Music critics often compare new groups to groups that have come before. When Radiohead burst onto the U.S. scene with its pseudo-grunge single Creep, comparisons were made to Nirvana. When Travis came out with its album, The Man Who, the anthemic power-rock sound and falsetto vocals were compared to Radiohead. Now, Travis is the new […]
Let’s face it, the year 2000, the start of the new century and the new millennium, has not been an auspicious one for music. Disposable, throwaway pop music, bland and formulaic alternative (no term has changed meaning so much since when it was first used on groups like REM and Nirvana), and dumbed-down, bombastic rap-metal […]
While most people think of electronic music as dance music, there has always been a segment of electronic artists, going back to Karlheinz Stockhausen in the 1950s, who saw electronica music more as an art form than simply updated disco music. In the ’90s, artists like Aphex Twin and Autechre used the tools of electronic […]
The story of British folk singer Nick Drake is an odd and tragic tale in the history of rock ‘n’ roll. Drake released three albums that critics loved, but not many others even noticed. Depressed over the state of his floundering career, Drake ended up killing himself, ironically, by overdosing on antidepressants. But word-of-mouth has […]
Fans of Fatboy Slim’s past releases may be a bit surprised by his new album, Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars (Astralwerks). The band pulls back from its signature big-beat sound – a cheesy, hook-laden, sample-frenzy sound that throws techno, rock and pop together into a musical Cuisinart to produce hits like Praise You […]
Sometimes one just wants to slow things down and enjoy a bit of peace and quiet. This is the niche acclaimed band Low fits neatly into. Since 1993, Low produced several critically acclaimed albums that helped define the slo-core sound – a somber and fragile sound – and offered achingly beautiful music. Guitarist and singer […]
A battle emerged in the rave scene in the mid-1990s over the direction it would go. On one side were the sounds of house and trance: cheesy, over-the-top and fun music to get down to. On the other were techno purists who decried the simpleness of the techno at the time. They wanted a return […]
One of the groups responsible for casting D.C. into the techno limelight is the duo Deep Dish. Formed by Ali Shirazinia and Sharam Tayebi, the renowned duo has made critically acclaimed records, is known world-wide for their DJ sets and has helped to build the dance music scene in D.C., almost from the ground up, […]
America got its first taste of Robbie Williams with last year’s The Ego Has Landed, a type of greatest-hits compilation with songs taken from his two UK albums. The album contained hits like Millennium, as perfect a piece of pop music one could find, the sappy, over-the-top, and wonderfully beautiful ballad Angles, and the explosive […]
Progressive rock bands have always tried to up the seriousness of rock `n’ roll with its heavy-handed and silly attempts to blend classical with rock. Montreal-based godspeed you black emperor! is the first prog-rock group to get it right. Over the course of just two albums – a full length and an EP – godspeed […]