Yes, this is happening. The Beach Boys have been an entity for 50 years, but their architect Brian Wilson has been absent from the band for the past 15. In honor of hitting the half-century mark, the closest thing to an original lineup — being that Wilson’s brothers Dennis and…
We can’t wait until Hipster Runoff wakes up today so that he can sing the praises of the ultimate object of his affection/scorn, Arcade Fire’s Régine Chassagne. She is center stage in one of the most expensive-looking music videos not created with helicopter assistance ever made…
Alice CooperHard Rock Live, HollywoodThursday, December 15, 2011View a slideshow from the concert here.Better than: Mr. Nice GuyIt’s not an easy task for a shock rocker of decades yore to hold the attention of a crowd which has been exposed to far more advanced forms of shock — advanced both…
It can be said without any hesitation whatsoever that no one individual better epitomizes the image of the outlaw rock star than Keith Richards. No one! Keith turns 68 today, December 18, a remarkable accomplishment, not only for the fact that he’s a senior citizen and as irrepressible as ever,…
Over the course of pop music’s evolution over the past century or so, history continues to repeat itself. New stars are “the next (fill in the blank),” genres are hyphenated versions of established music styles, and unless you come up with song titles like “The Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory” or…
Young Money rappers Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj have been singled out as Male and Female Teachers of the Year by the South Florida-based education service Better Education Place (BEP). The pair, seen above teaching the basics of giving and receiving a lap dance at BankAtlantic Center in April, are…
The entire New Times family was hit with a tremendous shock Wednesday afternoon when we learned that our brother Jeff Stratton had passed away suddenly after apparent complications from a stomach ulcer in Honduras. He was 47.As part of an accomplished journalism career around the country, Jeff served as New…
We can credit Donnie Wayne “Don” Johnson (born December 15, 1949) with a number of things — a checkered acting career, a series of checkered romances, and a checkered music career. Inevitably though, the role for which he will be best remembered is his portrayal of Sonny Crockett, the fashion-conscious,…
“I always used to think I’d go up onstage and say, ‘Boy, I hope you like us tonight. We’re going to try to do a great show for you,'” says shock rocker Alice Cooper in faux-sweet tones. “But you have to just grab the audience by the throat and say,…
Is the Midwest the new locus of underground hip-hop? Minnesota’s Twin Cities have boasted a long tradition of a scene focused on wordplay-heavy lyricism absent of rap’s usual macho swagger. These days, though, the area seems to be sprouting even more artists and labels pushing the genre edges of what…
The name of the Nashville duo the LoCash Cowboys is not some clever combination or the members’ names. Rather, it’s a shortened manifesto of everything the band stands for. The group’s straight-ahead country party anthems celebrate what they’ve dubbed the “LoCash lifestyle” — in other words, joy from the free…
West Palm Beach foursome Paleo Eskimo looks barely old enough to get into the venues the band has played, and recorded material is thin on the ground. Still, on the strength of just a handful of shows and tracks floating around the internet, the group has already scored fans in…
It has been quite the year for John Ralston, who might be Lake Worth’s coolest dad. In addition to expanding his family with a newborn daughter, he also brought his strongest solo album to date into the world during the past 12 months. The country-rock collection, Shadows of the Summertime,…
There was a huge online response following the news of the West Palm rock station Buzz 103.1’s sudden ouster from FM radio on Monday, December 5. With its departure — it will continue as an online and HD radio station — the spot on the dial is occupied by Now…
Today we take for granted that there were such things as “cola wars” going on, but New Coke was an elaborate marketing disaster undertaken by the Coca-Cola company in 1985. It was a messy expensive time that got people saying “Coke is It!” but for all of you rooting for…
Although it only just happened last week, the reverberations of the Buzz 103.1’s format shift are being felt deeply in South Florida.More than 225 comments have piled up on the original news report of the Buzz leaving the FM dial posted on December 5, and subsequent entries focus on the…
The retro-soulful Miami men of Ketchy Shuby have a holiday jones, which is fully expressed via A Ketchy Shuby Christmas. The album just made itself available on Tuesday, and there’s a little release party scheduled for the Stage this evening (details below). This release caps a busy fall of activity…
Anyone who has witnessed the Pied Piper of R&B afloat in the “Step in the Name of Love” video hoped that this day would eventually come: R. Kelly is hosting the Love Letter Cruise in October 2012. Embarking October 1-5 from Miami aboard the comfortable Carnival Destiny, this is a…
The trailer for Rock of Ages — the big-budget musical starring Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Russell Brand, Mary J. Blige, Julianne Hough, and a ton of other people with haircuts from 25 years ago — is now online. You might recall that the production was filmed here in…
Earlier this month, the South Florida duo Blonds dropped an initial offering from its Dark Roots EP, and today the entire collection is available online. Since then, Stereogum and some other online outlets have started listening too. As mentioned previously, the group consists of Young Circles frontman Jordy Asher and…
Over the course of his pop-reggae career, Matisyahu has been closely tied to his image, which is one of the most unusual around. He’s quite outspoken about his Hasidic faith, and his appearance follows suit. This sort of artistry lends well to the yearly Jewish festival Fedstock in Boca Raton,…
Despite the fact that he’s turns 63 today and he’s proceeded past the age of eligibility for Social Security, Ted Nugent remains the manic guitar slinger he was in his younger days, a man still bristling with the unrelenting energy and the unrepentant attitude that became his signature style early…
