular image we tend to conjure up when considering the typical indie record store. It’s so exact, in fact, we don’t feel the need to describe it in detail. But there’s also the antithesis of this, an indie record store that strives to be and anything but typical…
On Sunday night, some of music’s biggest names changed their social media profile pictures to a solid blue hue. Beyoncé, Rhianna, Kanye, Madonna and others went teal, and tweeted messages like this. And this. And even Coldplay’s suitably lame attempt at excitement. What the hell was going on? What was…
Before Papoose put his hater blockers on, and before Corey Hart wore sunglasses at night, Bob Dylan was wearing Wayfarers. These days, everyone is wearing them. Hipsters, Bros, grandmothers and Blues Brothers all rock Ray-Ban’s most famous frames. JFK introduced them to the White House. Audrey Hepburn wore similar shades…
Some critics accuse Lil Wayne of lyrical atrophy. They blame fame or sizzurp or Nicki Minaj for the loss of his intricate wordplay. But I wonder if Wayne is just one of many artists who’ve matured, evolved, you might say, from the complexities of youth to the more essential expressions…
Combine a heap of ska, a pinch of punk, a dash of metal, some good humor, and disorder. Shake to a reggae rhythm and you’ll get something that sounds like the Expendables. The band has been riding the SoCal ska waves since the early 2000s. Along with Slightly Stoopid and…
Not all rappers are versatile. Many speak on what they know and play it creatively safe. Or, if you’re Rick Ross, you make up a fantasy and sell that. There’s a standard formula in the game — the rise up from the streets to a subsequent lavish life in the…
