They Might Be Giants Blinds With Science
The two Johns of They Might Be Giants have been captivating my mind and spine for over 25 years now. Lately, they’ve been hooking kid brains with several smart but […]
music that matters
Resurgent Autolux Shreds Sonic Envelope
My new favorite band is back at last. Which is stellar, considering its criminally underrated debut Future Perfect dropped in 2004 and tied Sleater-Kinney’s deafening The Woods for album of […]
Kim Deal Embraces The Breeders’ Fate
I caught up with the Deals to talk about Bob Marley, Jessica Simpson, the digital-analog divide, and the end of the music industry as we know it.
McCartney to Israel: Give Peace a Chance
“I’m bringing a message of peace, and I Think that’s what the region needs.”
Mew Makes Music For Mindfuckers
Sometimes you hit the home run, and sometimes you don’t. Denmark’s Mew hit it out of the park on its last album, a concept head-trip called And the Glass Handed […]
Metric’s Emily Haines Ponders Earth’s Erotic Apocalypse
One of my favorite bands in the world is Canada’s Metric, which is led by the irrepressible Emily Haines. She’s smart and sexy with a gift for poetry and philosophy. […]
Girl In A Coma: It’s Serious
Man, I’ve got many interviews in the bag that I’ve yet to float on Morphizm. This was a cool one, with a Texas trio of growing power, who happen to […]
Love and Rockets Get Love and Rock
Love and Rockets are one of the underrated bands of the ’80s and ’90s, often overshadowed, unfairly or not, by their gothic forebears Bauhaus. But the space-rocking trio still had […]
Rest in Peace, Les Paul (1915-2009)
A rock and tech legend passed away today. I charted his influence in short form on Wired, mostly because words can’t express one man or woman’s influence, especially one like […]
Metromixed! Portugal The Man, Modest Mouse, The Dandy Warhols
Dude, I’m writing so much that my eyes are falling out. Well, my ears too, considering how much I’ve been writing about music lately. In fact, I’ve reviewed several releases […]
Dinosaur Jr. Rules the Rock Farm
Dinosaur Jr. plugged the ’80s back into distortion and riffage, and changed music for better in the process. Then, it fell apart. But now, it’s back together again, and the […]
A Note From Pixies’ Black Francis
I have always been a singer, a writer, and a musician, not as a prodigy or as in a trade handed to me by my parents, but because of an inner voice or maybe a command from beyond reality as it is usually defined.
Hip-Hop’s Good, Great and Not Great
Mos Def’s hyper-aware culture raps keep it smart the whole way.
Sonic Beacons: An Interview With Tortoise
Tortoise’s Beacons of Ancestorship, a potent dose of unclassifiable sound that veers from dub, funk and hip-hop to jazz, punk and rock without ever dissipating into incoherence, is the Chicago-based […]
Jack White: Rock’s Great Multitasker
I put together a retrospective of The White Stripes frontman’s various sonic disguises for Metromix last week, which was a hoot. As much as I love White’s musical talent, I […]
Pink Mountaintops Find Love In Hypno-Pop
Someday I want to move to gorgeous Vancouver, home of Stephen McBean. It’s the kind of place that inspires beautiful music, whether that is McBean’s crushing metal band Black Mountain […]
The Kills Fall Through The Kracks
I interviewed The Kills’ Allison Mosshart, who is now fronting Jack White’s new band The Dead Weather, about her various groups, The Mighty Boosh, why The Killers aren’t cool and […]
Great Northern Seeks The Lynchian Light
Los Angeles thrives on space rock, but local heroes Great Northern filter it through David Lynch’s Twin Peaks gothic pop for good measure. I reviewed the band’s latest effort for […]
Grand Duchy, Black Francis’ Family Affair
So I rapped with the pair for Rolling Stone and reviewed the disc for Metromix. All is well.
Mr. Lif Walks the Talk
“Whether you’re a suit with a desk job or a creative artist, you are still programmed to work. You can never ultimately escape from your responsibilities.”
The Thermals Transmit Warm, Poppy Punk
What can I say? I am a sucker for Portland, and its myriad bands. The Thermals are one of its best, sure-shot pushers of power-pop, or pop-punk, or whatever they […]
Pontiak’s Stoner Rock Is Sweet And Loud
Pontiak, Maker [Scott Thill, Metromix] Pontiak fit in just fine with past purveyors of atmospheric riffage like Kyuss, Earth and the like. The 13-minute-plus title track on “Maker” is a […]
Pop Lifer Robyn Hitchcock Dreams of Oslo, Synesthesia, Snow
Robyn Hitchcock is a gentleman, an artist and one hell of a prolific songwriter. From his work in the ’70s with The Soft Boys to his escape-minded recent effort Goodnight […]
Aceyalone Rejuvenates Lonely Hip-Hop
Aceyalone is one of hip-hop’s unsung virtuosos. No longer. On the freestyle vet’s latest effort The Lonely Ones, every soul genre is freaked and every song is stunning. It’s still […]
Indigo Girls Get Bitter, Beautiful
Catching up with my Metromix reviews. This one was a mellow pleasure.