Tagged: listemcarefully

Christmas being Christmas, you can be forgiven for making the odd list (and perhaps even checking it twice). Cards, presents, food, drink, films on TV, memorable events to include in that annual Christmas letter you are so proud of, relatives to avoid – you name it. So, if you have a list to compile this year, why not turn on the radio for some quality seasonal sounds? You may wind up quickly switching stations because you really don't want to hear "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" for the third time today, even if he is dressed like The Boss. [...]

The fans, the fans, the fans. It's who all bands take the time to acknowledge. At concerts, artists will always shout out partially histrionic statements like, "We couldn't do this without you...the fans!" And as a result, every fan's devotion soars through the roof (if not eternally). It's somewhat silly, though, not to realize that the fans do make everything possible. People like bands, so they buy their records, see their shows, sometimes blog about them (hey there), "Like" their Facebook pages, live chat with them on Twitter, and on super-rare occasions, even get to meet them . It's [...]

It's remarkable when a band or artist sticks around creating new music for more than 15 years. The hard work involved in doing that under the auspices of mainstream or indie labels is something that should be recognized and applauded. It's all more impressive still when a band or artist's excellence is underrated- or virtually unrecognized by the critical and/or listener mainstream. The most impressive? The band/artist doesn't get frustrated, doesn't complain. It soldiers on, not giving one fuck, just doing its thing, even as the music it influences gets more recognition. This new edition of [...]

2011 is coming to its halfway mark already, and suffice it to say, we rock fans anticipate some heavy hitters on deck: Soundgarden and A Perfect Circle have reunited, both with respective circulating stories surrounding new material; Rammstein are finally touring their "once in a lifetime" sets for us North Americans; 3 of the "Big 43 touted Jagermeister's banner last year ; Mastodon and Liturgy are, in varying ways, experimenting with the metal medium as we know it; Disturbed and Machine Head are returning to the Mayhem Festival bill for its [...]

It's difficult to gauge on any scale what makes an album a "best" album. What exactly makes something qualify to be the best? It's hard to say, especially when it comes to New York hip hop, a rare breed of music whose sound has changed and revolutionized the genre since its conception. Something about the streets of the Big Apple and hip hop seems to infiltrate human's cerebellums and produce euphoric feelings of pleasure. Oh baby, we like it raw. But what are the best albums to come out of the New York scene? Like I said, these [...]

Last Sunday, New York Times music critic Anthony Tommasini published a top 10 list of the greatest classical composers in music history. Immediately, the web exploded with adverse reactions. Many academically leaning friends of mine decried the Huffington Post -ing of journalism that allowed classical music criticism to devolve into a blog-friendly top 10 list. Twitter, Facebook, and other classical music blogs immediately lamented the lack of women composers , the lack of early music composers , or the lack of living composers . Even the New York Philharmonic's music director, Alan [...]

First, congratulations to Alice Cooper Band, Neil Diamond, Jac Holzman, Dr. John, Darlene Love, Art Rupe, and Leon Russell, all recently announced 2011 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees. But this list ain't about them. CoS prides itself on not playing favorites when it comes to our coverage, but occasionally (once in a "Grapefruit Moon", you might say) we succumb to temptation (throat-scraping falsetto and all) and let our inner fanboys and fangirls run the e-presses. Call this list a love letter to Tom Waits . Call it a Christmas card. Call [...]

October, easily our busiest month in a long time, came and went, and we're thrilled to have been able to share it with all of you loyal readers. A new month is well under way, and it's time to take a look at what went down in its first week. Of course, this recap hardly does justice to a week in which Lil Wayne was finally released from prison and William Shatner took on a certain inappropriately titled Cee-Lo track. That said, check out our site for even more immensely relevant and entertaining news items, among other things. Stay [...]

A few weeks ago, I was playing The Clash's Combat Rock in the record store (where I work). When the song "Straight to Hell" came on, the clerk I was working with gave me a look and said something along the lines of "I didn't think you liked MIA" (in reference to MIA's song "Paper Planes", which features a sample of "Straight to Hell"). For the record, I don't like MIA, but I quickly corrected her as to what it was we were listening to. She responded, "Ah, I knew it sounded familiar, but the tempo was different." This got [...]

Define "epic." For classic literature fans, this can represent something like Dante's Divine Comedy or Homer's Odyssey ; for rock music fans, the term is much less absolute. To us, one person might use "epic" as the go-to compliment for anything that makes them want to crank the volume knob to its most extreme clockwise position and go crazy. Whereas others may consider "epic" solely on the length of the song or its storytelling subject matter, particularly when discussing progressive rock, jazz fusion, jam bands, avant garde , black metal, or the like. There are [...]

