Brass Trax
By
Rick Sawyer
June 23rd, 2009
Island Records started in Jamaica. The record label, which turns 50 this year, began in the back of Chris Blackwell’s van, where he hawked ska and rocksteady singles, and, despite its migration into rock, hip hop, and world music, the label would never finally abandon the music that quite literally brought it to life: reggae and its precursors.
Featured Stories
By
Douglas Newman
June 23rd, 2009
Island Records is celebrating its 50th anniversary and a quick look at its history reveals that it has a lot to celebrate. Not only has it given us some of rock music’s best selling records, but it’s also nurtured some of the planet’s most well respected musicians in a variety of genres.
Album Review
By
JBev
June 22nd, 2009
Daddy explained to me that Bob Marley was the most famous singer for a type of music called reggae. I wasn’t sure what that was, and Daddy said that it was hard to explain it and that I’d just have to hear it to understand it.
Song List
By
Douglas Newman
June 18th, 2009
Sunday is Father’s Day, and there’s no better gift than giving your old man a killer mix tape…er, playlist. Prove to him that your taste in music isn’t as treacherous as he thinks by downloading the following ten killer dad tracks.
X is the Y of Z
By
Mark Peters
June 16th, 2009
Just as cleave means both to bring to together and push apart, the notorious name of Spinal Tap has two opposite senses. On the one hand, it is one of the most awesome comedies that ever comedied. On the other, being the Spinal Tap of something is probably not a compliment, unless putting tin-foiled wrapped cucumbers down your pants (or mini-Stonehenges on your stage) is a plus in your current line of work.
Artist List
By
Dryw Keltz
June 16th, 2009
If only all rock stars dressed like the Beatles did during their early days. Nice suits to match those trademark smiles and mop tops. I bet Paul and Ringo rarely cringe while looking back at their photos from this era. If only all rock stars dressed so conservatively.
Album Review
By
JBev
June 15th, 2009
When last we heard Mark Oliver Everett, the mastermind behind Eels, he was relating life lessons from his deathbed on 2005’s Blinking Lights and Other Revelations. The good news is that he’s been rejuvenated for Hombre Lobo, Eels newest release. The bad news is…
Brass Trax
By
Rick Sawyer
June 11th, 2009
Nothing Sparks had released prior to Kimono My House (1974) came close to matching that album’s grandeur. Where previous Sparks albums were affected and contrived to the point of meaningless preciousness, Kimono My House was affected and contrived to the point of self-parody—and the audience was allowed in on the joke.
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