Fuck Eddie Van Halen. I can’t wait not to give him my money on this farce of a reunion tour. First, estranged bassist Michael Anthony was photoshopped out of classic Van Halen album covers on the official Van Halen website (even though the band plans to use Anthony’s pre-recorded back-up vocals on tour). And now Idolator has received a tip that during […]

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Bands rarely use up major labels and then toss them aside. It’s usually the other way around. But The Go! Team had the opportunity to exploit Sony’s massive resources without selling its soul with a one-time distribution deal that managed to sell a quarter of a million copies worldwide of its 2004 debut, Thunder, Lightning, […]

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After Nicky Wire of the Manic Street Preachers recently came down hard on Snow Patrol, it reminded how much I, too, despise that band. I’ve witnessed few bands make such a concerted effort to be the soundtrack to Grey’s Anatomy. Barring the sappy, unlistenable ballad “Run”, 2004’s Final Straw actually had some decent songs. You could tell […]

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By its third record, 2001’s heartfelt and immaculate Girls Can Tell, Spoon stopped sounding like the sum of its influences (namely, Guided by Voices, the Pixies, and Nirvana) and actually created the outline of a sound that it adheres to to this day. Succinct arrangements, spiky guitars, and minimal beats have served Spoon well over […]

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Bret and Jermaine will be present for another season of Flight of the Conchords on HBO. Thank God. This show absolutely kills me. And, despite the fact that the humor is so dry and subtle, people must actually be watching it. Sub Pop recently released a teaser EP of the band’s off-kilter folk, The Distant […]

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Rilo Kiley is a band from which I never thought I’d be anticipating new music. Its first two records sounded trapped in middling indie rock with a country tinge. Ironically, it wasn’t until its major label debut, More Adventurous, that made me pay closer attention, particularly the single “Portions for Foxes.” Jenny Lewis became a […]

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