Menomena “Friend and Foe” BARSUK RECORDS Portland-based experimental rock group Menomena’s members Brent Knopf, Danny Seim, and Justin Harris don’t write music like other bands do. That’s not to say their music is so strange that nothing else is like it, but just that they don’t create their songs like most other rock musicians. While […]
Author Archives: Alex LaRue
Boppin’ with Burrell
Kenny Burrell has played with pretty much everyone who’s anyone in jazz. Whether laying down the guitar support behind a John Coltrane rampage or stretching out in a solo while collaborating with Jimmy Smith, his experience and discography are immense. Virtually no important jazz musician of the ’50s and ’60s could escape recording with Burrell. […]
Soundbite: The Game
The Game “Doctor’s Advocate” GEFFEN RECORDS In the crunk-dominated world of mainstream hip-hop, The Game is making a lot of noise. After sticking it to the South with his multiplatinum 2005 debut, “The Documentary,” he’s back with another radio-ready, California-repping monument to Dr. Dre in “Doctor’s Advocate.” A lot has changed since his last effort, […]
Internet is killing the radio star
The days of radio just might be numbered. Or, that is, radio as we know it. According to a New York Times article published in September, the amount of time 18 to 24-year-olds spend listening to the radio has decreased by 15 percent since 1999. Overall, the survey said, the 12-34 age group has seen […]
Soundbite: Lloyd Banks
Lloyd Banks “Rotten Apple” G UNIT/INTERCOPE RECORDS Usually, when a friend or acquaintance does something offensive, there are a few ways of evaluating exactly how wronged you feel you’ve been. On one hand, there’s the act itself, but on the other hand, there is the friend’s intention. Offensive acts are doubtless bad, but when your […]
Festival for the rest of us
Not many cities in the world are built quite like Morocco’s Fes. As the country’s cultural center and one of its most ancient cities, Fes has been able to preserve a unique coexistence of traditions that spans faiths ““ and musical styles. For centuries, Sephardic Jews, Sufi Mystics and African Christians have performed alongside each […]
Revisiting Ray
As far as American popular music goes, Ray Charles is about as holy as it gets. His blues, gospel, jazz and country amalgamations have forever left their indelible stamp on America’s musical landscape. Since his death in 2004, it has become rather fashionable to pay the man musical homage ““ a gracious thanks from today’s […]