Music Review: Bob Dylan’s Together Through Life

by Rick Rockwell Some of the most intriguing aspects of Bob Dylan’s latest studio release Together Through Life are the Latin-inspired arrangements laid over a bluesy foundation. At times this mix gives the work a cinematic feel. At other times, the simple results are the answer to the question: what if Dylan decided to dabble with conjunto . David Hidalgo, the leader of Los Lobos joins Dylan’s touring band and other key guests for this record and his presence spells all the differe

Music Review: Bob Dylan’s New One Drags
The curse of Bob Dylan’s bootleg series is that you might start thinking of his official releases as first drafts.Dylan has been on a roll this past decade, Read more!

Neko Case & Crooked Fingers @ State Theatre
Neko Case played a strong set Sunday night at the State Theatre that showed her amazing voice and her consistently great songwriting, both of which have helped to set her apart as one of the best female singer-songwriters of the last few years.Case, backed by a stellar five piece band, played a 90 minute set that highlighted her last few studio albums. The band, which at various times featured banjo, electric and acoustic guitars, electric and upright bass, backup vocals and steel guitar, was an

Bottom Line – Eloquence (CD)
Standing right in the middle of emo and punk, Bottom Line has shiny smiles as their dynamic allows for some of the smoothest transitions to be recorded onto disc. The intensity of arrangement found like that on “Follow Me” is one of the strongest reason that Bottom Line has provided for people to pick up this, their sophomore album. Bottom Line has really taken up the mantle of intense, yet poppy and open to all groups, regardless of musical tastes or age from bands like SR-71, Weezer, and even

Vinyl Sales Growing, National Retailers like Best Buy Take Notice
It seems that for the last 10 years, the Music Industry has been believing some serious Conan O’Brien “In the Year 2000” hype about what consumers will be consuming and how they will be consuming it. While a lot of industrial analysts and think-tankers have taken a Warren Ellis Transmetropolitan route and predicted the next emerging trend in musical consumption to come in the form of subscription services powered by cloud-coordinated servers that would enable access to virtually all music ever

Music Review: Sabbath at its best (again) with Dio (AP via Yahoo! News)
Heaven and Hell, “The Devil You Know” (Rhino)

Top 10 Green Albums Continued
Sometimes you just need a little music to get you going in the right direction. From eco-anthems to the best in green musicture, these albums will be sure to help you feel the need to be green. Check out our first segment of green music if you haven’t yet, then read on for more earth-friendly albums. 9. DJ/Rupture – Uproot “World Music” is, for most, an under-considered, oft-neglected section of the record store that most people finger through once a year when given to briefly consid

The Boroughs – Ostrich (CD)
The crunchiness that starts off “Gone Too Far”, along with the vocal sneer given the track by the band, really casts The Boroughs as a mixture of The Ramones and early Husker Du. The presence of guitar distortion is always there, and the simplstic lines that create the track make sure that tracks like “Gone Too Far” are easy to remember, no matter how individuals’ tastes run. Continuing these catchy types of guitar riffs with the soloistic work done on “Ostrich”, The Boroughs commit to each trac

Fashion Review?
I have never been known as a ” fashionista “. No, I have my own sense of self and style that rarely coincides with the current trends. When it does, I tend to buy out the items I like from the trend and wear them long after it has died. Though I also enjoy, let’s say extreme pieces, I am usually found in a pair of jeans and comfortable shirt. As a stay at home mother, this is as far as I am willing to dress down though. I refuse to wear sweats or spend the day in pajamas, but I digress. Thro

Dananananaykroyd May Live Dates
Scottish puzzle-pop heroes Dananananaykroyd are set to cap the release of triumphant debut ‘Hey Everyone’ and an eternity spent on the road by playing a series of live dates throughout May . After gaining a reputation as one of the best live bands in the UK, the group have been taking their post-punk party to what seems like every city in the land, even dropping by to play the Clash Party at this year’s SXSW festival. After signing to Best Before Records, Dananan’s debut ‘Hey E

Music Review: Music Inspired by the Film Scott Walker: 30 Century Man

Like many people, director Stephen Kijak has a bit of a passion for the mysterious musician Scott Walker (the stage name of Noel Scott Engel). The difference between Stephen Kijak and others, though, is that he decided to turn his passion into a documentary film, interviewing as many artists as he could find to discuss [...]

Music Review: Bob Dylan’s new one drags (The Plainfield Sun)
“Together Through Life” lets down listeners. This is a batch of mostly pedestrian compositions in a bluesy style, with Los Lobos’ David Hidalgo’s accordion giving several of the cuts a Tex-Mex feel. “My Wife’s Home Town” (that would be hell) with blues maestro Willie Dixon getting a co-writing credit, and “It’s All Good” best flash a nimble wit.

