Music
Get in touch with your roots
The Roots may well be Philadelphia's premiere hip-hop outfit. The Roots still defy convention by fusing soul, jazz, and funk, even 20 years and eight albums into the game.
Forever young
God bless Neil Young. At 62, he's as earnest as ever - supremely confident in his well-worn niche. In 2007, it takes some kind of self-assurance to sing, without a hint of irony: "I'm just a passenger / On this old freight train." For the last 40 years, Young has alternated with almost stunning regularity between country-inflected acoustic ballads and gritty electric numbers.
Defibrillator
Morrissey Viva Hate 1988 It was a sad day for witty, angst-filled teens everywhere when The Smiths called it quits in 1987.
Backstreet boys Redux
The story of the Backstreet Boys is, at heart, the story of our childhood. And it all comes rushing back this week, when the erstwhile teen idols release their newest album, Unbreakable.
He was there
Two mysteries that will forever plague the human mind: the existence of God and the person of Bob Dylan.
London in shambles
Led by frontman and renowned narcotics addict Pete Doherty, Babyshambles' new record, Shotter's Nation, is pleasant enough, but ultimately forgettable.
Defibrillator
With bombs falling in Iraq, tensions rising with Iran and Russia and the stock market at its shakiest in years, what would be a better album to bring back than Rage Against the Machine's controversial, self-titled debut album?
Out of the ivory tower
Robert Walter is reluctant to call himself a jazz musician. As a solo artist and member of the soul-jazz act Greyboy Allstars, the organist/keyboardist/pianist pits himself as on the cutting edge of the scene, fusing traditional jazz with funk, rock, and dance.
The In Rainbows Listening Party
Radiohead, the critically acclaimed, genre-bending rock act, is homeless. Not literally, of course - you won't find Thom Yorke begging for pocket pence outside the Tube.
Defibrillator
Bringing Great Albums Back from the Dead Steely Dan Aja 1977 Aja is more than just your average rock album; it is an intoxicating auditory experience.
Who let folk in the frat house?
There hasn't been much happening in the Balkan indie music scene since we last heard from Beirut. In 2006, their stunning debut, Gulag Orkestar, impressed listeners with its unconventional Eastern European sound, erupting from a massive horn section.
ay, there's the rub
Spencer Krug has a problem. He's splitting his time between his main band Wolf Parade and the now fully realized Sunset Rubdown.
Defibrillator
Neil Young Trans 1983 Who could guess that a Canadian folk-rocker and a vocoder could make such sweet, sweet love?
Campus cred
Street: Sum up your band in an offensive quote. Zach: We're explosive like Iran. Street: Why should anyone in his right mind come see Leviathan perform? Zach: I prefer they come not in their right minds. Ben: When was the last time someone heard a Leviathan?
who's the boss?
Magic leads off with "Radio Nowhere," the Boss singing of "Sitting around a dead dial / Just a-searching for a world with some soul," lamenting the state of the modern-day music industry.
Green is the new blue
Let's recap: This is the Canadian folk singer-songwriter's first proper new release in seven years, she is signed to Starbucks' Hear Music label and her voice has grown noticeably huskier.
vintage wine
It used to be you could listen to an Iron & Wine album and imagine sitting alone with Sam Beam as he whispered his lyrics directly to you.
ENDANGERED list
It's unusual to find a band of friends who are able to believe in their adolesent fairy-tales when they grow up.
Meat Puppets
As an angst-addled adolescent, my favorite Nirvana song was "Oh, Me" from the MTV Unplugged record. When I eventually replaced cassette with CD, I discovered in the liner notes that "Oh, Me" and two other tracks were in fact Meat Puppets covers.
