There we were, convocating with our cup holders. The total commute from central Broward County to the Concrete (er, Convocation) Center on the University of Miami campus in Coral Gables: one hour and 25 minutes. Approaching the just-opened venue from southbound U.S. 1 was — face it, folks — a…
“No-wave,” “art-rock,” “post-punk,” “post-wave,” “garage-art.” The quest to find a new, fresh label for New York City’s ubiquitous underground sound has taken a toll on journalists. They’re tired. They’re sleep-deprived. They’re taking hackneyed phrases and hyphenating them! The Big Apple is blessed with good musical genes, but the recent outpouring…
Phish is back — a new album, a new tour, the whole kit and caboodle. And not a moment too soon: Without Phish, the nomadic throng of folks with a jones for drawn-out jams has been forced to migrate toward lesser musicians who headline gigs in Bumblefuck, Maine. To wit,…
One Bedroom starts out perky — almost too much so. Like that little dog, Chester, who constantly kissed up to Spike in the Tom ‘n’ Jerry cartoons, “Four Corners” opens the record with an insistent hook, a chiming tug on your sleeve that says, “C’mon, guys! If you forgive us…
Will Luna always stand like a wallflower, picked last for every dance? The band’s ten-year mission — fusing fragrant guitar melodies with potently acerbic lyrics — has gone rather well. Somehow, though, unreservedly praising Luna would be like saying Foghat was your favorite band — representative of the style, sure,…
Unlike the vast hordes of snowbirds, retirees, immigrants, exiles, and carpetbaggers who make up the bulk of the South Florida population, those born and raised here might actually feel some kinship with their fellow Floridians in towns north of Orlando. If you’re already acquainted with Central Florida’s politely combed orange…
The newest addition to Stereolab’s discography, ABC Music, a two-disc compilation of live-in-the-studio BBC recordings spanning the electro-indie veterans’ career, was released in the UK this past October but has yet to find distribution in the United States. It’s an unfortunate delay, because the album, while not boasting any new…
Still helmed by mainstays Chrissie Hynde and drummer Martin Chambers, Pretenders soldier on, with guitarist Adam Seymour providing the slash-‘n’-chop chords once proffered by original member James Honeyman Scott. Their reggae-tinged eighth album, Loose Screw, is far from the most consistent in the band’s catalog, though Hynde remains as gruffly…
Never saw the Gits live, but word has it that the Seattle band put everything into its performances and that singer Mia Zapata’s presence was that of a future superstar ready to shed the training wheels. Not enough folks were able to experience that dramatic arc, cut short when Zapata…
Those who’ve stopped looking at all the repackagings of John Coltrane’s recorded works might want to slow down the next time they flip past Legacy, the new four-CD set from Verve. Two things make this overview stand out. First and most important, it is unique in drawing from Coltrane’s entire…
The fifth album by country singer Faith Hill opens with a loud crash of drums, a throbbing electric bass, and a screeching electric guitar. The song is called “Free,” and it’s about liberating oneself from the chains of the past. The point is obvious: Hill wants to shed her Nashville…
Sean Paul’s success in commercial hip-hop markets doesn’t make him a sellout — yet. His ubiquitous ganja-burner anthem, “Gimme the Light,” is genuine dancehall reggae, even if backed by Atlantic’s major-label clout. And as with his 2000 debut, Stage One, Paul’s sophomore release, Dutty Rock, collects his biggest — and,…
Coldplay is a band you carry like an umbrella through the inclement weather of the soul, which may be why lead singer Chris Martin spent Coldplay’s first video, for a song called “Yellow,” on a gray beach in a rain jacket, singing high and low of the stars that shine…
South Florida Folk FestivalIt’s that time of year again, when the groves and meadows of Easterlin Park are filled with the strains of acoustic guitars and folksy lyrics. More than 100 performers are set to perform at this year’s South Florida Folk Festival. Eight stages boast everything from the aforementioned…
A middle-aged man at the bar jokes that he makes designer condoms for a living. “We’re talking Gucci, Versace, and other big-name brands,” comes his quote to an inquisitive stranger. The rest of his party laugh. So do a few other folks in the Hemisphere Lounge at the Loews Miami…
A best-of compilation and boxed set rolled into one, Björk’s Family Tree is something of a two-headed hydra. Hardcore fans will likely consider the Greatest Hits disc inadequate — a Björk for Dummies — whereas they’re probably the only ones who will appreciate the five EPs that make up the…
Everyone complains about the radio, but no one ever does anything about it. Ever find anything worth leaving the dial alone for? Ever tried? Forget “set it and forget it” — driving without plenty of CDs is almost as dangerous as merging onto I-595 at rush hour. Search the FM…
Brad Jordan’s greatest contribution to hip-hop’s thug life will forever be his work with the Geto Boys on the bone-dry cautionary tale “Mind Playing Tricks on Me.” Even ten years after the fact, the Houston posse’s only truly bulletproof moment remains a rap classic — few drug ‘n’ misogyny fables…
Boston’s lone hipster credential remains Kurt Cobain’s claim that he pilfered the signature riff from “Smells Like Teen Spirit” off the opening salvo of “More Than a Feeling.” In a cruel twist of fate, Nirvana is long gone, but Boston trudges on. Founding guitarist and studio geek Tom Scholz remains…
Good music should always be enjoyed as a soundtrack — tunes that could be spliced into parts of a day to intermingle with the ebb and flow of mundane routines and intimate relations. Any decent album can shift your brain into movie mode, allowing fantastical landscapes and unnatural situations to…
Eight years ago, when Bruno Kramm, Daniel Galda, and Stefan Ackermann first toured the United States, the cofounders of German industrialists Das Ich quickly figured out how our system works. “We were fucking impressed,” remembers Kramm, speaking by phone from Germany. “Everything was just… more huge. But on the other…
It’s strange to think of Quality as a coming-out party for Talib Kweli, since an artist as respected as Kweli shouldn’t need one. In the late ’90s, the thoughtful MC (whose name combines Arabic and Ghanaian to mean “seeker of truth”) rose to prominence with a pair of highly regarded…
