Articles by: Nick DeRisoNick DeRiso
Nick DeRiso has also explored jazz, blues, rock and roots music for Gannett News Service and USA Today, All About Jazz, Popdose, Living Blues, No Depression, the Louisiana Folklife Program and Blues Revue, among others. Named newspaper columnist of the year five times by the Associated Press, Louisiana Press Association and Louisiana Sports Writers Association, he oversaw a daily section that was named Top 10 in the nation by the AP in 2006. Contact Something Else! Reviews at reviews@somethingelsereviews.com.

by / on May 6, 2013 at 12:42 pm / in Rock Music, The Sucks Series, Uncategorized

Gimme Five: Songs where the Rolling Stones, well, sucked

Like most fans, we were hoping the Rolling Stones would pull out some deep cuts as they convened to celebrate five decades of debauched rock. What we got, however, was “Emotional Rescue”

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by / on May 5, 2013 at 9:31 am / in Jazz, Uncategorized

Will Calhoun – Life in this World (2013)

Best known as the drummer in the barrier-breaking metal band Living Colour, Will Calhoun has quietly put together an impressive resume in jazz — notably performing with Wayne Shorter on the Grammy-winning effort High Life

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by / on May 4, 2013 at 11:25 am / in One Track Mind, Rock Music

One Track Mind: John Frusciante, “Wayne” (2013)

John Frusciante has released a lengthy, darkly emotional rumination, written for a friend that went back to the guitarist’s days in the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Wayne Forman, tragically, died before he could hear this tribute.

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by / on May 3, 2013 at 10:17 am / in One Track Mind, Rock Music, Uncategorized

One Track Mind: Jack White, “Love is Blindness” from The Great Gatsby (2013)

While there is an argument to be had about Baz Luhrmann’s temerity in remaking “The Great Gatsby,” you’ll get no such reservations when it comes to Jack White’s scorching version of this U2 deep cut from the forthcoming soundtrack.

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by / on May 2, 2013 at 12:47 pm / in Progressive rock, Rock Music, Something Else! Interviews, Uncategorized

Something Else! Interview: Alan Morse of Spock’s Beard

Guitarist Alan Morse joined us just before his band Spock’s Beard gathered to shoot a video for “Submerged,” offering his thoughts on their newly released album Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep and the band’s new frontman.

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by / on May 2, 2013 at 11:24 am / in Blues, Uncategorized

Charlie Musselwhite, Billy Boy Arnold, Sugar Ray Norcia, others – Remembering Little Walter (2013)

The standard-bearing harp influence of Walter Jacobs — he established the vocabulary still used by nearly every amplified modern player — is well documented. This guest-packed concert tribute reminds you of his composing prowess, too.

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by / on May 1, 2013 at 11:02 am / in Blues, Roots Music, Something Else! Interviews, Uncategorized

Something Else! Interview: Jimmy Vivino on ’13 Live,’ Al Kooper and the Band’s indelible legacy

Jimmy Vivino’s connection with the Band runs deep, and it continues right through to his upcoming release 13 Live, which was recorded at Levon Helm’s rustic concert space.

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by / on May 1, 2013 at 8:38 am / in Bluegrass, Country, Uncategorized

Austin Lounge Lizards – Home and Deranged (2013)

Missing longtime member Tom Pittman, but none of the knee-slapping fun, the Austin Lounge Lizards’ fizzy Home and Deranged takes on such typically topical subjects as airport patdowns, big-ego music stars, fat-cat bankers and government conspiracy theories.

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by / on May 1, 2013 at 7:25 am / in Indie Bands, Singer-songwriters, Uncategorized

Dan Hazlett – The Corner of My Eye (2013)

Midwesterner Dan Hazlett ambles out on The Corner of My Eye with a gently undulating cadence and an ever-so-comfy vocal on “The Alchemy of Fish,” beginning an album-long connection with every classic 1970s-era singer-songwriter type.

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by / on April 30, 2013 at 3:36 pm / in Pop Music, Rock Music, Uncategorized

Fleetwood Mac – Extended Play EP (2013)

The center point of this new Fleetwood Mac EP is a track thought lost from the Buckingham-Nicks era, a song that once might have just been about being in love but now billows with a very mature sense of acceptance.

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