The 80 Best Albums of the 1980s
The 1980s might conjure up images of leg warmers, parachute pants, moonwalking, Flock of Seagulls haircuts and any number of John Hughes movies. But looking back at the decade’s best albums, those years were extremely diverse. read more
Found in: Blogs, List of the Day10 Songs I'm Pretty Sure Are About Masturbation
(Above: Judge Reinhold gets busted by Phoebe Cates in Fast Times at Ridgemont High) Masturbation. I remember when that was a dirty word. Back in 6th and 7th grade, nobody—and I mean nobody—would cop to doing that shit. Around then, my friend Chris and I had a conversation that went a little something like this:Chris: You know, I read something in this magazine about how like 90 percent of guys in middle school masturbate.Steve: No way, man. I don't believe it.Chris: Well, that's what it said. But you're right, there's no way. [awkward pause] You don't do that, do you?Steve:... read more
Found in: Blogs, List of the Day12 Patriotic Songs Better than Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the U.S.A."
Don't let bad music ruin your 4th of July. Here are a dozen great songs celebrating the U.S.A. without resorting to shmaltz... read more
Found in: Blogs, List of the DayHead Violent Femme Gordon Gano Heads Under the Sun
Gordon Gano, frontman of perennial misfit post-punksters the Violent Femmes, will be linking arms and guitars with brothers Billy and Brendan Ryan for Under the Sun, their forthcoming LP just announced for a September release.... read more
Found in: Music, NewsSoCo Music Experience: Denver
[Above: headliners Gnarls Barkley]Under the July sunshine, the SoCo Music Experience took over an open-air lot outside Coors Field in Denver on Saturday. The free festival drew thousands of Denverites for sunshine, interactive games, booths, and, of course, the free music. ... read more
Found in: Blogs, FestivusViolent Femmes return the favor, covering Gnarls' "Crazy"
Violent Femmes has done unto Gnarls Barkley what Gnarls Barkley did unto them in covering tune “Gone Daddy Gone” on St. Elsewhere. In case you haven’t heard yet (in blog years, this story is 42), the Femmes recently officially released their take on the smash hit “Crazy,” a fitting number for a band that suffered a member-to-member lawsuit last year over a Wendy’s advertisement.... read more
Found in: Music, NewsViolent Femmes blister in the courtroom
In a recent interview with Billboard.com, Violent Femmes lead singer Gordon Gano spoke optimistically about his band's current situation. "We just played a really, really good tour," he said. "Since the early '80s, everything's really good. We're playing better than ever." You know what that means? It's time to do what every other aging band does - make a reunion album! Then again, maybe not. Turns out, Gano was actually responding to a lawsuit recently filed by Femmes bassist Brian Ritchie. The suit seeks allegedly unpaid royalties and also comes as a response to the use of the band's signature... read more
Found in: Music, NewsViolent Femmes (reissues)
A second look at alternative music’s hillbilly pioneers... read more
Found in: Music, Reviews
