by Tom Johnson Metallica released the Some Kind Of Monster EP the same week that a film of the same name opened in limited release, touting it as a “soundtrack” to the “band in therapy” project.

by Mark Saleski Call me easily amused, by I’m a sucker for a girl who accompanies herself at the piano by whackin’ a chair with a drumstick. That was how Regina Spektor sang the sassy “Poor Little Rich Boy.” One hand for piano chords, the other for abusing a wooden surface with a stick.

by Tom Johnson You just don’t think of too many great guitarists in indie-rock. It’s practically built into the genre to not emphasize your skills. So what a refreshing treat a band like Built To Spill is where they most definitely fall into that meaningless “indie rock” category (since they were recording for Warner Bros.) and guitarist/singer Doug Martsch can [...]

Believe it or not, Phil Collins was once just a member of this group called Genesis.

by Tom Johnson Even before Guided By Voices split on New Year’s Eve 2004, some fans were pining for the old days — back when Robert Pollard and company crudely recorded in a basement on cassettes into a boombox, throwing caution to the wind and making lo-fi masterpieces that confounded standard song-writing practices. Pollard’s become something of an off-kilter, oddball-pop [...]

by Mark Saleski It was all about the voice. The radio was on one day and I heard these lines

by Tom Johnson Our oldest daughter is preparing for her first days of first grade. Supplies have been bought, some in ridiculous quantities (seriously, 36 pencils for the first day alone?!)

by Mark Saleski Vertical Vision would remind me of Weather Report even if it didn’t contain a smokin’ reading of “Boogie Woogie Waltz.” Honest!!

by Mark Saleski I can’t exactly remember either the song or the awards show I saw her perform it on. It had to be either Roy Orbison’s “Crying” or maybe “Constant Craving

by Mark Saleski Big ears: usually a none-too-nice description of some poor kid on the elementary school playground. In the jazz world, “big ears” is a good thing.