What made Loretta Lynn so interesting, and stand out from all the other honky tonk women to pass through the Grand Ole Opry, was the casualness with which seemingly conflicting elements in her persona…
Album Review: Aphex Twin – “Collapse EP”
4 years after Aphex Twin returned from a 13-year hiatus that did his music wonders, this EP continues a run of EPs and Soundcloud releases that have shown a renowned pioneer fighting for, and earning,…
Album Review: Paul McCartney – “Egypt Station”
No stranger to flimsy concept albums (Sgt. Pepper’s was great because of the songs, not the concept, y’all), Macca here lays down perhaps the flimsiest of them all. In his own words: “‘Egypt Station’ …
Album Review: Interpol – “Marauder”
Let’s face it, Interpol were by some distance the dullest band of the early 2000s indie-rock revival wave. Yet I had enough admiration for 2004’s Antics – in my view, their best, a solid rock album – …
Album Review: Nicki Minaj – “Queen”
Whether you want to bow down and call her a “Queen” or not, there’s simply no denying that Nicki Minaj is one of the most technically accomplished rappers of all time. She came to most people’s attent…
Album Review: Parliament – “Medicaid Fraud Dogg”
The best band of the 1970s – the only close rival I can think of is Neil Young & Crazy Horse, who match them in depth of expression if not in range – was Parliament/Funkadelic, a.k.a. the P-Funk c…
From the Record Crate: New York Dolls – “New York Dolls” (1973)
It’s hard to overestimate the importance of this album. Despite racking up less than 500,000 sales on its release in 1973, reaching a dismal 116 in the US Billboard 200 album chart, and failing to cha…