Articles by: Mick Raubenheimer

How the Pixies Changed Everything With 'Surfer Rosa'

How the Pixies Changed Everything With ‘Surfer Rosa’

The Pixies’ seminal ‘Surfer Rosa’ revived rock music 35 years ago with a sound that was somehow both chaotic and cohesive.

Frank Zappa - 'Funky Nothingness' (2023)

Frank Zappa – ‘Funky Nothingness’ (2023)

“Funky Nothingness’ is not to be missed by Frank Zappa fans, particularly those fascinated by the arcs of his compositional and soloing evolution.

How Jim White's 'Wrong-Eyed Jesus!' Changed My Mind About Country Music

How Jim White’s ‘Wrong-Eyed Jesus!’ Changed My Mind About Country Music

Stylistic influences aside, Jim White’s ‘(The Mysterious Tale of How I Shouted) Wrong-Eyed Jesus!’ is honest, original, un-glossed country at its best.

Park Chan-Wook's 'Oldboy' (2003): Reel to Real

Park Chan-Wook’s ‘Oldboy’ (2003): Reel to Real

The second of Park Chan-Wook’s Vengeance Trilogy, ‘Oldboy’ combines beauty and perversion, horror and grace with unprecedented virtuosity.

Why Bill Hicks' Long-Ago Assaults on Stupidity Still Matter Today

Why Bill Hicks’ Long-Ago Assaults on Stupidity Still Matter Today

A truism of comedy is that jokes generally have short built-in life spans. Yet decades later, Bill Hicks remains almost inexhaustibly re-listenable.

The Ageless Mystery and Otherworldly Charge of Jeff Buckley

The Ageless Mystery and Otherworldly Charge of Jeff Buckley

Somehow already gone more than 25 years, Jeff Buckley seemed to have been born with one foot already rooted in the beyond.

The Two Poets Who Created a Foundation for Rock

The Two Poets Who Created a Foundation for Rock

Arthur Rimbaud and William S. Burroughs shaped the evolution of rock, and then each rebellious leap and plunge into more experimental music.

Buckfever Underground - 'Voortvlugtend' (2022)

Buckfever Underground – ‘Voortvlugtend’ (2022)

‘Voortvlugtend,’ from South African cult-favorite Buckfever Underground, simply begs for repeated listening – preferably wearing big, scruffy earphones.

Zack Snyder's 'Dawn of the Dead' (2004): Reel to Real

Zack Snyder’s ‘Dawn of the Dead’ (2004): Reel to Real

American mainstream cinema rarely strays into the Other Side’s territory – never mind American remakes of cult classics. That’s where Zack Snyder comes in.

Radiohead's original cover art for the 1997 release of OK Computer</em

Radiohead Saw the Future With ‘OK Computer,’ Then Became It

Perfectly self-contained, ‘OK Computer’ nevertheless reads as a watershed between what Radiohead was – and what they would become.