Music In Review

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 […]

CD by Mission of Burma Matador "We hope you remember us as basically a wimpy band with nothing to say," Mission of Burma guitarist Roger Miller disclaims moments before the band bashes their way through the closing number of their last hometown show, included as a bonus DVD to this deluxe reissue of their lone […]

DVD, directed by Taggart Siegel Good Times Video John Peterson was a toddler in the 1950s when his mother bought a movie camera. And while she succeeded in documenting the comings and goings on their beloved Illinois farm, she may not have realized that she was also kicking off a five-decade-long project that culminated in […]

CD by Howlin Rain American/Birdman As Howlin Rain prepares for an intense year of touring in support of Magnificent Fiend, one cannot help but cheer the developing story of a small-town boy who has gone out into the world and done good for himself. From his days as an English major to his years with […]

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 […]

DVD, directed by Ang Lee Universal Lust, Cautionis Taiwanese director Ang Lee’s second movie with a comma in the title (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). It’s also his second film about two people cautious to engage in what is ultimately destructive love (think Brokeback Mountain). In Lust, Caution Lee combines the acrobatics of the first film […]

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 […]

Book by Oliver Sacks. Published by Knopf. Music, this weird and wonderful do-re-mi, welling up from the same ineffable place as our most basic expressions of instinct and desire — where does this stuff come from? Neurologist Oliver Sacks (Awakenings, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat) doesn’t know, but he offers some […]

CD by Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra. Forthcoming from Noir Records. History is only as memorable as the current stories we tell about the world. The preference to remember past events in a charitable or patriotic light transforms ideas, events and people who are then filtered through the current discourse to explain their relevance. Marcus Shelby’s […]

By various artists. Rhino Records. Kimya Dawson is kind of a deal-breaker. Whether she’s the personification of four-track, scruffy-round-the-edges authenticity or a mediocre singer plying a shoddy affectation is largely a matter of taste. But even though Ellen Page (who plays Juno) suggested to director Jason Reitman thatJuno’s title character would be into Dawson’s work […]

CD by Harmonia. Water/Gronland. According to tales of rock lore, Brian Eno once proclaimed Harmonia to be the most important band in rock music. That’s an impressive endorsement, especially considering that Eno is widely recognized as part of the brain trust behind the careers of some of rock’s biggest names: David Bowie, Talking Heads and […]