Tagged: dustingemoff

The Cranberries arrived at a time when dream pop had begun its evolution into shoegaze, Madchester's baggy was cinching up, and the Smiths abdicated their throne to the likes of the Wedding Present. Formed in 1990 in Limerick, Ireland, the Cranberries' sound, much like that of the Sundays before them, fused together the sweet jangle of guitar pop in a post-Smiths era with pre-gaze dream pop's wispy airiness and texture. However, unlike the Sundays and vocalist Harriet Wheeler, Cranberries' vocalist Dolores O'Riordan's Irish brogue voice tends to rise above Noel Hogan's guitar leads, often punctuating her songs in such [...]

When most people think of Mark Lanegan , they may think of the Screaming Trees, the psychedelically-infused hard rock band from the Seattle region that Lanegan co-founded and sang for, or of Queens of the Stone Age, the guitar-driven rock and roll outfit led by Josh Homme and Nick Oliveri that featured contributions from Lanegan. In recent years, Lanegan has been showing a softer, more delicate side through his duets with former Belle and Sebastian cellist/vocalist Isobel Cambpell in what may be described as a contemporary Lee Hazelwood-Nancy Sinatra pairing. For those surprised by the soft side of Lanegan, [...]

Dismissed by many critics at the time of its release, Black Sabbath 's Paranoid has since gone on to be considered one of the most important and influential albums in the rock and metal idioms. Almost immediately on the heels of their self-titled debut, the band found themselves once again in the studio working with producer Rodger Bain on their follow-up. As with their debut, the band recorded the album live with few or no second takes. Released in 1970, nine months after Black Sabbath , Paranoid continues many of the themes found on the debut, digressing [...]

Internal tensions within a band can often result in some amazing creative output; Cream's entire existence, Fleetwood Mac's Rumours , and the latter half of the Beatles' catalog prove that. Van Halen 's 1984 is another example. However, where the Mac's fire was fueled through romantic entanglements amongst band members and a romantic relationship has been implicated in the Fab Four's eventual dissolution, Van Halen's drive, much like Cream's, was the combination of enormous talent clashing with extreme ego – the ever-expanding artistry of Eddie Van Halen and the living embodiment of rock and roll excess [...]

Guided by Voices broke out of the underground and into the indie subconscious with 1994's Bee Thousand , becoming a critical and fan favorite as well as opening the door to a record deal with Matador Records. Not an overnight success, Guided by Voices' breakthrough came after six full-length releases and almost a decade of recording. With pressings between 300 and 1,000 copies per album, the earliest GBV material was available mostly to friends, family, and their hardcore fan base around the band's hometown of Dayton, OH. With a sharp increase in the public's awareness of the band [...]

Sigur Rós have not released a studio album since 2008's Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust , which landed in our top 10 albums that year . However, they remain very much in the here and now, thanks to various forms of pop culture. The band's lead singer/guitarist, Jón "Jónsi" Þór Birgisson, contributed to not one, but two soundtracks, and launched a successful solo career. Oh, and the beautiful "Stokkseyri" from Riceboy Sleeps (Jónsi's album with partner Alex Somers) plays during Vince Howard's final toss downfield in the [...]

Responding to a question about crossing the dreaded age threshold of 30, Kate Bush replied, "Some said in your teens you get the physical puberty and between 28 and 32, mental puberty. Let's face it, you've got to start growing up when you're 30. It does make you feel differently…" Over the course of her career, Bush had grown increasingly personal with her material. With 1989's The Sensual World , we are met with a more confident, secure, and adult Kate Bush. Though she has always exhibited mature themes in her music, on The Sensual World [...]

With the recording of the Beach Boys' third album Surfer Girl , in the summer of 1963, bandleader and principle songwriter Brian Wilson took over as the band's producer, a role formerly held by Capitol Records in-house producer Nic Venet. While working on Surfer Girl , Wilson also co-wrote "Surf City", Jan and Dean's hit that became the first surf rock song to hit number one on the charts. It was during this time that Wilson began lending his talents to other artists such as The Survivors, The Timers, and a trio of young ladies (one of whom [...]

Where were you on April 21st and 22nd of 1999? If you don't remember (which, to be fair, very few of us probably do), chances are you were NOT at The Berkeley Community Theater in California. Which means you weren't present to witness the collaboration of heavy metal giants Metallica and The San Francisco Symphony conducted by Michael Kamen. What those in attendance were treated to was an astounding blend of metal and symphony that fans of either or neither genre can appreciate. The brainchild of the late bassist of Metallica, Cliff Burton, who had a strong passion for [...]

Led by guitarist Johnny Marr and vocalist Morrissey, Manchester's The Smiths corralled a sound that was reminiscent of British pop while simultaneously deconstructing traditional songwriting structure. Marr's songwriting maintained melody in its own right but avoided the trappings of the verse-chorus-verse template, catering the music perfectly to fit with Morrissey's keening laments, self-absorbed croon, and often controversial content. With jangly rhythms and intricately layered guitar lines indebted to girl group pop, the British Invasion, and early rock and roll, The Smiths' arrival in 1982 helped mark the beginning of the end of synth-driven pop and helped usher in [...]

