by Tom Johnson It’s hard to believe that, in 2005, the voice of Iron Maiden was still able to pull it off. More than 20 years after joining Maiden in the wake of Paul Di’Anno’s dismissal, Dickinson was still the “air-raid siren” he had been back then — his voiceRead More

A recent discussion around the water cooler at Something Else! Towers got me thinking about the development of my musical tastes. The topic was how the Internet has changed music consumption. One of the points raised was that the availability of music on the web has allowed people to sinkRead More

by Tom Johnson Ryan Adams regained the focus he had with 2000’s Heartbreaker and 2001’s Gold, turning out one of the strongest sets of music of his career here. What came through, even after a few spins, what grabbed me, was that behind the usual country tinges was a littleRead More

On an album boasting a number of dark ruminations on this digital age, Billy Sherwood takes a second on “Living in the Now” to contemplate the answers.

We became acquainted with the Idahoan rocker Jeff Crosby last spring not long after he unveiled his debut release, a very promising EP called Too Many Walls. But that was just an appetizer. You May Also Like: No related posts.

by Tom Johnson Yep, you read that right: Dream Theater surprised their Barcelona, Spain audience in early 2002 with a song-by-song reading of the 1980s metal classic by Metallica, Master Of Puppets. You May Also Like: Metallica’s Remix of “Some Kind of Monster” Finally Fixed What’s Wrong With ‘St. Anger’Read More

As the Beach Boys prepare to celebrate their 50th anniversary with the Nov. 1 release of Smile Sessions, an updated version of the 1968 track “Do It Again” and a proposed world tour, we take a look back at some fun, fun, fun old favorites You May Also Like: WhyRead More

Todd Rundgren’s oddball “Love My Way” is perhaps the most perfectly, head-scratchingly reformulated song on ‘(Re)Production.’

by Tom Johnson A sadly overlooked band, the Trees got lumped in with the grunge movement in the early 1990s. What’s unfortunate is that, like fellow Seattlites Mudhoney, these guys were way better than what got popular. It’s a typical complaint, I know, but I dare you to listen toRead More

There is a contingent of “fans” out there who label this song the “mistake” of The Wild, The Innocent & the E Street Shuffle. Since I think of the record as one of rock’s perfect albums, I must disagree. You May Also Like: Reevaluating Bruce Springsteen’s ‘The Wild, the InnocentRead More