Back in 2006, Tom Waits released a sprawling odds-and-sods collection called Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers, and Bastards. At a massive three discs, and packaged like a dusty hardbound American tome large enough to bludgeon with, Waits decided to cut directly to the chase: each disc was named after the type of songs contained therein, according to which of the three titular descriptors it matched. That mentality isn’t unique to that set, though; in Tom Waits’ universe, in fact, brawlers, bawlers, and […]
Spin Cycle
Spin Cycle: Puscifer’s “Conditions of My Parole”
While some may not always enjoy Maynard James Keenan’s out and out weirdness, you do have to appreciate what he brings to the music scene. He’s a larger than life yet still intensely private figure, a passionate winemaker, and the core of two different but wildly successful projects: prog-rock gods Tool and alt-rock side project A Perfect Circle. But occasionally the man just needs to indulge his weirdness in a way that neither Tool nor APC will allow. For those […]
Spin Cycle: Coldplay’s “Mylo Xyloto”
The biggest rock band in the world right now is probably Coldplay. Their new album, “Mylo Xyloto”, is out now, and our own Mike A. has the scoop.
Spin Cycle: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin’s “Tape Club”
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin are easy to like, but they’re unlikely to be anyone’s favorite band. They’re a little too unassuming for that: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin write simple, unadorned pop songs. Classifying them as indie is difficult since, beyond their unwieldy band name and reasonably lo-fi take on things, their songs are generally catchy and devoid of pretense; lumping them in with groups that tread the indie/pop dividing line like Death Cab For Cutie or […]
Spin Cycle: William Shatner’s “Seeking Major Tom”
There’s nothing inherently offensive about William Shatner’s music career. His style is innately silly, sure – generally speaking, spoken-word recitations of pop songs strung over bombastic instrumentals – but it’s difficult to begrudge him his moment in the musical spotlight, given his hammy seriousness. The former Captain Kirk attacks pop tunes as though they were Shakespeare monologues (or, in the case of his first musical outing, 1968’s The Transformed Man, because they’re Shakespeare monologues). The amount of sheer, campy, go-for-broke melodrama […]
Spin Cycle: Justice’s “Audio, Video, Disco”
Sometimes, subverted expectations can be fun. Case in point: Justice, otherwise known as “that group that had that song” (“D.A.N.C.E.”, in case you were wondering) or perhaps “the band Daft Punk fans listen to between albums”, have returned with a sophomore set. Their fun, monolithic slabs of electronica sounded reasonably fresh on their debut, Cross, but the replay potential wore thin, and the prospect of a new record – especially in a week that sees a prolific release from fellow […]
Spin Cycle: The Original 7ven’s “Condensate”
“I never had as much fun as I had with the original seven… and it ain’t over yet,” Morris Day says wistfully on the spoken intro to his old band’s comeback record, Condensate. Morris Day and The Time – here renamed The Original 7ven because, well, mentor Prince’s copyright-related peccadilloes have gotten the better of him in recent years – may not have released an album together in 21 years, but you wouldn’t know that from listening to Condensate. Not only […]
Spin Cycle: fDeluxe’s “Gaslight”
After the dissolution of The Time when Morris Day left, Prince built a new band in 1985 consisting of former Time members Jellybean Johnson, Jerome Benton and Paul Peterson, plus saxophonist extraordinaire Eric Leeds and vocalist (and twin sister of the Revolution’s Wendy) Susannah Melvoin. Peterson was rechristened St. Paul and established as the front man of the group, named The Family, sharing lead vocals with Melvoin. 26 years after its release, their self titled debut remains one of the […]
Spin Cycle: Murs’ “Love & Rockets, Vol. 1”
“Dope beats, dope rhymes, what more do y’all want?” Phonte once asked, and the question remains a potent one: hip-hop, particularly of the underground variety, turned a more experimental corner around the time of the millennium, and for many, the art of the simply-constructed, plainspoken hip-hop LP fell by the wayside. The loose-limbed, live-band feel of the Roots; the lush soundscapes and penetrating self-excavation of Kanye West; these are the things that we’ve been conditioned to value in hip-hop. Some […]
Spin Cycle: Johnny Gill’s “Still Winning”
If you were born around the time Johnny Gill last released a solo album, you might be thisclose to starting driver’s ed classes. It’s been fifteen years since the soul singer released Let’s Get the Mood Right, which is a ridiculously long time to go between albums. Not to say JG has been sitting around letting the grass grow under him. He’s toured the country and released an album as 1/5 of New Edition, released another two albums with his […]
Spin Cycle: Jane’s Addiction’s “The Great Escape Artist”
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I had no expectations going into Jane’s Addictions latest, The Great Escape Artist. I thought 2003’s Strays was okay but other than a few standout tracks (“Just Because”, “True Nature”), the album didn’t really do too much to add to the legacy of JA. Cut to eight years later and we have their 4th album which is wholeheartedly the epitome of Jane’s Addiction in the 21st Century. It’s spiritual and mystical with a unique sound that stands above the rest. […]
Spin Cycle: Mayer Hawthorne’s “How Do You Do?”
It’s a very tricky thing when an acclaimed artist makes the jump from an indie label to a major. Will they retain that spark that drew you in to begin with? Will they be forced to make stylistic compromises to appease the suits and mass audiences? Will they end up as the soundtrack to commercials for Target and get in house play at your local Starbucks? Without delving into a diatribe about the corporate music industry, I’ll simply say that […]