By Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Anti-/Mute Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!, the new release from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, is Cave’s pop record. Well, it’s his version of pop. Following on the heels of the elegant, stylistic, white gospel, two-disc epic Abaittoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheusand the cathartic dirge of his Grinderman side […]
Mark Shikuma
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Real Emotional Trash
By Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks. Matador. Stephen Malkmus, the former frontman and singer/songwriter for Pavement, revels in playing the role of the trickster. His lyrics are often puzzles, roaming the geographical (and metaphorical) map from Bristow, Calif., to Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, while sprinkling in references ranging from the photographer Richard Avedon to film noir. […]
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Sea Lion
CD by The Ruby Suns Sub Pop FellowJournal reviewer Spencer Doran remarked on the "Beach Boys-in-an-airplane-hangar vocals" and sampler loops on Noah "Panda Bear" Lennox’s 2007 album, Person Pitch. Sea Lion, the new release from the Ruby Suns, an ever-changing New Zealand group fronted by multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter Ryan McPhun, could be an extension of that […]
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Jesus Of Cool
CD by Nick Lowe Yep Roc reissue When I first saw Elvis Costello and the Attractions, blasting through a set at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium in 1979 during their notorious Armed Forces tour, "Music For Money," the first song off of Nick Lowe’s then-new record, Jesus of Cool, played on the overhead speakers at […]
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Heretic Pride
CD by The Mountain Goats. 4AD. Singer/songwriter John Darnielle, when touring alone with his acoustic guitar, would often introduce himself with, "Hi, we’re the Mountain Goats." Darnielle is The Mountain Goats, just as much as Mark E. Smith is The Fall. A prolific songwriter, Darnielle has released his 15th recording: Heretic Pride. He has been […]
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Falling Off The Lavender Bridge
CD by Lightspeed Champion. Domino Recording. It is a surprise to initially hear Lightspeed Champion’s debut, Falling Off The Lavender Bridge, especially for those who may be familiar with the UK singer/songwriter (whose real name is Devonte Hynes) from his former band, The Test Icicles, whose jagged thrash punk was near-chaotic. Then again, this recording […]
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More CDs of 2007
by Various Artists Jose Gonzales, In Our Nature.Argentinean singer/songwriter who was raised in Sweden and sings in English delivers a haunting, spare recording, with songs that revolve around war. It’s the sound of this record, with only Gonzalez on vocals and acoustic guitar strummed in an uniquely unorthodox manner that draws the listener. Beautiful. Handsome […]
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I’m Not There
Soundrack featuring various artists Columbia/Sony Director and writer Todd Haynes’ new film, an unusual, eccentric biopic of Bob Dylan entitled I’m Not There, stars six different actors, including Cate Blanchett, Richard Gere, Christian Bale and Heath Ledger, portraying the enigmatic singer/songwriter in different stages of his life and career. With the wide release of at […]
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Shortcomings
Graphic novel by Adrian Tomine. Drawn & Quarterly. Comic book artist and illustrator Chris Ware says that whenever he hears the term "graphic novel," he thinks of D.H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover. But from the underground comic movement in the 1960s, comic books elevated in form and content, employing novelistic or fictional arcs, creating personal, […]
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At My Age
Pop’s renaissance man, Nick "the Basher" Lowe, is a notable singer/songwriter who has penned songs performed by Johnny Cash ("The Beast in Me") and Elvis Costello "(What’s So Funny About) Peace, Love and Understanding," among others. He’s an established producer, who produced most of the early Elvis Costello & the Attractions releases. He’s a co-bandleader […]
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Collected Poems
On a recent brief flight from Monterey to San Francisco, a woman who sat next to me noticed me reading Lynda Hull’s Collected Poems and asked what Hull’s poems were about. "Her poems are not really about anything in particular, yet they are about everything," I answered. "Her strength is her description and use of […]