They say rock ‘n’ roll will never die. But what if rock isn’t an idea, but a man? Allow me to explain. Looking back at the rock music canon, a number of artists grasped the parts but not the whole: The Beatles helped develop the pop song, as well as a healthy desire to test […]
Author Archives: David Greenwald
Field of water bottles suggests bright future
I went to Coachella last weekend expecting a music festival. But what I got was a cultural one ““ no “counter-“ involved. In many ways, Coachella is a celebration of our generation. Our music, our food, our clothes, our CDs ““ it was all there for sale and perusal on Saturday and Sunday. Tens of […]
SOUNDBITE: The Fiery Furnaces “Bitter Tea”
Over a mere four years, The Fiery Furnaces have become the indie rock equivalent of the boy who cried wolf. Between their White Stripes-referencing debut “Gallowsbird’s Bark,” the hyperactive rock theatrics of “Blueberry Boat,” and “Rehearsing My Choir,” the only recent album to feature someone’s grandmother, the Furnaces have aimed for genius and fallen short. […]
The Postal Service doesn’t deliver
The other day, a 15-year-old girl tried to add me as a Facebook friend. While this is probably some people’s idea of a good time (or a first-draft premise for the film “Hard Candy”), I already feel awkward enough in real life running into former campers from my summer at Camp Hess Kramer. To make […]
Brought to you by the letter “˜M’
As much as they’d like to convince you otherwise, spending all that time in the tub didn’t leave Bert and Ernie squeaky clean. Everyone remembers Jim Henson’s lovable Muppets as the stars of “The Muppet Show,” “Fraggle Rock,” and of course, “Sesame Street,” but the contributions of Big Bird and Kermit the Frog go far […]
Comedy music lacks both comedy and music
Let’s be honest, guys and gals: Comedy songs suck. There are a lot of reasons for the proliferation of downright awful so-called musical comedy, everything from overdone jokes to bad music or throwaway parodies. Take “Weird Al” Yankovic, who is hugely popular one minute and playing county fairs the next. While comedy films and even […]
"At War with the Mystics"
The Flaming Lips “At War with the Mystics” Warner Brothers Records Back before the career-making opus that was “The Soft Bulletin,” The Flaming Lips were kind of a gimmick band. As if the name wasn’t a dead giveaway, the Lips’ pre-1999 material was more concerned with silliness than crafting songs. The band’s primary interest was […]