It’s tempting to think that Nelson’s 1972 flip-off single “Garden Party” — written after the former teen popstar was booed off the stage at Madison Square Garden, he says, for daring to play some of his newer stuff — was the end of the road. But Nelson, in fact, wasRead More

Magnolia Memoir has been described, and beautifully so, as Fiona Apple meets the Killers with a dash of the Clash — and that’s a good start. You May Also Like: Why Supertramp’s ‘Crime of the Century’ Still ‘Has a Wonderful Feel to It’

What do the following artists have in common: Rickie Lee Jones, Natalie Merchant, Lori Mckenna, The Sundays, Bjork, Kate Bush, Ani DiFranco and Dar Williams? Each one, on first listen, made the rest of my world momentarily drop away. This is no joke. Of course, the first would have beenRead More

We love Adele’s poise, her earthy attitude, the roiling emotion in her voice. So why don’t we love the newly crowned six-time Grammy winner’s album 21? Blasphemy, right? Read on as we share are thoughts on several of those who walked away with 2012 awards last night, including Tony BennettRead More

A fizzy combination of Cocteau Twins-style dream-pop and stamping R&B grooves, Poliça is a meeting of the musical minds by electronica producer Ryan Olson (Gayngs) and vocalist Channy Leaneagh. Together, they’ve fashioned an album in the forthcoming Give You The Ghost that is both haunting and hooky — like next-genRead More

Look past the doo-wah diddies (though that formed a memorable hit in 1964) and Manfred Mann — part of an early 1960s wave of Answers To The Beatles — is your basic renaissance hipster doofus. You May Also Like: The Only Thing That Disappointed Me About Aimee Mann’s @#%&*! SmilersRead More

A delicately refined update of band leader Tim Baker’s 2008 project Into Your Lungs, Hey Rosetta! (with an assist from producer Tony Doogan, who’s worked with Belle and Sebastian, and Wintersleep) offers another retro-cool chamber pop triumph here, but with a pleasant dash of pop-music raucousness. ATO is releasing SeedsRead More

Paul McCartney has been playing with his current touring group for 10 years, longer than any other amalgam — including the Beatles and Wings. “That’s long enough,” McCartney says, “to make us a proper band.” You May Also Like: ‘Wings Over America’ Remains a Pinnacle for Paul McCartney, Warts andRead More

The only concert I’ve ever walked out of was Depeche Mode. This was during the Music For The Masses tour at the old Boston-area Great Woods shed. The primary reason was musical: just too much, uh … sameness You May Also Like: Medeski Martin & Wood with Alarm Will SoundRead More

Every collector has a few records that are ‘important’: bought during life-altering circumstances or maybe during a difficult time in life. Or heck, maybe some nutty karma-tidbit tossed the record into your hands. You May Also Like: ‘Elegant People: A History of the Band Weather Report,’ by Curt Bianchi: BooksRead More