For the record, there are only three full-length releases by Whiskeytown , and Rural Free Delivery is not one of them. It isn't a greatest hits compilation, nor is it a collection of B-sides and rarities. Recorded in early 1995, within the first few months of Whiskeytown forming, RFD is eight songs (nine with the bonus track), mostly rough cuts and demos, ranging from subtle folk-y ballads to outright rocking alt-country blazers, and shows an early Whiskeytown, influenced by the likes of Gram Parsons, the Replacements and Uncle Tupelo, as well as Ryan Adams punkier [...]

In a 1996 interview with Pipeline , The Fall's Mark E. Smith said, "It's like listening to Pavement: it's just The Fall in 1985, isn't it? They haven't got an original idea in their heads." Now, that's a bit harsh and perhaps even slightly hyperbolic, especially if it's solely based on the band's Matador output. Sure, there are influential elements in Pavement 's music, in particular 19922s Slanted and Enchanted , and maybe in the immediate inaccessibility to 19952s Wowee Zowee, that point towards The Fall; however, nothing to warrant such a statement as that. Had Mr. Smith [...]

One could easily be forgiven for not knowing that The Jayhawks are from Minneapolis, that they formed in 1985, or that they even recorded for legendary hometown label Twin-Tone Records – all three known more for abrasive rock than alternative country. All I knew of Minneapolis at that time was Hüsker Dü, The Replacements, Soul Asylum, and Prince with nary a mention of any Jayhawks. However, it was the band's short-lived affiliation with Twin-Tone that led them to record what have since gone on to be considered the band's two best albums. While on the phone with Twin-Tone, [...]

When questioned in a 1991 interview with Rolling Stone regarding what new music he was listening to, Eric Clapton responded: "I'm very out of step at the moment. The only thing that I've really liked is a guy called Lee Mavers, who sings with the La's . He's got a stance and a style that I think is tremendous. I saw them do a thing on TV with him and an acoustic guitar and the bass player with an acoustic bass, and they did that song 'There She Goes', and it was so strong." [...]

At a time when the US was riding the tail end of the pop/hair metal craze, the Seattle cauldron was beginning to boil over after five-plus years of stewing. On September 24, 1991, it did just that. With the release of Nirvana's Nevermind , the world became collectively turned on to a scene that was seemingly on its way out: Grunge. When the lid was blown off, many bands were allowed to see the light of day via record contracts and album sales, but two – Nirvana and Pearl Jam – went above and beyond their fellow [...]

Holiday marks the debut of The Magnetic Fields –not the debut of the band (that would be 1990's Distant Plastic Trees ) but the debut of the band most people think of when they hear "The Magnetic Fields." By this, I am of course referencing that 19942s Holiday (album four in the band's catalog) is the first to feature Stephin Merritt exclusively on vocals. Merritt has always been the principle mover and shaker behind The Magnetic Fields. While he wrote most of the songs, the majority of vocal duties rested with the wonderfully twee-pitched [...]

The 20102s have begun their descent into rehashed late-902s madness: Limp Bizkit released a better throwback record than KoRn did the year prior , Eminem is still riding the wave of his über-successful Recovery , and Britney Spears doubled up between Circus and Femme Fatale . For you new kids in school, the fierce competition between these acts for the top spot-not to mention Mr. Mathers' eventual day-long TRL dictatorship known as EmTV -over a decade ago will only make sense on Wikipedia. For [...]

With the Rapture being compared to Gang of Four, the Strokes hyped as the return to post-'77 CBGB's New York, and the ubiquitous Interpol/Joy Division comparison (while ignoring the Chameleons' influence), by 2003 the music world was deep into what many (myself included) considered to be a post punk revival. With the spotlight clearly on New York City, not much attention was given when Portland, OR's the Exploding Hearts released what would be their one and only album, Guitar Romantic , in April of that year. Often described as a punk band, the easiest way [...]

The album cover of The Rentals ' Seven More Minutes describes the music and mood best. We see a blurry view of a group a little ways up the road, giving off the impression of a drunken observer's point of view. Someone not too familiar with the language or the culture of the street he or she travels on, but who is at once intrigued and taken by it. The evening looks as though it'll last forever, and maybe it will for this person. The observer will eventually pass out, sleep through the day, and wake up [...]

If you were to look up the biographies of the Vaselines and the Raincoats, you would likely find within the first paragraph a mention of how Kurt Cobain's adoration sparked renewed interest in those bands. The same could be said for Portland, Oregon's Wipers . Formed in 1978, "The Wipers were more of an idea than a band," explained founder Greg Sage. "I wanted to do something different with music." As such, Sage's original intent was "to do fifteen albums in ten years, never do interviews, never release photographs, have absolutely no information about [the band] at [...]