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So,This week has been a bit slow, mostly due to a contract dispute (“I get nothing?”) with an online mag (think “sliced ____ meats”), but I assure you, each and every one of you, that you’ll still receive the same quality reviews, health care, and general warmth/abuse you’ve come to expect. Or maybe you expect nothing. Anyway, here goes:1. I decree there will be an exciting new album by a Sub Pop band next week. And lo, we shall see if it rocks.2. No more of this “work for free” communist propaganda stuff. Simplify: everything belongs to me.3. I’m starting up palm reading. Scan yourRead More →

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Yo La Tengo – “Popular Songs”Matador Records-due out Sept. 84.5 / 5 On their 16th album, Hoboken trio Yo La Tengo crack open with strings, layering as complex and listenable as Beck, and their own dreary/dreamy vocals in “Here to Fall,” the opener track. Download this track; it is as exciting and groovy as any you’re bound to find in the vein of Depeche Mode (and there’s strings, to boot). “Popular Songs” is chock-a-block with similarly poppy tracks, and for a moment, the album seems to have more focus and enjoyability than their typical spacious space jams. But even here they supply, as the lastRead More →

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Hey y’all,So hope you had fun with Jazz Week. Coming up next will be more indie bands, including one from Matador today (hint hint). It’s always a good idea to go out and check out different genres of music, so hopefully you got your feet wet in America’s great musical tradition.That would be jazz. Not complaining about royalties. (Or purchasing mansions.)Okay, so that’s maybe the top 1% of bands. Regardless: go forth, young people, and indulge in music.-MgmtRead More →

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McCoy Tyner – “Solo; Live from San Fransicsco”Half Note Records-out today4.5 / 5 With a legendary career like pianist McCoy Tyner’s, there is always the nagging comparison between his latest release and his classic ’60s and ’70s albums. To clarify: yes, he is in his 70s, and yes, this album may not be as classic as “The Real McCoy.” But is it worthwhile? Yes. Here’s why: even in his advanced years, and even with a slightly lacking a bit of touch on his fingers, the solo work here is marvelous, deep, complex, intimate. It is as easy for a person inexperienced in jazz to getRead More →