Sometime in the naive years before puberty, I told my mom that it wasn’t fair how I had to wear a shirt when my dad and brothers didn’t. She absolutely did not see how “fairness” had anything to do with it and promptly administered a firm and enduring lecture on…
Yo, correct me if I’m wrong, but there used to be a time in hip-hop where fashion sense was a requirement. Fedoras, rope chains, and sneakers were once as much a part of the everyday streetwear of b-boys as originality and style. Hoodies and Timberlands eventually became the genre’s attire…
That’s the question British police are asking her and according to this storyfrom MTV, as of today she’s being detained for the second time in as many weeks by authorities. This time, it’s over a video that’s been circulating the blogosphere for several months that clearly shows Winehouse smoking crack…
We’ve just received official word from Dave Slifkin, Studio A’s general manager. The long-term future of the club still remains unclear. But all currently booked shows will still take place there, with the exception of the all-ages May 22 Sophomore Attempt/Mercy Mercedes/Settings show. Says Slifkin: “Studio A will 100% be…
Perched behind her piano at center stage, Hilary McRae looks positively radiant… and for good reason. For one thing, she’s opening for one of her heroes, the inimitable Todd Rundgren, at the Fillmore in Miami Beach. For another, tonight’s show just happens to coincide with the release date of her…
Name a pop music A-lister, and he or she has either worked with Pharrell Williams or probably wants to. Gwen Stefani, Jay-Z, Britney Spears, Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, and Madonna all fall into the first category. Need more proof? As Pharell, who is half of the production team the Neptunes,…
Personally, I satiate my inner songstress with an occasional Iron Maiden sing-along in the solitary confinement of my Hyundai (my inner songstress also happens to love ’80s hair metal). I do a mean karaoke rendition of “Total Eclipse of the Heart” — I wouldn’t call it harmonious, but it’s hardly…
With its opening bass/drum/piano groove, this album serves as a kind of rabbit hole into the world of experimental jazz. But rather than drop you straight into chaotic sensory overload, alto saxophonist Rob Brown and his cohorts carry you along gradually. So that by the time you get to the…
With the possible exception of the three people who look back fondly on Bruce Willis’ recording career, we’re well acquainted with the eardrum damage that can occur when actors live out their rock-star fantasies. But don’t shy away from She & Him’s debut just because the female half of the…
Almost every young rock/pop music collector knows someone who wanted to be British so badly that they could almost taste it. That if you cut them, they’d bleed vinegar to put on their fish & chips. Those to whom Dave Davies, T. Rex, David Bowie, or Pulp are gods. Destroyer’s…
It is no easy task to adapt the complexities of John Coltrane’s “Naima” to the rhythms of the Caribbean, but that is precisely what vibist and bandleader Dave Samuels has proposed to do since the inception of the Caribbean Jazz Project in 1993. The task at hand is essentially blending…
The Waterford Landing’s 2004 self-titled full-length album was a refreshing burst of real music in what felt like a sweltering sea of local shit populated with bad bass, half-assed hip-hop, uninspired rock, and Atari-produced reggaetón. Scene veterans Richard Rippe (vocals, synths, bass), Ed Matus (guitars, synths, vox), and Alex Caso…
Here come the four words many live-music junkies in Miami never wanted to hear: Studio A is closing. Rumors of its demise had plagued the venue practically since its opening in spring 2006, but staff has confirmed that after two years of live shows and alternative club nights, it’s shutting…
I like to think I’m a little more culturally savvy than your average cookie-cutter blond American girl. I’m a hookah pro. I love licorice from northern Europe. I can swear in at least six different languages. And I’ll drink alcohol that’s been imported from just about anywhere. Still, there’s something…
Reggae music is rarely considered a genre in which artists are afraid to speak truth to power. The music has a storied tradition of rebellious singers, from Bob Marley to Burning Spear to Lucky Dube, who railed against society’s ills and often suffered persecution for speaking out on behalf of…
There was a time when I knew what I wanted to listen to. I was poor, but I bought CDs anyway, and I had stacks of them, purchased with enthusiasm and knowledge shared among friends. A pricey endeavor, sure. But once I discovered Napster and CD-burning, finances stopped counting. I…
It’s probably safe to say that nobody’s South By Southwest experience this year was as comprehensive as that of Paul Ford, an editor at Harper’s and a blogger at themorningnews.org. And here’s the thing — Ford never left New York City. Instead, he downloaded the SXSW 2008 Torrent File, which…
Passion + good music = respect. It’s a formula few rappers in today’s hip-hop climate seem to understand, much less use. Pontiac, Michigan, emcee One.Be.Lo is quickly positioning himself as one of the country’s more highly appreciated underground emcees, thanks in part to his ability to work said formula to…
We expect a lot from our indie-ethos, crossover pop stars nowadays, even from a duo as inspired as Gnarls Barkley, AKA DJ Danger Mouse and rapper/singer/preacher Cee-Lo. We expect guilt-free yet radio-worthy earworms such as “Crazy,” plus genuine pathos, groundbreaking production, and minimal amounts of filler, all of which Gnarls…
Though this Gonzalo Rubalcaba fellow is an ace jazz pianist originally from Cuba, don’t tag him a “Cuban” or “Afro-Cuban” jazz musician. While he’s been influenced by his homeland’s traditions, Rubalcaba’s approach has been likewise impacted by classical music and the whole post-WWII jazz continuum, from bop, to free, to…
For a red-hot decade, Kansas City’s the Wilders have been walking the line between pleasing the folk-festival contingent and the teamsters who warm the bar stools at local honky-tonks. Having already put their own righteous spin on traditional numbers, the next logical step for the quartet was to develop its…
When the latest 7-inch release from Howitzer showed up at the New Times office a month or so ago, it was an odd surprise. For starters, most bands don’t have enough cojones to send vinyl in the mail. So there’s all types of swagger attached to a band that does…
