The glass bottom boat of the cultural press
In the news today: The Nearly Deads, The Northern Light, Eitan Noyze, Hornography, Talking Heads, Stop Making Sense, MXPX, From a Second Story Window, Jason Isbell, Fast Car, Tracy Chapman, Luke Combs, Best covers, Nick Cave, Tupac Shakur, Michael McDonald, DJ Seinfeld & Confidence Man, Ben Lee, Georgia Man, The Replacements, Cyndi Lauper, Knife Bride, Yungblud, Lil Uzi Vert
Milk Money. Review by Stacey Zering.
20 rpm ( Mango + Sweet Rice). Review by Carl F Gauze.
Sleigh Bells and CSS co-headline a perfect night to party. Their trip into Orlando brought out the fans, and Jen Cray was one of ‘em.
Cosmetic Liquor Love Songs EP. Review by Al Pergande.
We Started Nothing (Columbia Records). Review by Andrew Coulon.
Thirty years have passed since she first invaded mainstream pop radio with her cartoony punk looks and squeaky Brooklyn-ized voice, but no one told Cyndi Lauper. Jen Cray witnesses the oversight.
XOXO (Gern Blandsten). Review by Aaron Shaul.
self-titled (Stimulator Records). Review by Ben Varkentine.
Ode to My Freaks (Windswept). Review by Phil Bailey.
This Way (Atlantic). Review by Stein Haukland.
Shakedown (The Label). Review by Marcel Feldmar.
Blowback (Hollywood). Review by Julio Diaz.
Campground Effect (Glue Factory). Review by Marcel Feldmar.
This fall, Ani DiFranco brought new Righteous Babe labelmate Kristen Ford to Iowa City, where Jeremy Glazier enjoyed an incredible evening of artistry.
This week Christopher Long grabs a bag of bargain vinyl from a flea market in Mount Dora, Florida — including You’re Never Alone with a Schizophrenic, the classic 1979 LP from Ian Hunter.
Bob Pomeroy gets into four Radio Rarities from producer Zev Feldman for Record Store Day with great jazz recordings from Wes Montgomery, Les McCann, Cal Tjader, and Ahmad Jamal.
Bob Pomeroy digs into Un “Sung Stories” (1986, Liberation Hall), Blasters’ frontman Phil Alvin’s American Roots collaboration with Sun Ra and his Arkestra, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and New Orleans saxman Lee Allen.
Roi J. Tamkin reviews A Darker Shade of Noir, fifteen new stories from women writers completely familiar with the horrors of owning a body in a patriarchal society, edited by Joyce Carol Oates.
Mandatory: The Best of The Blasters (Liberation Hall). Review by Bob Pomeroy.
Feeling funky this week, Christopher Long gets his groove on while discovering a well-cared-for used vinyl copy of one of his all-time R&B faves: Ice Cream Castle, the classic 1984 LP from The Time, for just a couple of bucks.
During AFI Fest 2023, Lily and Generoso interviewed director Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir, whose impressive debut feature, City of Wind, carefully examines the juxtaposition between the identity of place and tradition against the powers of modernity in contemporary Mongolia.
Juliana Hatfield Sings ELO (American Laundromat Records). Review by Laura Pontillo.
