Of all the human traits rock ‘n’ roll expresses — joy, angst, rebellion, lust — perhaps the most difficult to convey is soul. Rock ‘n’ roll is all about youth, while soul is eager but wise, earnest but earthy. To pull off a legitimate union of the two requires young,…
We begin with the greatest lyrics ever written: Somber songs of the plaid bartenders Western Unions of the country Westerns Silver Foxes lookin’ for romance With the chain-smoke Kansas flashdance ice pants Beck “rapped” these words in 1996, the artistic apex of “Hotwax,” the artistic apex of Odelay, the artistic…
Los Angeles-based Seksu Roba — translated literally from the Japanese as “sex donkey” — is made up of Korean producer/thereminist Sukho Lee and Japanese artist/designer/vocalist Lun*na Menoh. Together, the duo serves up a spaced-out dish of bachelor-pad lounge pop that — were she still actively saving the universe today –…
Coming from South Florida, where good times are the highest priority, Seven Star’s serious, studied commitment to hip-hop culture stands out. You can hear the weight of dedication in his sober, workmanlike My Mother and Father Were Astronauts, a compilation of b-sides and 12-inch singles meant to prelude the MC’s…
Nothing suggests the spirit of New Orleans like crawdads, Cajun cooking, the mayhem of Mardi Gras, and of course, the Neville Brothers Band. With the release of their 16th album, 2004’s Walkin’ in the Shadow of Life, the soulful siblings — Art, Charles, Aaron, Cyril, and Ivan — mark their…
Believe it or leave it, hip-hop shares something significant with country music and rock ‘n’ roll — there’s the stuff that gets on the radio and TV awards shows, and then there’s the genuine article, the clamor without a mainstream-friendly face. While the bling set gets the two-page spread in…
As one of the oldest musical styles in the world, the classical Indian raga resonates deeply to Eastern ears but often feels distant to Westerners. Even as the Beatles and countercultural America welcomed the beloved Ravi Shankar and his sitar-and-tabla combos into the pop lexicon of the 1960s, the sitar…
It seems that the raves of the past have devolved into more streamlined lounge fare or $30-a-head South Beach outings. But like a strobe-induced blast from the past, an event like High Fidelity appears on the scope, and from the unlikeliest of places. Since grunge doesn’t count anymore, the Northwest…
It’s after 1 a.m. at Amp Fest ’05, the recent local music weekend at Boca Raton’s Surf Café. Amid a semi-mocking crowd, Monserrat, badass front woman for Broward County-based alternative dance band Dance Planet X, sings, “I got lots of tricks, daddy/I got magic in my fingertips.” She flaunts lacquer-black…
You’ve been rocked by Queen at Pro Player Stadium; C&C Music Factory makes you sweat till you bleed at American Airlines Arena. But I’ll bet a gold-plated belt buckle you’ve never listened to Nelly get hot in herre while a one-ton Black Angus did the Rockaway on a hapless cowboy…
Styles come and fads go, yet thankfully, the funk is always lurking about, its spirit manifest in different forms and from unlikely tributaries. Believe it or not, New Orleans’ Johnny Sketch & the Dirty Notes hail from classical music backgrounds — at Loyola U, goateed bandleader Johnny Sketch (a.k.a. Marc…
Back in 1997, the world was thirsty for Thievery Corporation. European acts like Kruder and Dorfmeister and Fila Brazillia were ranking high on the IHI (International Hipster Index), and as Rob Garza and Eric Hilton rose from the D.C. underground with their late-night brand of smoky, dub-inflected beatscapes, downtempo coalesced…
No, your Prefuse 73 CD is not skipping. It’s just the wizard of schizophrenic enterprise, Scott Herren (who also records as Delarosa & Asora, Savath & Savalas, Piano Overlord, and La Coreccion), flashing his mixing skills. On Surrounded by Silence, his fourth Prefuse album, Herren scratches and knob-twiddles his way…
If Frances the Mute were a horror movie (and with its ominous imagery, that’s not much of a stretch), it would thrive on gotcha moments, those sudden shocks that make viewers spill their sodas or otherwise soil their seats. In the past, the Mars Volta has bungled this approach, either…
Al Green cleared his throat with I Can’t Stop, his smooth, formulaic return to secular form in 2003. With Everything’s OK, the Memphis minister is in full voice: His second disc with long-time producer Willie Mitchell finds the two at the top of their game. Largely written by Green, Everything’s…
What we have on Kevin “Fyah Blaze” Morris’ fully loaded 16-track recording Truths and Rights is roots-rock-dancehall. The Davie resident’s lyrics flow like Anthony B’s straight-ahead dancehall tracks — “Lion Paw” and “Curfew.” But he breaks away with his own agenda on the upbeat “Circle of Life” and the mellow…
This week’s episode finds the magical Flask, borne by its intrepid guardian, Johnny Z, stalking the crowded streets of carnivalesque Austin, Texas. Filled with that potent elixir called Jameson, the vessel has been drawn here by the legendary gathering South by Southwest. Annually for the past 18 years, over one…
When you hear the name Maroon 5, generally the first words that pop into your head are atrociously overexposed. The machine behind Maroon 5 has saturated the market so heavily that it feels like this is the group’s umpteenth time around the globe, despite the fact that it’s actually embarking…
With a moniker like Decibully, one might conclude that this band was another irreverent, Cramps-descended, demented rock outfit, like Killbilly, the Blubbery Hellbellies, and Déja Voodoo. Rather, Decibully is a Milwaukee septet combining two seemingly disparate strands of indie rock: ornate, neo-progressive art-rock (think Polyphonic Spree) and rootsy Americana (Uncle…
Yes, it’s the end of March and the Winter Music Conference is set to monopolize South Beach again with nonstop beats broadcast through the streets. But in recent years, many scenesters have tired of the ultraglossy beachside atmosphere. So they have set out for the other side of the bridge…
Beneath a lacquered veneer of black suits, hip coifs, and oblique lyrics, Interpol poses a conundrum to fans and foes alike. The quartet — singer/guitarist Paul Banks, guitarist Daniel Kessler, bassist Carlos Dengler (a.k.a. Carlos D.), and drummer (and Fort Lauderdale alum) Sam Fogarino — has been deemed both innovative…
Ten years ago, the Album Leaf’s main man, Jimmy LaValle, was part of San Diego hard-core noise demons the Locust. “I played keyboards,” he says. “And screamed.” He went on to play guitar, drums, and bass in three different seminal indie bands, inching away from bombast toward the peaceful melodicism…