Rumors Heard in MySpace, Vol. II, Episode 4
Damn. Another overly hectic and superbly busy month has come and gone. In fact, it’s been so damn busy this month that I never found the time to surf in and out of the nooks and crannies of MySpace like I usually do. But don’t think for one minute that I’m gonna’ let you Waveriders down. Ho no. I was still able to spend some quality time looking under some of the cyber rocks and peer in those deep and cavernous virtual crevices. The flight plan this month is sketchy at best. I’m not gonna’ lie t

Music review: Australian Chamber Orchestra (San Francisco Chronicle)
For vitality, elegance, playfulness and technical prowess – all the qualities you want in a chamber ensemble, really – it would be hard to top the Australian Chamber Orchestra, which made one of its rare but indispensable visits to the Bay Area on Sunday…

Music Review: Sabbath at its best (again) with Dio (AP via Yahoo! News)
Heaven and Hell, “The Devil You Know” (Rhino)

Music Review: Students sing Ben Folds a cappella (AP via Yahoo! News)
Ben Folds, “Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella!” (Epic)

Neko Case & Crooked Fingers @ State Theatre
Neko Case played a strong set Sunday night at the State Theatre that showed her amazing voice and her consistently great songwriting, both of which have helped to set her apart as one of the best female singer-songwriters of the last few years.Case, backed by a stellar five piece band, played a 90 minute set that highlighted her last few studio albums. The band, which at various times featured banjo, electric and acoustic guitars, electric and upright bass, backup vocals and steel guitar, was an

Prong – Power of the Damn MiXXXer
Nine out of ten times when someone tells me that there’s a remix album on its way I run the opposite direction as fast as humanly possible. You see, I generally associate the word remix with the music found in dance clubs or the stuff of a self absorbed DJ looking to imprint his own sound into an existing piece of art. Most of the time, the remixed musical release doesn’t really offer any new dimension to the original version, so really . . . why bother? But then comes along Field General Tommy

Prong – Power of the Damn MiXXXer

Nine out of ten times when someone tells me that there’s a remix album on its way I run the opposite direction as fast as humanly possible. You see, I generally associate the word remix with the music found in dance clubs or the stuff of a self absorbed DJ looking to imprint his own sound into an existing piece of art. Most of the time, the remixed musical release doesn’t really offer any new dimension to the original version, so really . . . why bother? But then comes along Field General Tommy

Neko Case & Crooked Fingers @ State Theatre
Neko Case played a strong set Sunday night at the State Theatre that showed her amazing voice and her consistently great songwriting, both of which have helped to set her apart as one of the best female singer-songwriters of the last few years.Case, backed by a stellar five piece band, played a 90 minute set that highlighted her last few studio albums. The band, which at various times featured banjo, electric and acoustic guitars, electric and upright bass, backup vocals and steel guitar, was an

Top 10 Green Albums Continued

Sometimes you just need a little music to get you going in the right direction. From eco-anthems to the best in green musicture, these albums will be sure to help you feel the need to be green. Check out our first segment of green music if you haven’t yet, then read on for more earth-friendly albums. 9. DJ/Rupture – Uproot “World Music” is, for most, an under-considered, oft-neglected section of the record store that most people finger through once a year when given to briefly consid

Rumors Heard in MySpace, Vol. II, Episode 4
Damn. Another overly hectic and superbly busy month has come and gone. In fact, it’s been so damn busy this month that I never found the time to surf in and out of the nooks and crannies of MySpace like I usually do. But don’t think for one minute that I’m gonna’ let you Waveriders down. Ho no. I was still able to spend some quality time looking under some of the cyber rocks and peer in those deep and cavernous virtual crevices. The flight plan this month is sketchy at best. I’m not gonna’ lie t

Music Review: Black Sabbath at its best (again) with Dio (Jam! Showbiz)
Heaven and Hell

Music Review: Kim Burrell releases ‘No Ways Tired’ (AP via Yahoo! News)
Kim Burrell, “No Ways Tired” (Shanachie)

Music Review: Bob Dylan’s New One Drags
The curse of Bob Dylan’s bootleg series is that you might start thinking of his official releases as first drafts.Dylan has been on a roll this past decade, Read more!

Neko Case & Crooked Fingers @ State Theatre

Neko Case played a strong set Sunday night at the State Theatre that showed her amazing voice and her consistently great songwriting, both of which have helped to set her apart as one of the best female singer-songwriters of the last few years.Case, backed by a stellar five piece band, played a 90 minute set that highlighted her last few studio albums. The band, which at various times featured banjo, electric and acoustic guitars, electric and upright bass, backup vocals and steel guitar, was an

Music Review: Bob Dylan’s new one drags (AP via Yahoo! News)
Bob Dylan, “Together Through Life” (Columbia)

Music Review: – Sleepwalking Through The Mekong (Original Soundtrack)
BC Musichttp://blogcritics.orgWritten by Greg BarbrickPublished April 26, 2009The soundtrack to Dengue Fever’s powerful documentary Sleepwalking Through The Mekong is as much a treasure as the film itself.As you may or may not know, Dengue Fever is a L.A. band whose mission is to resurrect the rich musical heritage of Cambodia. It is a legacy which was nearly wiped off the face of the Earth by the Khmer Rouge. While this is certainly a noble undertaking, there is another aspect to their quest. T

Bosio – This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things (CD)
Man, what is up with Wisconsin and tight emo bands? Bosio’s disc starts out with shrill, incredible guitar riffs, and the track “Bullet Holes the Size of Matzah Balls” shows a band that is mature in their arrangement and cohesive in their sound. The incredible production heard on this disc, especially manifest in the clearly-clanging high hats, really allows the band to shine without having to hide behind heavy distortion. The multiple-part harmony that comes into play during the mid-point of th

Music Review: Jorma Kaukonen – River of Time (Blogcritics.org)
Write that down. Youre gonna need it someday. River of Time is a slight departure from the usual type of music we’ve come to expect from Jorma. This CD is much more folk-oriented than we’ve seen from him, bringing us 13 cuts of pure, mellow, and dreamy music, at a little over 49 minutes. Add to that the typical frank, honest and straightforward lyrics which identify folk and…

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