Metallica Comes Back Full Circle

Friday morning felt a little like Christmas Day used to for me when I was a kid. Why? Well on Friday, September 12, 2008 Warner Bros. released DEATH MAGNETIC, Metallica’s first studio album in over five years.

We have been hearing about this album for quite some time, and I believe most Metallica fans were tentatively holding their breath, hoping for something great. During the long process of Metallica and Rick Rubin recording DEATH MAGNETIC, I grew so tired of hearing people say things like “It’s gonna suck anyway”, or “Metallica hasn’t recorded anything worth listening to since “Metallica”, (The Black Album). Read more

Hana Pestle On A Pedestal

She sat with me by the bar and ate cupcakes after opening for two of the biggest bands in rock history at Hammerstein Ballroom in New York. Barely out of high school—charming, charismatic, and only 19—she is Hana Pestle, a singer songwriter from Montana (not to be confused with Hannah Montana, as her name is pronounced like Hoh-na). After touring this summer with Live, Collective Soul, and Blues Traveler and just finishing the last leg of Joshua Radin’s tour, she is now opening for Graham Colton, an artist best known for his song “Best Days” featured on American Idol. Read more

Has Kid Rock Lost His Touch?

Kid Rock recently released his new single, “All Summer Long”, a new spin-off of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ever-so-popular, “Sweet Home Alabama”. Tempering controversy as to whether Bob Ritchie, A.K.A. Kid Rock, unlawfully lifted the piano obbligato of Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London” and the dominant chord progression to “Sweet Home Alabama”, “’wolves”- co-writer LeRoy P. Marinell addressed the issue decisively in a recent blog: Read more

I Kissed a Girl and I Wasn’t Thrilled

Is Katy Perry is a Nuisance to the Musical World?

The Summer of 2008 will probably go down as two things; the Summer of Jailbait, with the ever-growing fame and egos of such teen sensations of the Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus, and the Summer of Agitated Girl Power.

The season started off with a song by Leona Lewis about how she would pull out & cut open her heart and show her boyfriend her ‘bleeding love’, amongst other things. Next comes along a pretty Zooey Deschanal look-alike, Katy Perry, who seems innocent upon first glance, with her modern fifties’ housewife attire looks, polished good looks and brilliantly applied lipstick, but her “pureness” stops with her physicality. When her pretty little mouth opens to sing, the ugliness of her lyrics pour out. Read more

Miley Cyrus: A Bit Too Mature for Fifteen?

I recently spent a week at the beach with my family, which meant that I would have to take a vacation from the knobby indie rock and post-punk music that generally dominates my playlist for a brief jaunt into the world of corporate radio. Full disclosure: I do enjoy a brief trip right of the dial every summer, if only to see what kind of music major record labels believe humans should go apeshit over. As my taste in overproduced radio music veers more to top 40 than the boring and misogynistic post-grunge cock rock that populates guitar stations, I became familiar with a number of the hits of Party Summer ‘08. These ranged from pleasantly forgettable (Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl”) to abominably horrible (Jesse McCartney’s “Leavin’”). One song, however, stuck out from the rest: “See You Again” by barely pubescent media juggernaut, Miley Cyrus. Read more

OURS: Rock’s Best Kept Secret

New Jersey-based rockers, Ours, recently released their third major label album, Mercy, on April 15th of this year, after spending over five years working on it. It was recorded by legendary record producer, Rick Rubin, who has produced numerous albums including the Red Hot Chili Peppers “Blood Sugar Sex Magic” and Linkin Park’s “Minutes to Midnight”.

Who is Ours? you ask. Unfortunately, I think it’s a shame how much talent these guys possess and how little people have heard of them. Well, if you’re someone who loves loud, emotional, gut-wrenching rock music, then please read on.

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Jeff Tweedy: Portrait of the Touring Solo Artist

The film “Sunken Treasure: Jeff Tweedy Live in the Pacific Northwest” contains footage from a brief solo, mainly acoustic, tour, ostensibly completed during breaks from Tweedy’s work with his most well-known project, Wilco. There are various performances, some interspersed touring-on-the-bus clips, and occasional complaints from the man himself about audience members talking during the songs. Read more

David Bowie: An Icon for All Music Generations

David Bowie: the man, the myth, the legend. Without him, modern music wouldn’t be the same. The fashion, the attitude, the characteristics of rock music as we know it would not be here. Everyone from Britney Spears to The Cure has been affected by his legacy. The pop music of the 1980’s was heavily inspired by Bowie’s work in the 1970’s. Madonna and her chameleon-like style changes were impacted by Bowie’s own transition through style. Think about it, no Madonna means no Britney, Christina, Jessica and Mandy as well as all of their countless imitators. Read more

Jeremy Nash: New York’s Undiscovered Talent

It’s not supposed to feel like this in November, but it’s not supposed to sound like this in Brooklyn. All around the world, people are losing hope in the music industry, but mine is just beginning—all because of local New York City artists like Jeremy Nash.

Looking for a new scene earlier in the summer, my friends hit up open mic night at Caffe Vivaldi, a unique West Village coffee shop/bar the size of a living room that has the reputation of drawing some of the best musicians in New York City. Read more