How many diehard synthpop fans do you think live in Canada? Maybe enough to crowd one Toronto club, plus a few enlightened Inuits and a caribou. Yet this half-frozen nation has given birth to perhaps the genre’s greatest Myspace-to-riches story in Valerie Poxleitner, known to her friends and fans as Lights. At least, riches seem…
I have no right to review Slippery When Wet. I can’t break down Born to Run. To me, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and Pet Sounds are beyond approach. I lack the bona fides to critique such eternal landmarks, not least of all because I wasn’t there to experience them. Awareness of the musical…
So – alright, stop me if you’ve heard this one – a German, an Israeli, a Chilean, an American, and a Japanese guy walk into the Royal Conservatory of the Hague in Holland. They all pull out experimental, one-of-a-kind electronic instruments and start jamming. Then after four years of touring and recording they come to…
Some days I get the felicitous pleasure of correcting an idiot who thinks they like all music. Have you met this guy? When I ask what you listen to, I don’t mind noncommital answers like “a lot of stuff.” Feel free to tell me that classical, country, rock, and rap are all fine by you. …
If you haven’t heard, Oasis broke up last week. Even though smart money is on the band getting back together within a few months, I figure now is as good an opportunity as I’m going to get to reflect on the band and their work. In their honor, here is a brief summary of the…
Keep on Your Mean Side (2003) – 3 stars No Wow (2005) – 3 stars Midnight Boom (2008) – 4.5 stars Legitimately tough and brittle, with a calculated self-awareness and coolness that works, The Kills are a two-member garage rock band who, despite critical respect and some “Gossip Girl” love, haven’t really broken into the…
Pop rock is a huge umbrella. Elton John, Something Corporate, Kelly Clarkson, Fall Out Boy, and Jason Mraz all play pop rock. It’s pop music (melody-driven music with catchy hooks that prominently features vocals and follows expectable structures) with rock instrumentation (a lead guitarist/keyboardist and his sidekick rhythm guitarist/keyboardist riding over a bass guitar under…
Rating: 5 stars (out of 5) When I take a look the artists that have left the most tremendous impact on me, most of them are pretty objectively great. To name a few: Billy Joel, my first musical love, sells out arenas. Relient K, the first modern band I took seriously, has had their latest…