Music

For the music snob, the first concert occupies a sacred space. Whether awful or amazing, we remember that first show, be it grooving to New Kids on the Block or sitting with your parents, suffering through a James Taylor set.
July 31, 2003 at 12:00 am

Every advertisement was billing it as the Dismemberment Plan's last show ever but when lead singer Travis Morrison walked on stage after Engine Down's serviceable opening set, he set the record straight on the "big fat lie." Turns out that the Plan had one more show, in their hometown of Washington, D.C.
July 31, 2003 at 12:00 am

I knew little to nothing about The Used before writing this review. I knew lead singer Bert McCracken dated Kelly Osborne and throws up on stage, or something like that.
July 24, 2003 at 12:00 am

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Fuck Nirvana. Credit where credit is due, the real impetus for the alt-rock revolution of the early 1990's wasn't Seattle and Nirvana.
July 24, 2003 at 12:00 am

Oh man, this one's bad. To you, Linkin Park may be just another top 40 Nu-Metal act, fodder for Y-100.
July 17, 2003 at 12:00 am

Sure, they lay their dark vocals over sugary pop music, but Guster's true appeal lies in their percussionist, Brian "Thundergod" Rosenworcel.
July 17, 2003 at 12:00 am

The first time I heard "Victory" from Puff Daddy's No Way Out I got so energized that I went to the gym.
July 10, 2003 at 12:00 am

July 10, 2003 at 12:00 am

In 1988, a band called Avant Garde was trying to make waves in the metal scene, lead by singer Kevin Ridel and guitarist Rivers Cuomo.
July 10, 2003 at 12:00 am

Hip-Hop musicians have never felt a particular tie to the album format. Some purists might have a problem with that, but in some cases, it can work out quite well.
June 26, 2003 at 12:00 am

I used to write song lyrics in the love letters I would write to my girlfriend senior year of high school. The lyrics were never anything really important, they were from something like Blink 182's "Going Away To College," but I thought I was poet laureate of Northeast Philadelphia. I miss doing that.
June 26, 2003 at 12:00 am

If dropping out of the crosshairs of conservative America has disappointed Marilyn Manson, he's not showing it.
June 19, 2003 at 12:00 am

During a short hiatus from the Dave Matthews Band, famed violinist Boyd Tinsley has put together an evocative new solo album, True Reflections. Surprisingly, Tinsley's skills as a violinist take second place to his raw, emotive vocals, as he demonstrates a new side of his musicality to audiences.
June 19, 2003 at 12:00 am

If you've ever been to a packed, standing-room-only concert, you've felt the nauseating swell of excitement and terror one can encounter while being pressed up against the body in front of you as the entire crowd sways from one direction to the next, independent of your own control.
June 12, 2003 at 12:00 am

Any mention of The Eels conjures up thoughts of quirky, playful, and oftentimes beautiful music. With songs appearing in the movies Shrek and Anniversary Party and their hit single "Novocaine for the Soul," The Eels show their pop influences but with a dark twist. Their latest release, Shootenanny!, is a venture into heavy blues territory, done according to the old Eels formula.
June 12, 2003 at 12:00 am

This is the most difficult Metallica album I have ever listened to, and I have listened to them all more times than I care to admit.
June 12, 2003 at 12:00 am

New wave might be thought of as a sound of the past, but with his debut album, Ethiopian-born Kenna shows that it can be very current.
June 5, 2003 at 12:00 am

In elementary school, I never understood Canada. After all, it certainly wasn't America, so I wondered what exactly they did up there.
June 5, 2003 at 12:00 am

Where the hell is my Fugees CD? Somehow, in the midst of the final exam frenzy, I seemed to have misplaced a musical masterpiece.
May 29, 2003 at 12:00 am

It's always refreshing to hear a band not afraid to bring plenty of different styles into its playing, and Soulive is just such a band.
May 29, 2003 at 12:00 am