Top Dance Albums of 2008

Any knucklehead with DSL and a laptop can now make an electronic track. With a half hour of clicking and fiddling, you can sample enough cheesy beats and mashups to clog arteries from here to Berlin. Simple dropdown mouse maneuvers can transform electro tracks into progressive house tracks (from dry…

Top 10 Metal Albums of 2008

In a year worthy of your rage, metal delivered in spades. What with the economy circling the drain and Sarah Palin coming down from the tundra and then refusing to go back, 2008’s been the kind of year that really makes you want to smash your head into walls or…

Tonight: Spam All-Stars at Mansion, Common at Louis

‘Tis the season, ya’ll! And the Opium Group wants you to open your wallets, er, for charity of course! It goes without saying, we are all hurting a bit financially this season, but there still are a lot people worse off than you. So if aren’t aware already of all…

Top 10 Pop Songs of 2008

Pop music often gets a bad rap for being disposable or vapid, and in many cases that’s true. (Katy Perry, Danity Kane and the Pussycat Dolls, step right up!) But every year, a few irresistible bits of innovative ear candy rocket up the charts and seep into our subconscious. The…

Top 10 Latin Music Albums of 2008

Americans who still think of Latin music as mariachi bands and gyrating Ricky Martins and Shakiras might want to lend a closer ear to the genre. This country’s Hispanic population isn’t just growing, it’s growing more diverse. More and more unique musical styles are being gobbled up, and that should…

Steve Aoki at B.E.D. at December 26

As far as DJs we’re dying to see, we’ll admit that Dim Mak/Cinespace founder Steve Aoki is pretty low on our list. It’s not that Aoki isn’t entertaining, he is, but at times he seems to be more about the showmanship than the music. But love him or hate him…

Clive’s Scores at Basel

One of the unheralded winners of the recently concluded Art Basel was Clive’s Café, (2880 No. Miami Ave. and 890 NW 2nd Ave.). The Wynwood location, generally closed for weekend nights, stayed open for the hipster crowd and was jammed. Best option was the jerk chicken ($7.50) – finest we’ve…

Art Basel Bonus: Otto Von Schirach at FriendsWithYou Fun House

So if you didn’t attend any of the art fairs this past weekend, you missed out on plenty of visual stimulation. This year, Scope definitely was my favorite fair, not only because the work for sale was superb, but their commitment to inviting local artists and musicians to take part…

Saturday Night: MSTRKRFT at Heathrow Lounge

MSTRKRFT with Pauly Crush and Jessica Who?Saturday, December 6, 2008Heathrow Lounge, Miami BeachBetter Than: Ninety percent of the other Basel parties during the week.Art Basel brought plenty of musical performances during the week. Unfortunately, most of them were invite-only or secret parties no one knew about. But Saturday night, Heathrow…

Last Night: Panda Bear and No Age at Karu & Y

Art Damage with Panda Bear and No Age Friday, December 5Karu & Y, Downtown Miami Better Than: Everything happening that night on the planet Earth if you happen to take Pitchfork or College radio charts as the gospel. The Review: The rumors of a No Age/Panda Bear double bill during…

Last Night: Yelle (Again!) at Art Loves Music

YelleWednesday, December 3, 2008Art Loves Music, Miami BeachBetter Than: I’m going to skip this.Let me start out by saying: Worst. Crowd. Ever.I’m going to keep this short since we already reviewed Yelle not too long ago. Way to castrate an energetic performer and have her beg you to wake up…

Wednesday Night: Q-Tip at Revolution

Photo by Eddie RosenstockQ-Tip with The Cool KidsWednesday, November 26, 2008Revolution, Fort LauderdaleBetter Than: Watching Q-Tip live on Letterman.The Review: Rap shows normally feature an MC accompanied by a tour DJ and a laptop, but when an artist such as Q-Tip brings a tight band with him onstage alongside the…

Danny Daze Mixes Things Up For Scion Radio

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, ya’ll! Well, in case you are in need of a rump-shakin’ soundtrack for Black Friday, Danny Daze is here to provide the goods. In his newest mix, created specifically for Scion Radio’s Turntable Lab channel, Daze drops electro beats over thumpin’ Miami bass grooves…

Last Night: Madonna at Dolphin Stadium

MadonnaWednesday, November 26, 2008Dolphin Stadium, Miami GardensI am writing this to you at 2 a.m. exactly, which is the time you get home if you live in Wilton Manors and go to Madonna concerts in Miami. Madonna does awful things to the Golden Glades Exchange. Madonna makes “lanes” meaningless and…

Yelle Performing at Art Loves Music

Yelle is coming back ya’ll! We just called the Art Basel’s Florida offices and they confirmed that the French electro-pop outfit is returning to the Magic City to kick off the Basel festivities at its Art Loves Music event Wednesday, December 3 at 10 p.m. The free concert will take…

Marilyn Manson, the Painter, at Art Basel

Marilyn Manson has been many things — the anti-Christ, an androgynous alien, a Weimar theatric — but little know of Manson’s other character, that of a painter, a role he takes pretty seriously. In fact, for the past two decades he’s been amassing a body of work which will be…