Music Review: Joan Tower, Muir Quartet at Kennedy Center CrossCurrents Festival (Washington Post)

The CrossCurrents festival, the Kennedy Center’s contemporary music week, continued on Monday night with Joan Tower in the spotlight. The American composer, who turned 70 last year and has been teaching at Bard College for more than half her life, narrated the program of pieces she has composed i…

Foma – Inverness
Full disclosure: It’s been a crap week at the day job. I was halfway to ditching out completely on a new music review today in favor of writing 1500 words detailing Pavement’s significance in my formative years as a music fan; that would have been easy, requiring no real mental effort, and would have given me more time stew about all of the things that piss me off about my gig. Sadly, it would also have been boring as hell. Nobody wants to read about 15 year-old me and how “Range Life” made

Happy May Day’s Eve
It’s the last post of the month! I successfully posted every day in April (and I’m ready to stop…) I had grand ideas for this post that I would link to everyone who commented and cheered me on this April, but I have a big day planned already and so I will just offer this: I hereby commit to less posts – not daily, maybe 2-3 per week – for the month of May. I hereby commit to visit everyone and comment in some fashion: inspired and profound or witty or… TIDDLYPOMS ! I hereby

Leslie Bowe – Gypsy (CD)
The title track shows Leslie Bowe as a singer that is in the Edwin McCain style of indie rock. There is a certain timeless nature to eir music that will increase listenership, for sure. However hopeful and smooth Bowe’s vocals are on this track, the fact remains that Bowe brings a delightful despair for anyone that is listening to the disc. This same soulful sound is present during “Fall”, which has more of a vocals on the vocals of Bowe than the instrumentation that plays an integral part in th

Brain Donor – Brain Donor (CD)
By some odd combinations of planets aligning, it seems that Brain Donor has some current relevancy, as their style of no-frills rock simultaneously tap the unsullied past of such acts like The Stooges and later retro-rock bands like The Strokes. Hell, “Like A Motherfucker” even takes the mantle of dirty, rough sludge metal away from Danzig. Instead of just willy-nilly throwing guitar licks into the mix like some newer acts (Avenged Sevenfold comes to mind), the shrill solos found on this album a

Brain Failure – American Dreamer (CD)
Brain Failure is the new Rancid, going for the all-out choruses and fast playing that Rancid has by and large dropped from their new style. One doesn’t really hear much in popular music coming from China, and Brain Failure is probably the best introduction to the world’s most populous nation that I could conceivably come up with. I almost feel bad that I never picked up the fourth volume of Give ‘Em The Boot, because Brain Failure’s track would have almost made the price of the disc worth it. Th

Music Review: Naked Ambition Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Photographer Michael Grecco worked his way from a news photojournalist to a celebrity-driven event photographer to a celebrity portrait photographer shooting magazine covers for Time, Entertainment Weekly, People, and numerous others. But his latest work (his third collection of portrait photography) isn’t exactly magazine-cover material. In 2007 Grecco immersed himself in the world of adult [...]

Music Review: Deadlock – Manifesto (Blogcritics.org)
Mediocre, melodic metal.

CAIR-Greater Los Angeles Area Chapter Seeking Development and Programs Coordinator
CAIR CAIR-LA is looking for a dynamic, energetic individual to lead several key programs.JOB DESCRIPTION:This person will be responsible for developing and managing programs, publications, interns, and volunteers for CAIR’s office in the Greater Los Angeles Area. This person must also be able to research, apply for, and manage grants.The ideal candidate will play a central role in organizing and managing programs, events, workshops, talks, forums, sensitivity trainings, and civic engagement and

The Brainless Wankers – Endorphin (CD)
12 songs that were made in 2000 on Brainspot Records. This 4 piece band has been around for nearly a decade, makes a 34 minute dent in the punk universe, averaging at about 2:50 a song. Innovative is the first word that comes to my mind when I first begin to listen to Endorphin. The vocals are supersonic, and the horns add so much to the mix. The inclusion of such voices to the chorus also makes “Pogo Prose” such a memorable leadoff song. While some of the Euphemisms on the CD are lost by the Am