Regina Glei is author of “Dome Child”, runner-up of the Science Fiction category at the 2012 New York Book Festival.
Read More...
Reviews
BIG DAY COMING: Yo La Tengo & the Rise of Indie Rock
by Jesse Jarnow (Gotham Books)
When music journalist Jesse Jarnow pitched the idea of a biography about the long-lived Hoboken indie-rock trio Yo La Tengo, you have to wonder if his editors really saw a book there. True, the band’s been around since the mid-Eighties, released over a dozen albums, traveled the world, and has lots of interesting friends. But was there a story? All the usual juicy parts of a rock bio – The drugs! The sex! The meteoric rise up the charts! The ruinous major-label doublecross! The subsequent plunge to ignominy and rehab! None of those things happened to Yo La Tengo.
Read More...
THE SPINTO BAND – The Shy Pursuit (Park the Van)
Quick, name a rock ‘n’ roll band from Delaware. Give up? How about the Spinto Band? These power-pop nerds have quietly persevered for an incredible 16 years; The Shy Pursuit is just the group’s third full-length release since the debut Nice And Nicely Done first brought the band some national attention in 2006.
Read More...
SCREAMING FEMALES – Ugly
The most notable thing about indie guru Steve Albini’s involvement with the Screaming Females’ fifth album is how little about the band he bothered to change. But then, Albini’s a smart guy, and the first rule of punk rock – the first rule of anything, really – is don’t fix what ain’t broke. If anything, Albini probably just kept the coffee pot filled; after four albums of frantic, frenetic, high-energy rock squall, you had to wonder if the Screamales could crank it up another notch.
Read More...
VARIOUS ARTISTS – The Thing That Ate Larry Livermore (Adeline Records)
Larry Livermore guided Lookout Records through the period when the label helped introduce pop-punk to, first, the American underground and then, through the success of early signings like Operation Ivy and (most especially) Green Day, to the world.
Read More...
THE ALL-ABOUT – Winterpop
Music makes me happy, music makes me sad, and maybe best of all, every great once in a while, music makes me excited. The All-About – principally singer, songwriter, musician Zac Coe and some talented friends – falls into that latter category.
Read More...