1. Wolfgang Van Halen (who’s replaced the recently shitcanned Michael Anthony), it must be said, could use a little of mom’s Jenny Craig action. But hell, he’s only 16 so we’ll call it baby fat. Decent enough bass player, but really, who even knew Van Halen had a bass player anyway? 2. Say goodbye to Diamond Dave, say hello to Gold Brocade Dave. Simon LeBon‘s closet is short a jacket. 3. Alex Van Halen: Still rocking the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles headband. Ya gotta give the guy props for sticking by his guns. For some the Flashdance look was passing […]
HEAR YE: Do You Believe In Magic?
NOW PLAYING ON PHAWKER RADIO* BY ED KING ROCK SNOB WHERE: The Teenage Junglelands of New Jersey WHEN: Indian Summer 2007 WHY: I took a spin with a friend in his vintage 1980 Camaro Z28 — chromewheelfuelinjectedandheadingoutovertheline — with an advance of Magic, in the back pocket of my best ripped jeans. The first song and lead-off single is “Radio Nowhere,”which sounds too close to Tommy Tutone mining one of Graham Parker’s 3rd-rate music industry rants for comfort. No great shakes, that. The next song, “You’ll Be Comin’ Down,” was pretty cool. It’s anthemic but very poppy. I could see my […]
HOT DOCUMENT: Radiohead Goes Post-Music Biz
Radiohead.com is open for business with pre-orders having begun today for their 7th studio album In Rainbows, which will be available from October 10 as a DRM-free MP3 download. Also available to pre-order from now is the Discbox, a special edition box set, details of which are below. Radiohead’s fan service, WASTE, is currently taking advance orders for two formats: the album MP3 and the Discbox, which includes double vinyl and CD versions of the record and a second, enhanced CD with additional new songs, artwork, and photographs of the band, all exclusive to the box. Anyone purchasing this deluxe […]
EARLY WORD: In One Ear And Out The Other
Fujiya & Miyagi TOMORROW at JB’s, w/Dirty On Purpose $12. R5
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
IN THE PINES: Brett Sparks of Handsome Family, World Cafe Live, Last Night BY JONATHAN VALANIA FOR THE INQUIRER If Edgar Allan Poe had an alt-country band, it would sound a lot like the Handsome Family: Stark, forlorn, and plumbing the tawdry depths of the dark night of the soul with a verbal acuity far beyond most mortal men. Nevermind that the lyrics are written by Rennie Sparks, Handsome Family bassist/banjoist and wife of Handsome Family singer/guitarist Brett Sparks, who lends Rennie’s darkside narratives a Mount Rushmore gravitas with his deep, resonant baritone. Uncommonly good lyrics is what separates Handsome […]
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
[Photo by CARLOS FERNANDEZ] ALL THE YOUNG DUDES: Girl Talk + Friends, Starlight Ballroom, September 17 EVA SAYS: Monday night at the Starlight Ballroom was all about heavy-petting and robot dancing. And I do mean heavy, baby. DJ Gregg Gillis, AKA Girl Talk, brought together a sold out crowd of hyper, manic, oddly-dressed, or even not-dressed-at-all hipsters who bum-rushed the stage within seconds of Gillis firing up the Mac Pro that makes it all possible. It didn’t matter that Girl Talk’s hooded figure or scruffy face couldn’t be seen even from the lip of the stage — chances are he […]
THE EARLY WORD: Chico And The Man
BY DAN BUSKIRK JAZZ CRITIC If you could slip through into anybody’s skin, Chico Hamilton‘s life would definitely be an “A” ticket. He was the L.A.’s hottest drummer in L.A. in the 1940s and ’50s, playing with the Big Acts in the Big Rooms, with people like Ellington, Lena Horne, Sammy Davis Jr., Tony Bennett and Billie Holiday. He was there playing behind Chet Baker when the women were just starting to swoon and his own band gave birth to major players like Eric Dolphy, Charles Lloyd, Gabor Szabo and Larry Coryell. He wrote and performed the scores for cinema […]
HEAR YE: Starvation Under The Orange Trees
NOW PLAYING ON PHAWKER RADIO: RAY’S VAST BASEMENT BY DAN BUSKIRK I am willing to wager double nickels on the dime that you have never even heard of what is quite simply the Best Album of 2007: Ray’s Vast Basement‘s Starvation Under The Orange Trees. Well, now you have. Starvation is the San Francisco band’s third release and it’s their most fully-realized disc to date. Their name stems from their highly theatrical past: The band’s early shows were mixtures of staged scenes and musical performance, conjuring the fictionalized history of a tiny corner of the rocky coast of Northern California […]
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY: Feist, Tower Theater, Last Night
HAMMER OF THE GODS: Zep To Get Led Out, Again
LONDON — One of the most eagerly awaited concerts of the decade will celebrate the life and work of Ahmet Ertegun, founder of Atlantic Records and much missed mentor to some of the greatest names in music. The incomparable Led Zeppelin will headline the tribute to the man who founded Atlantic Records in 1947. Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones will be joined by Jason Bonham, the son of their late drummer John Bonham.