Here are my Top 10 rock and pop albums from 2011, from Fountains of Wayne and the Jigsaw Seen to Dan Markell and the Sean Hutton Supershow … listed in alphabetical order: FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE – SKY FULL OF HOLES: Witty and observant lyrics have always symbolized the maddeningly infectiousRead More

Here’s the way it usually works. The end of the year draws closer, and all of the music publications and websites release their “best of” lists. This is almost always followed by various rants about how the lists are “too safe,” “predictable,” or “pretentious.” You May Also Like: Of AllRead More

Maybe it’s a “sophomore slump” of sorts to some — despite this being their third album — since their big break came with the film “Garden State” just after 2003’s Chutes Too Narrow was all the rage. Will they really change your life? I think a lot of people thoughtRead More

The music of Raoul Bjorkenheim, Bill Laswell and Morgan Agren is just as interesting for what it does as what it doesn’t do

Since the Beatles are unfortunately no longer around to share their wonderful little holiday tunes with us, I suppose the next best thing to such entertainment is this great disc by Rubber Band. And what characters these guys are, as they blatantly rip off chunks of Beatles songs and retoolRead More

I’ve only seen Tom Waits in a live setting once. It was surreal. It was exhilarating – just like this record.

It’s mid December and you might still be wondering what the hell you’re going to get that special music lover someone for Christmas. Steering you toward the good records and away from the crummy ones is a service we at SER provide year round. You May Also Like: Left LaneRead More

Springsteen’s ode to film noir, “Meeting Across The River” is perfectly sequenced as the energy momentarily shifts down from She’s The One and heads toward the album’s close. You May Also Like: Reevaluating Bruce Springsteen’s ‘The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle’ Alister Spence and Satoko Fujii OrchestraRead More

Steely Dan paid homage to Duke Ellington back on Pretzel Logic with the only cover song on a SD album, and less explictily so again with the closing track on Katy Lied, “Throw Back The Little Ones.” You May Also Like: Steely Dan’s The Royal Scam: Seeing the glory 40Read More

I came back to this song again, as the anniversary of the Band bassist’s death on Dec. 10, 1999, loomed this week. You May Also Like: No related posts.