• Beyoncé, “1 + 1” (critically lauded, album’s certified platinum after topping the Billboard 200 for two consecutive weeks) and “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” (Topped four separate U.S. charts, four times platinum, guaranteed to be played at every wedding until eternity ends)• Mariah Carey, “Touch My Body” (Jack McBrayer-starring video boasts more […]
Music Features
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Red Hot Chili Peppers — I’m with You
And it almost didn’t happen. The band went on hiatus after its “Stadium Arcadium” tour wrapped up in 2007. Bassist Flea hit the books, studying music theory at the University of Southern California;, singer Anthony Kiedis was a new father; and drummer Chad Smith began playing with other bands. It looked like the Peppers might […]
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Growing fangs
Oklahoma City’s The Copperheads have dozens of crazy shows under their belt, but they aren’t usually directly involved in the chaos. They aren’t necessarily wooden performers, but are far from the most animated. They usually take the stage — perhaps with cigarettes curled in their lips, beers on the amps — plug in and play […]
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Soundcheck: ‘This Machine’
Well, yeah, he did. But his legacy carries on well after Huntington’s disease claimed his body on Oct. 3, 1967, and not just in the folk genre he mastered. His legacy is one that was hell-bent on tearing down authoritarianism and replacing it with tolerance and understanding. “Woody was a social conscience as much as […]
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Crown Jewell
Idaho singer/songwriter Eilen Jewell has quite a bit in common with the songstress of a very similar name. They both hail from less populated regions; both blend rock, pop, folk and country; and both made a go at busking to support themselves early in their careers. Jewell hasn’t written a hit as big as Jewel’s […]
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Hey! Dodo this
When The Dodos’ Meric Long sings for “a means to conjure you up,” he isn’t referring to the San Francisco indie-rock act’s long-extinct namesake. It’s possible “Good,” off this year’s “No Color,” is an open letter to the elusive sound he and bandmate Logan Kroeber have been looking for since their 2005 inception. “The closest […]
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Ward 3
It’s been nearly a decade of loud guitars for Jim Ward. The Texas native achieved worldwide fame with his original group, hardcore’s At the Drive-In, then by starting the rock band Sparta. The buzzing in his ears must have gotten to him, because in the middle of the aughts, he ditched the electric for an […]
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The Weeknd — Thursday
Far from it, in fact. “Thursday”’s a terrific R&B record, creeping and grinding along at a pace appropriate for a sequel to the menacing, borderline-nihilistic “Balloons.” What the second album (Tesfaye promised a trio by the end of the year — all to be downloaded online, for free) lacks is the cloak of enigma that […]
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Superchunk – Foolish
Well, here’s an album reissue originally produced about 20 some-odd years later far more appropriate for the consumer. Guitar-wise, a lot changes in two decades, and Superchunk were at the head of the pack when it came to ’90s riff-driven rock ’n’ roll. Inspired by the ’80s punk do-it-yourself-and-work-effin’-hard-at-it ethic, “Foolish” was recorded amid a […]
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Heroes of the Old West
One inexpensive way to find out: Mill Creek Entertainment’s release of “Heroes of the Old West.” Let’s run the numbers: For less than $10, you get almost 22 hours of material on four DVDs. That’s 10 feature films, 20 television shows and, hopefully, one happy camper. With the exception of John Wayne in 1963’s “McLintock!,” […]