by Tom Johnson Leaving aside the goofy name, Pugwash was that weird bastard child we music writers like to talk about — you know, the “this meets that”: They sounded like latter day XTC meets Jellyfish. In one album, in addition to Pugwash’s own Thomas Walsh, we find friends fromRead More

Relationships heading toward their end can often impart a kind of repelling force between the couple involved. In “For You,” a relationship has run off the rails and there’s no small amount of soul searching. You May Also Like: Reevaluating Bruce Springsteen’s ‘The Wild, the Innocent and the E StreetRead More

Some fun facts about this track: 1. “East St. Louis Toodle-oo” is the only Steely Dan track in which Becker and Fagen are not in the songwriting credits. This one was written about fifty years earlier by Duke Ellington and his trumpet player, Bubber Miley. You May Also Like: FiveRead More

Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke must have had a bunch of material laying around after ‘Kid A,’ because that was exactly what this follow-up album felt like.

by Fred Phillips When I reached into the envelope from B Side Music Group and felt something fuzzy, I wasn’t sure what, exactly, was going on. It soon became clear You May Also Like: No related posts.

John Zorn’s Masada is an interesting group. The way I’ve come to describe them is “Ornette Coleman-listens-to-klezmer.” While that’s not the only way to get there, it’ll do. You May Also Like: How ‘Wish’ Scuffed Up Joshua Redman’s Initial Melodicism Why You Should Give Pat Metheny’s ‘Rejoicing’ Another Listen

Stan Killian’s Unified is an attractive album right from the first listen. Actually, even before that first listen. Checking out the names of horn players playing alongside Killian listed on the back cover of the CD case, I saw there was already a recipe for success You May Also Like:Read More

by Mark Saleski There are a handful of female voices out there that’ll cause me to stop, listen, and be amazed: Bjork, Diamanda Galas, Rickie Lee Jones, The Roches. Those women rule the landscape with oddball cadences, insane textures, and emotional tones ranging from delicate sensuality to raw violence. ButRead More

by Mark Saleski As the era of Classic Rock shrinks into the musical and cultural rear view mirror, it’s been enlightening to see how the stars have dealt with aging. You May Also Like: Why ‘Draw the Line’ Signaled the End of Aerosmith’s Blazing First Era Why I’m Still DisappointedRead More

Canned Heat, the doomed boogie-blues revivalists, only made a lone appearance at the legendary Montreux Jazz Festival. Yet they still managed some star-crossed magic. You May Also Like: William Shatner and Canned Heat, “Let’s Work Together” (2020): One Track Mind