If you stop to think about it, "summer break" is a pretty cruel joke we play on ourselves. Since the moment we get into school, we dream about the three months of freedom, and like clockwork it comes every June. What they don't tell you is to live it up because there's no such thing in the working world. Yet we've been so well trained, like Pavlov's dogs, we start to drool when Memorial Day hits. The anticipation that lingers from our school days only makes it worse, like the dog hearing the bell but never getting the treat. As [...]

Ah, New York. The Big Apple. The City That Never Sleeps. While these are phrases you'll almost never hear a native New Yorker say, it's clear to anyone that NYC's impact on the global community can't be overlooked. It's been the undisputed financial, political, and cultural center of the world for the last century and shows no signs of giving up the title. Just try and look for an apartment there. Throughout the five boroughs, New York has been both a home and source of inspiration for many musicians over the years. There are few (if any) cities [...]

Next week, thousands of folks across the nation (and the globe) will trek out to Indio, CA for what promises to be one hell of a music festival: Coachella . For some, it's a short afternoon ride. But for others, it's one far out trip - metaphorically and literally. However, getting there is half the battle and if you're smart, it's less a battle and more an experience. That is, if you're open to some creativity and an assortment of artists. We love our country, and we love our music. Naturally, music about our great nation goes [...]

For one reason or another, cover songs tend to catch a bad rap. Even when our favorite artists record a cover, our interest usually lasts all of two or three listens before we are ready to move on to something else, something original . In this age of "green" living, why are we so put off by the idea of recycling a song? Perhaps, over the years, we have been lured to and held hostage in far too many garages and basements and forced to listen to our friends' high school bands-complete with the lead guitarist's eight-year-old kid sister [...]

Last night - Sunday, January 10th - Fox celebrated the 20th anniversary of The Simpsons by airing a one hour documentary directed by Morgan Spurlock ( Super Size Me ) on the cultural impact of the series and the people who have helped make the series so successful. The show has literally been on for as long as long as a decent portion of Americans can remember. From its impressive list of guest stars to its often timely critique of politics and social values, The Simpsons has become more [...]

With the decade coming to a close, as a music fan it's hard not to look back at all these years from a musical standpoint. A lot of truly historical albums were released during the past ten years, as we have attempted to assess through our various decade-oriented lists . Whether it was the IDM infused rock of Kid A or the grandiose art-rock of Funeral , a few landmark albums were released by some of the best bands that this new generation has to offer. [...]

Hold on, as we are about to get all meta-analytical up on this piece. Here are the top 10 best songs about writing. These are the musical musings on the act of making something out of nothing. The tunes about the process of taming the ethereal and tapping into that great big atmosphere of inspiration. Whether it's an attack on grammar Nazis, the beast of burden that is writer's block, or word play and verb flexing put into melody, these are the songs that give us insight into the sometimes self-indulgent struggle that is putting pen to paper. Write on. [...]

Do you remember the early '90s? C'mon, think a little... it wasn't that long ago (and things haven't really changed all that much, either). It was a prosperous time! The Simpsons , Melrose Place , and Beverly Hills, 90210 had all started its reign on television (aka the FOX invasion), the '80s still bled into culture only with hotter colors, and America considered the Middle East a plausible area for democracy. Funny how things change, huh? Well, if you really dig deep - and squint between the cracks - you'll recall the [...]

Every genre of music warrants fusion, and with that fusion comes act after act with a new direction or interpretation. In the late sixties a movement began known as industrial that would change the face of the musical landscape forever by pooling elements of installation art, punk rock, and electronics. This new genre encompassed philosophical extremes inspired by great minds like William S. Burroughs or The Marquee De Sade, and the train did not stop as more artists were drawn to a rising demand for abrasive anti-establishment dynamics found in thrash metal and house music. Thus, industrial metal [...]

It's 2 a.m. The weatherman warned about a heat wave tonight. You have to wake up early to pick something up at the store before work tomorrow. You're lying in your bed, the hot summer air pounding against your closed window. "Why isn't the air conditioning working?" you wonder to yourself. Your dry, scratchy comforter grows tangled around your limbs as you toss and turn, in search of some level of comfort. Your body feels wet from perspiration, and you want nothing more than for your bed to transform into a bathtub filled with cold water. Yes, it [...]