I’ve got to hand it to the Beastie Boys for keeping things interesting for so long. Diversity pays off, and Ad-Rock, MCA and Mike D. have proven to be among the versatile musicians to emerge from hip-hop’s golden age. They can still hold it down as a delightfully old school rap unit, they can rock it out, and they can jam out soul/funk style as well. It’s also interesting how they can maintain their audience despite taking ridiculously long pauses […]
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Bon Iver? Meet “Bon Iver”
Not totally sure I’m on team Bon Iver yet, but this site isn’t called “What the Blerd Likes”, so I’m here to give y’all the news whether my socks are getting knocked off or not. I will say that the multiple guest appearances on Kanye’s excellent My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy have put Justin Vernon and crew on my radar a lot more than he/they were before. I checked out For Emma, Forever Ago a couple months ago and just […]
Volunteer with Bleu! Feel Good, Help Others (and Score Some Goodies)
Singer/songwriter Bleu is a favorite on this here blog, and it turns out that not only is he a generally talented dude, but he takes the time to do things for those less fortunate as well. A couple of weeks back, he participated in the Day Without Shoes campaign (or as most hippies call it: Tuesday), and now, he’s teaming up with Artists Against Hunger & Poverty to help distribute food to the hungry. Next Thursday on April 28th at noon, volunteer at the Somerville […]
Chart Stalker 4/21/11: Grohl’s Revenge
Dave Grohl, for me, has always been one of the most likeable guys in rock. There are no “Grohl is a tool” stories (that I’m aware of)-he looks and acts like a fairly normal guy, and I think he holds the same appeal for most other music fans. Which is why I, like so many other music fans, am extremely psyched that the Foo Fighters score their first #1 album EVER with Wasting Light‘s entry this week. 16 years after […]
They’ve Still Got it Goin’ On: New Fountains of Wayne Album Coming 8/2
I very, VERY rarely post press releases verbatim, but the news of a new Fountains of Wayne album is practically making me pee my pants with joy (and yes, strangely enough, I am wearing pants right now). These guys are the kings of power-pop and it’s been WAY TOO LONG since they’ve released a new album. They played a handful of new songs when I saw them last year and they were certainly up to the band’s high standard. Now […]
Boston Music Alert: Get Yer RIBS (The Band, Not the Food) Here!
How happening are RIBS right now? They’re one of the finalists for Best New Act in Boston in this year’s Boston Phoenix-sponsored Best Music of 2011 poll. How happening are Ribs right now? They’re about to embark on a tour of the East Coast that will take them from Beantown all the way to Athens, Georgia. In order to fund said tour, they’ve created a nifty little limited-edition tee shirt. They’re selling these shirts on their website (helpfully linked above), and […]
Beyonce Knows How to Create a Buzz with “Girls” (Good Music, Not So Much)
The internets have been buzzin’ for the past week with the news that Beyonce is getting ready to release new music. Color me only semi-intrigued. To me, B represents a ton of unfulfilled promise and a lot of overrated-ness (yes, I know that’s not a real world). It’s an indisputable fact that the girl can sing. Her voice is a thing of technical beauty. However, that roar is rarely applied to songs that are either a) well-written or b) legitimately […]
New Release Report 4/19/11: Another Quiet Week, Another Not-Snappy Headline
A busy week followed by a quiet week. That seems to be the way things go in the music industry go these days. After a plethora of notable new albums hit the stores last week, things have chilled out majorly this week-as only a few moderately anticipated albums are going to show up on shelves. First and foremost (AKA the only album that will probably make chart noise in a week’s time) is yet another new Glee album. Glee: The […]
Liam Finn Brings “Lightning” in a Bottle to Boston
The talent apple doesn’t always fall so closely to the tree. For every Jakob Dylan or Ben Taylor or ?uestlove, there’s…well, let’s not go there right now. When your dad is Neil Finn, one of my ten favorite songwriters of all time, the bar is set that much higher (at least for this music lover). Liam Finn’s 2008 debut, I’ll Be Lightning, vaulted him over the bar. A solid collection of quirky pop (with a bit of a rockier sound […]
“So in Love” with Jill Scott (& Anthony Hamilton)’s New Track
Neither Jill Scott nor Anthony Hamilton impressed me the last time around. For Mr. Hamilton, The Point of it All felt kinda average after I practically wore out his previous two albums. As for Jilly from Philly, The Real Thing just kinda felt “meh” to me, and was compounded by the fact that she was more than a little off-putting the one time I saw her live (Robin Thicke and Chaka Khan both went on before her, and both outclassed […]
Roundball Soundoff Extra: Jay’s Playoff Preview
Earlier this week, Khendra posted her NBA playoff picks and showed amazing foresight by picking the exact ranking for the Western Conference teams when the final ranking was still very much in flux (should we give her Tommy Points?). Anyway, Jay wanted in on the action and decided to post his own playoff predictions. Since the first series begins this afternoon, we decided to post Roundball Soundoff two days early this week. Let’s see what Jay has to say! Eastern Conference First […]
