I’m not sure what existential forces are at work here but we’ve now come to the age of the “Credit Union 1 Center,” an ampitheatre in the Chicago suburb of Tinley Park operating under the tenuous premise of providing meaningful experiences to anyone. It’s no big deal — it’s just the main venue I grew […]
1 Miles Davis – Milestones This 1958 classic from Miles Davis creeps in slowly but will take over your senses and really knock your socks off once the whole band gets jamming and Philly Joe Jones really starts pummeling those drums. It’s a great showcase of Davis being ahead of his time, too, as the […]
10 Watchglass – “Eons Romance” Sydney, Australia’s Watchglass channel a seriously tranquil vibe here for some summer folk-pop that will penetrate your world with ease. .. 9 Saloli – “Nighthawk” Bandcamp lists Mary Sutton, a.k.a. Saloli, as a “pianist,” which is funny because I don’t hear a single analog sound on this whole album, let […]
Am I an a-hole for not wanting to purchase Mermaid Avenue on wax? Well, I’ve never heard anyone playing any of the songs other than “California Stars” in my life, so I’m not sweating it too much. Anyway, it’s high time this band released a best-of and gave us a smattering of their most brilliant, […]
10 Can Kicker – “Disassociate Now” The UK’s Can Kicker belt out intense, crisp grunge rock, in the old school vein of the punk-mindeds like The U-Men and Mudhoney, with tight grooves underlying the stylishly nihilistic vocals of the singer who just goes by the name “Luke.” ST LP will call to mind Iceage’s authoritative […]
Pop-punk is making a comeback. That’s all there is to it. Well, what’s actually happening is just that the stigma is being lifted off of it — listening to it no longer garners implications of simplicity, stupidity or shallowness. I think we all deal with enough morons in our everyday lives to diffuse that ideal […]
10 Parano – “Come Right through – Original Mix” This Parano DJ certainly keeps a pretty low profile but does stake his claim to a pretty groovin’ brand of jungle-house, full of some pretty off-kilter sounds and a voluminous mass of hypnotic techno bulbous enough to let the drugs kick in. .. 9 The Koreatown […]
10 Led Zeppelin – “How Many More Times” With this tune that closes Led Zeppelin’s self-titled debut, part of the essence of this list is poised to value a riff’s overall function, like how spiritedly it’s embraced by the song itself. In this case, Page repeats this thing on pretty much the whole bumpy ride, […]