Reflecting on the now-routine practice of record labels releasing old albums with bonus material, British singer/songwriter Robyn Hitchcock says, “Graham Greene didn’t have to keep coming up with bonus tracks every time they reprinted the book Brighton Rock.” It’s a good point. But if Hitchcock harbors any reservations about bonus…
Exodus founder, leader, and mainstay Gary Holt laughs out loud at the suggestion that the album cover of the band’s landmark 1985 debut, Bonded by Blood, contains a veiled caricature reference to Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett. A familiar and cherished site to metalheads of a certain generation (read: You’re getting…
How unfortunate would it be if all the furor surrounding the latest Radiohead album eclipsed this new orchestral film score composed by the band’s lead guitarist, Jonny Greenwood? Those seeking to find Greenwood’s rock sensibilities — or the echoes of Radiohead’s modernist approach — won’t find a trace of it…
While pop-punk arguably wore out its welcome awhile ago, the lads in Good Charlotte have at least had the decency to spice up and rearrange their sound over their last two albums, especially their latest, Good Morning Revival. The funny thing is, Good Charlotte thinks they’ve been wrongly labeled from…
I’m a big fan of beautiful accidents,” Skeleton Key leader Erik Sanko says. And he might as well be. Though he is referring to spontaneous creative accidents, Sanko also admits to being mystified that Skeleton Key — which formed in 1996 amid a thriving downtown New York arts scene —…
Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan may have embraced new-agey spirituality and wine-collecting in his middle age, but one thing’s for damned certain: The guy’s still got a warped sense of humor. And he’s bound to hit Tool fans where it hurts on this, his first solo release. Keenan has been…
Though fans must have been happy to see the Ramones finally get the biopic treatment in the 2003 documentary End of the Century, the film arguably left its audience wanting more, particularly in the live-footage department. If you’ve been waiting patiently for the opportunity to scrutinize some of the live…
“Say it to my face, look me in the eyes and say what you have to say,” Toryn Green sings on Fuel’s latest album, Angels and Devils. This has to rank right up there with Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney’s staged spat on “The Girl Is Mine” for all-time least…
Destruction. Doom. Death. These themes have been heavy-metal hallmarks since more or less the inception of the genre, and let’s face it, the music wouldn’t be as fun or compelling without them. But for New Orleans residents, these words have a much deeper meaning in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina…
In the extensive liner notes that accompany this five-disc set, jazz writer Nat Hentoff quotes John Coltrane as having once said, “I wish I could walk up to my music as if I’d never heard it before. I’ll never know what the listener feels, and that’s too bad.” For the…
Chris Cornell is at his best when he’s leading a band, most people will tell you. Known primarily for his time fronting groups like Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, and, until recently, Audioslave, most of the rock world is still adjusting to the sight of Cornell flying solo for the…
Behold the mouth that roared… and keeps on roaring! Over the past 20-plus years, Megadeth leader Dave Mustaine has made enough outrageous statements to warrant the publication of his own quotation book. Fortunately (or unfortunately), the man has shown no sign of slowing down anytime soon. Where it’s typical for…
It’s not every day that you find a group of musicians who can straddle the line between the dreamy atmospheres of Ambient Works-era Aphex Twin and the soul pop of Hall & Oates while striving for the arrangement sophistication of Steely Dan. But that’s precisely what this Massachusetts-via-Brooklyn quartet does…
“Last Romantic Day,” a song off the latest Rentals EP, The Last Little Life, begins with gentle plucking on violin strings. Even before any other instruments come in, it’s painfully clear that Matt Sharp did the right thing when he freed himself from the repressive yoke of playing in Weezer…
Everybody sing together now: “Anoint my phallus with the blood of the FAL-LEN!” If you see the crowd gathered in front of the second stage at Ozzfest — girls and boys alike — singing along to these words, banging heads, and swooning in phallic-referencing glee, you can thank Karl Sanders…
“Man, I been waitin’ five years for you to call me!” That, according to John Hammond, was G. Love’s reaction when Hammond called him to ask if Love would produce what would become his latest album, Push Comes to Shove. On paper, the pairing of Hammond, an icon in the…
Look, let’s just face it, OK? Hard-rock power balladry is never gonna go away. As much as some of us might want it to, as much as it routinely falls out of vogue, there are always going to be bands interested in doing it — and hungry fans salivating to…
With musicians, like athletes, it’s always disheartening to watch them hang around long enough to see their abilities break down. Bad Brains fans, long beset by the band’s notorious instability, have every reason to expect that a present-day reunion album can do nothing but tarnish the band’s hallowed legacy. After…
Judging by the brightly colored artwork on the cover of Paper Sky, singer/songwriter Ben Weaver´s fifth album, you can tell it´s a considerably less dour ride than Weaver´s previous offering, Stories Under Nails. The new album opens with a misty, atmospheric intro that almost bursts with optimism. Still, we´re talking…
As pioneers of ¨trance fusion,¨ as they like to call it, electro-jam rockers the Disco Biscuits have made a name for themselves as innovators of the perpetual groove. By focusing on electronic effects, the Philadelphia-based group is known for finding creative ways to extend chords and sidestep the jam-band label…
Announcing his abrupt but unsurprising departure from Audioslave earlier this year, Chris Cornell — already preparing to release Carry On — spoke of wanting to explore avenues as a solo performer that weren´t possible in a band. On his new album, however, Cornell goes for straight-ahead arrangements, keeps his vocal…
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club performs Saturday, June 9, at the Culture Room, 3045 N. Federal Hwy., Fort Lauderdale. The show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $18. Call 954-564-1074, or visit www.cultureroom.net
