Much of the soundtrack to my college years was set to the tune of Dash Rip Rock, one of Louisiana’s premier party bands. It’s unfortunate that every time I mention the band to someone not from Louisiana or the surrounding states, I’m usually met by a blank stare, or maybeRead More

Rockpile (maybe the first neoclassicist rockers?) opened the door for every throwback moment of the coming decade — not to mention new wave. Yet this late 1970s-era rockabillying power-pop supergroup came and went so quickly, they rarely get their due. You May Also Like: For ELO’s Jeff Lynne, Meeting GeorgeRead More

Some non sequiturs make no sense, like jumbo shrimp. Others, like Glambilly, couldn’t be more perfect. This San Antonio-based threesome plays rootsy punk rock, sounding at times more than a little downhome — but with nary a trace of countrypolitan refinery. That makes for a sound, and an album, isRead More

With ’21st Century Breakdown,’ Green Day wears their love of rock operas right out there in the open.

While the all-girl Luscious Jackson made all kinds of concessions by including then-hip back beats and low-key rhymes, Manny still aspires to a groovy article of faith. (It’s something they shared with the Beastie Boys, who ran the label this album appeared on.) Even now, there’s an involving adventurousness hereRead More

With a name for the record books (said to be the average height of American males), a hometown that couldn’t have hurt and a finely honed screamer-guitarist, Athen, Georgia’s Five-Eight planted itself in the center of all that was groovy in what was then called Alternative Rock. Mike Mantione, theRead More

A great groovy mess, Baby Brother combines roots rock and punk in the most intriguing of ways. The result, Strange Things, lives up to its title, and that’s not a bad thing. You May Also Like: Mabel Greer’s Toyshop, “Big Brother, Little Brother” (2016): One Track Mind