 Rock and Roll Poetry: An Interview with David WojahnBy
Brian Castleberry
Acclaimed poet David Wojahn’s Mystery Train contains a series of thirty-five poems that follow the development of rock music and American culture from 1956 to 1988, creating “a soundtrack to American history.”  Tonight: Franz Ferdinand is so YesterdayBy
Brian Castleberry
With Tonight: Franz Ferdinand the band sounds so Franz Ferdinand-y that the songs sound as if they may already be part of our collective memories, tunes from the summer of 2005 that made chicks get up and dance at an otherwise dull bar.  That’ll Be The Day: A RemembranceBy
Brian Castleberry
It was fifty years ago today that we lost Buddy Holly, one of rock and roll’s most influential figures.  The Bird and The Bee in Outerspace: Rayguns Are Not Just the FutureBy
Brian Castleberry
In the eclectic world of indie pop music, there’s nothing particularly new in the idea of mining historical periods of music for inspiration. But L.A. duo The Bird and the Bee have taken this notion to an extreme with Rayguns Are Not Just the Future a love letter to the kitsch-pop of the mainstream ‘60s.  The In Sound from Way Out: Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post PavilionBy
Brian Castleberry
With Merriweather Post Pavilion, all of a sudden, the ferment and experimentation that has typified indie rock in the last few years has its historical marker: an eclectic masterpiece that gathers its myriad influences together and pushes them all in a new direction.  The End of Selling OutBy
Brian Castleberry
In last Sunday’s New York Times, music critic Jon Pareles came to the conclusion that very soon, advertising and marketing campaigns will become the central end-point and inspiration for our popular music. It’s a compelling argument, and I’m afraid I might agree with him — to a point.  Late To The Math Rock Party: My Impressions of Battles’ MirroredBy
Brian Castleberry
Battles has taken math rock into the age of Animal Collective and Hot Chip. There is as much frantic, acid-addled noise here as there is futuristic electro, but they fall into neither category.  The Saga Continues: Genesis 1970-1975, Part TwoBy
Brian Castleberry
A new box set from Rhino covering Genesis during the Peter Gabriel era of 1970-1975, marks a great moment for anyone who has been meaning to find out why fans love this band or just what is meant by the word “prog.” |
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