Music

Features, reviews, interviews, and lists about music, covering the latest as well historical topics.

You’ve Gotta Get Satire to Get Dion DiMucci

You’ve Gotta Get Satire to Get Dion DiMucci

Dion: The Rock ‘N’ Roll Philosopher is a tongue-in-cheek title that only Dion DiMucci can pull off with street panache—braggin’ is a blues tradition, after all.

The Listening Garden’s Cultivation of Audiophile Culture

The Listening Garden’s Cultivation of Audiophile Culture

Amidst the rise in hi-fi bars and resurgence of audiophile culture, pristine audio is only one component of what makes The Listening Garden’s music experience distinct.

Benjamin Booker Shows How Being Non-white in the US Is Dangerous

Benjamin Booker Shows How Being Non-white in the US Is Dangerous

Benjamin Booker’s new album LOWER asks how to live in an awful world. His only answer is to keep stepping forward into the darkness.

North Mississippi Allstars’ Astounding Blues Power Is Needed

North Mississippi Allstars’ Astounding Blues Power Is Needed

North Mississippi Allstars’ Luther Dickinson says, “It’s the people that make the place,” paying tribute to the vibrant atmosphere at the Sweetwater Music Hall.

Sun Ra Arkestra Triumph with ‘Lights on a Satellite’

Sun Ra Arkestra Triumph with ‘Lights on a Satellite’

Sun Ra Arkestra’s sonic vision transcends time for these keepers of the cosmic flame, and that vitality comes through on Lights on a Satellite.

Drummer Silvan Strauss Makes Cool Chill-Hop on ‘Flukin”

Drummer Silvan Strauss Makes Cool Chill-Hop on ‘Flukin”

Silvan Strauss moves between fresh air and outer space, electronic signals, acoustic strings, and flutes, everything blended in barely tangible combinations.

10 Brilliant Music Books on the Art & Industry

10 Brilliant Music Books on the Art & Industry

From rock to hip-hop to country to punk to emo, here’s a list of superb music books to deepen the education for you or the music lover in your life.

Latin Grammy-Nominated João Gomes on Brazilian Piseiro’s Versatility

Latin Grammy-Nominated João Gomes on Brazilian Piseiro’s Versatility

Latin Grammy-nominated piseiro singer João Gomes is among Brazil’s most versatile musicians, transiting smoothly between diverse musical and cultural niches.

FKA Twigs’ Eusexua Is an Inspiring Conceptual Masterpiece

FKA Twigs’ Eusexua Is an Inspiring Conceptual Masterpiece

FKA Twigs’ Eusexua is a conceptual masterpiece that speaks to the heart and the head, the spirit and the body. These things are not separate from each other.

Bob Dylan Film ‘A Complete Unknown’ Is a Folk anti-Western

Bob Dylan Film ‘A Complete Unknown’ Is a Folk anti-Western

In wandering hero terms, Bob Dylan film A Complete Unknown is less a George Stevens’ Western like Shane and more an Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo – with guitars.

Franz Ferdinand Frustrate and Dazzle With ‘The Human Fear’

Franz Ferdinand Frustrate and Dazzle With ‘The Human Fear’

Franz Ferdinand dazzle and frustrate with The Human Fear, their return to the recording studio after a seven-year hiatus. It’s a patchy album with brilliance.

Alice Hebborn Blends Environmental Harmony and Ambient Textures

Alice Hebborn Blends Environmental Harmony and Ambient Textures

Belgian composer Alice Hebborn’s Saisons takes the listener on a journey through sound and nature. This music feels like a living, breathing thing.