The Strokes were labeled the saviors of NYC’s rock ‘n’ roll scene when they oozed out of hipster enclaves (and, er, prep school) in 2001. But in the ensuing years, all of the tricks that made the fab five so exciting — snappy hooks, half-drunken confessions of love, and off-balance,…
Beck’s 2005 Guero album, hailed as the folk-rock-rap-whatever successor to his ’96 landmark Odelay, reveled in the artist’s usual ironic self-awareness. The title, for one, translates to “white boy,” belying a record drizzled in country twang, Mexican slang, grungy hip-hop, orchestral bossa nova, and funky electronica. Now out of that…
As any tourhead knows, there’s no better way to spend New Year’s Eve than with a free-spirited, anything-goes kinda band. The big night may have just passed us by, but there’s still time to catch the wave of New Monsoon while it is in full, fresh New Year’s glory. The…
There was a time when men proudly sported tight, stonewashed jeans and had long feathered manes. A time before indie became a genre, when the gods of rock reigned supreme. Yes, it was a magical, legendary era called “The ’80s.” Once again, those bygone gods smile upon us as they…
Poor Loudon Wainwright III. In less than a decade, his son Rufus has achieved more success than he has in 35 years, and his daughter Martha wrote the title track of her debut, Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole, about him. Seems his kids have a penchant for personal confession in their…
Punk rock, regardless of what the more militant camps will tell you, has always survived on its underlying humor. Sometimes it takes a little digging to uncover it, and sometimes it doesn’t. Guttermouth has never been shy with its comedy. Hell, it might be its only saving grace — Lord…
Dieselboy performs with Shy FX at 10 p.m. Saturday, January 7, at Club Space, 34 NE 11th St., Miami. Tickets cost $15 in advance or $20 at the door. Call 305-350-1956.
OK, people: No dwelling on that bitch Wilma. And no bitching about your dwelling in 2005. South Florida took some shots, both on the chin and at the bar, during another mercilously hectic, predictably unpredictable year. The real movers and shakers of the music scene are learning — slowly but…
So barefoot-boogie hippies rub you the wrong way. Or maybe you’re more open-minded than the typical cranky-pants, scene-sucking elitist. Either way, hopefully you’re savvy enough to realize that shortcut labels like jam band and indie rock better describe a band’s business approach and fan base than its sound. This year,…
While hip-hop continued to get mo’ live in ’05 and indie rock further honed post-punk/emo’s affectations into something more genuinely affecting, the arch-paradigms from the past 12 months of electronic composition seemed more concerned with looking in than locking in. For the most part, top producers haven’t seemed as worried…
Few hip-hop outfits can pull off the high-flying balancing act that the Roots have maintained since their early-’90s inception. Way above its peers and imitators, the Philly collective walks a tightrope between street cred and pop appeal, intellectualism and b-boyism, jazzy musicianship and rugged MC mastery. Through the course of…
Missed Moonfest on the infamous 500 block of West Palm’s Clematis Street? The 500 Block Rocks New Year’s blowout is another chance to experience the eclectic, street-party atmosphere that the Honeycomb’s Steve Rullman is so adept at assembling. The booze-drenched, multistage shebang features every local band you love to love:…
Back just two months after its last capacity show at the Culture Room, the Benevento-Russo Duo brings a secret weapon to its New Year’s Eve eargasm: dorktastic former Phish bassist Mike Gordon. That adds up to a drum ‘n’ bass ‘n’ keys trio that jam-fan wet dreams are made of…
Here’s a cool idea to ring in the baby new year: Find a reborn band playing at a reborn bar and make the most of a brand new thing. You’ll find that freshly minted vibe at the Beach Bar, that corner spot on A1A and Sunrise that recently reopened under…
Their roster reads like a gang of street thugs or super-antiheroes: Stunner. Dirty Dave. Crystal Van Hart. They’ve got the look to match, sexy, stoic, sweaty, and buttoned up to the nines. Their songs play out like proto-punk power-pop infused with a touch of Che and more than a little…
Diplo performs Saturday, December 31, at the District, 35 NE 40th St., Miami. Doors open at 10 p.m. Admission is $20. Call 305-576-7242.
2005 was a year of exploration and expansion in urban music. Against a Matrix-like background of corporate-controlled radio and TV, iPod-enabled consumers demanded more musical choices and were rewarded by indie labels that stepped in to provide an alternative to mainstream mediocrity once again. For every lackluster commercial effort (like…
Anointing themselves “the world’s greatest party band,” the B-52’s established a rather high standard, but the quirkaholic Athens four-piece more than lives up to the job. Despite their rock-as-art mentality, the B-52’s somehow got stuck in the mass consciousness, and now “Love Shack” is heard as much on commercial radio…
As Curtis Armstrong’s Miles tells Tom Cruise’s Joel in the 1983 hit comedy film Risky Business, sometimes you just gotta say, “What the fuck.” In Joel’s case, this phrase is employed with a shrug of the shoulders and a sly smile: “What the fuck, let’s go for it.” In mine,…
In 2005, pop music was rock music. Between Kelly Clarkson’s tarted-up “Since U Been Gone,” Ashlee Simpson’s raspy, Courtney Love-after-a-bender vocals, and Hilary Duff’s collabs with her Good Charlotte boytoy, Joel Madden, even the biggest top 40 starlets liked their guitars cranked up to a sassy 11. Elsewhere, rockers in…
Trendsetting celebs like Madonna and Perry Farrell are getting into it. Indie rockers like Yo La Tengo, moe., and They Might Be Giants are singing about it. The New York Times and Newsweek are writing about it. Starting December 25, more than 625,000 South Florida residents will begin celebrating it…
If DJs flock to vinyl like moths to a flame, then Tom Laroc better get used to wiping the bloody debris of other turntablists out of his grill. The man literally has thousands of records, and every Thursday, he brings upward of 2,000 of them to the Pawn Shop to…
