Category: Music

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With a new covers LP and a delightful debut novel out at the same time, Susanna Hoffs is thriving

If you follow Susanna Hoffs for any length of time, the overriding impression is one of restlessness. The singer, guitarist and co-founding Bangle is someone who can never be still or do just one thing for very long. She’s constantly in motion in her wonderfully charming TikTok and Instagram videos. She shows off her dance … Continue reading With a new covers LP and a delightful debut novel out at the same time, Susanna Hoffs is thriving

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Let’s talk about Tina Turner’s pivotal contributions to the Mad Max saga

There were two things I noticed about the reactions to Tina Turner’s death last month. First, there was a general agreement that even though she was 83, it still felt tragically early, way too soon for her to go. She was one of those artists who seem so filled with life and energy and passion, … Continue reading Let’s talk about Tina Turner’s pivotal contributions to the Mad Max saga

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Boards of Canada’s Music Has the Right to Children: Cinematic psychedelia, dope beats and audio therapy

This is a revised and expanded version of an article I wrote for Tone Deaf in 2018 (and which was later republished by Classic Album Sundays) Boards of Canada’s Music Has the Right to Children is without question the album I’ve listened to the most in the past 21 years. I can’t think of what … Continue reading Boards of Canada’s Music Has the Right to Children: Cinematic psychedelia, dope beats and audio therapy

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Khruangbin live at Sydney Opera House: Sublime space-funk in the grandest of settings

In the weeks before seeing the mighty Khruangbin in the Concert Hall at Sydney Opera House last Friday night (the first of three sold-out shows for them there, and my first time seeing them), I told several friends I wasn’t so sure how appropriate a venue it was for them. I’m sure this might have … Continue reading Khruangbin live at Sydney Opera House: Sublime space-funk in the grandest of settings

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Tame Impala live in Sydney: Uncompromising, euphoric psych-pop for the masses

I had an epiphany on Thursday night while witnessing the mass euphoria that was Tame Impala playing “Let It Happen” to a crowd of 20,000 young Australians. The fact that Kevin Parker’s quirky, trippy, introspective fusion of psych-rock and electronic pop has been embraced by so many is remarkable if you think about it. “Let … Continue reading Tame Impala live in Sydney: Uncompromising, euphoric psych-pop for the masses

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Wet Leg’s debut LP is a raunchy, joyous treat and an instant rock & roll classic

Early this year, in my write-up of the best albums of 2021, I wrote this about young hyperpop artists like Banoffee and Charli XCX, who are making some of my favorite sounds lately: “I’m a 51-year-old dad and house DJ and this music is not made for me; the target audience is decades younger, not … Continue reading Wet Leg’s debut LP is a raunchy, joyous treat and an instant rock & roll classic

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New York’s postpunk revival deserves a better documentary than Meet Me in the Bathroom

You can tell that Meet Me in the Bathroom, the new documentary about New York’s explosive music scene of the early 2000s, is going to misfire from the very first sequence. A 1959 recording of actor Ed Begley reading “Give Me the Splendid Silent Sun,” Walt Whitman’s soaring tribute to New York from his masterwork … Continue reading New York’s postpunk revival deserves a better documentary than Meet Me in the Bathroom