From the now-defunct British ‘zine Bucketful of Brains, Issue 31, 1989: I literally bumped into Galaxie 500’s singer/guitarist Dean Wareham and Marc Alghini of Boston based Aurora Records who’d just released Galaxie’s debut double-A side single “Tugboat”/”King Of Spain” and album “Today”, hoping to get some interest, and then saw the trio play CBGB ‘s Canteen. Both records became major obsessions for the rest of ’88, as they stitched together all my favourite influences – The Velvets, Television, The Feelies, The Chills, The Verlaines, Joy Division even – making up a new coat of ultra-vivid colours, blessed with an extraordinarily […]
DEATH OF A SALESPERSON: “No, I’m Sorry, We Will Never Have ‘Nice Music’ AGAIN”
SARA SHERR REPORTS: With just four days left to go, the Avenue of the Arts Tower Records isn’t even a shell of its former self. It’s the Pennsauken Mart. The second floor is no more. It once housed DVDs, Jazz, Vocals, New Age, Folk, Blues, Comedy and Kids. What little of it is left is now on the first floor. Before this everything-must-go transformation, the Jazz guy and the Goth kid from the DVD department were working side by side, a sitcom waiting to happen. The Classical department consists of one bin in the front of the store, much to […]
IGGY & THE STOOGES: TV EYE/1970
[googlevideo]-7783189944356095871[/googlevideo] You might want to just click thru and watch it on Google’s BIG SCREEN. This is precious. Especially love the guys up in the press box giving the play-by-play — Hey, that’s peanut butter!
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
CLOSING TIME: The Killers Have Left The Building, Electric Factory, December 16 EVA SAYS: I went to see Brandon Flowers and ended up in New Jersey. I tried my hardest to focus on the music, but couldn?t ignore the boob-jiggling, blond highlighted girls bouncing in front of me. And I couldn?t, as much as I tried, look past the frat boy, business jocks intermittently exchanging high-fives. So I can’t really tell you how the Killers performance was, but according to the rhythm-less fat dude awkwardly bending his knees next to me, ?the killers are good shit.? And I won?t deny […]
TRIBUTE: Goodnight Mr. Ertegun, Wherever You Are
Somebody Hip: Ahmet Ertegun, 1923-2006 ED KING REMEMBERS: Growing up in love with rock ‘n roll and its extended family, images of Atlantic Records founders Ahmet and Neshui Ertegun and their team of hipster producers, such as Jerry Wexler, were burned into my impressionable brain. I never learned exactly what this group of hitmakers did beside put together the right people in the right places and then get photographed having cocktails with the Beautiful People of the 1970s pop culture scene, but the Erteguns were there in the grooves with every record I loved by The Coasters, Aretha Franklin, Otis […]
EULOGY: Fair Thee Well Leaning TOWER of Song
KING BRITT REMEMBERS: Tower Records totally changed my whole life. I worked there in ’88, for four years. In high school I was a music nerd, so naturally I desperately wanted to work at Tower. I started as bag check dude, but moved up to 12″ singles buyer and New Age buyer in a matter of six months. Everyone who worked there were masters at their craft, and their passion for music was amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed the “team work” vibe. We all went on to do great things. Renny Harris, a major choreographer and dancer; James Bond, who owns […]
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
DUTCH COURAGE: The Ex, First Unitarian Church, December 14 SIMONE SECCI, FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT, REPORTS: Before talking about the show, I just would like to say how was weird and different for me as a European, going to a show here in Philly expecially an all ages show, where pretty much nobody was drinking and smoking weed, which is what the majority of the people do in Europe at shows. Cultural shock! Anyway first to be on the stage is this folk rock singer which I’m not exactly sure about the name, but I think was Billy Petersen, whose songs the […]
THE MONEY $HOT: Mazel Hop
SHADRACH THE MIC: Matisyahu, TLA, December 14, 2006 [FLICKR]
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
MY DRUG BUDDY: Evan Dando, North Star Bar, December 14, 2006 [FLICKR] FOR THE INQUIRER BY JONATHAN VALANIA Hard to say exactly which bad sign indicated that the woozy Evan Dando train wreck was still hitting the wall of sober expectations. Maybe it was the marked thinning of the sold-out crowd by mid-show. Maybe it was Dando’s spontaneously electing to cover Suzanne Vega’s “Luka,” when clearly neither he nor his bandmates knew the chords or lyrics. Maybe it was his lying on his back to sing another song while a roadie held the mike above him, only to abort the […]
CSS: Alala
Ah, the prom. Good…times.