Written by Velma I have, in my music collection, a rather impressive assortment of movie soundtracks, a good half of which are from cinema I wouldn’t dare see. There’s also the On the Line soundtrack, worse than the movie, if…

America, your head’s too big, croons Morrissey on the first line of his new album You Are The Quarry, and it’s reassuring to know the guy hasn’t lost his bite after all these years. Honestly, I think it would be…

What I am about to say will hurt me much more than it will hurt Sarah McLachlan, but here goes: Sarah’s new album is full of some of the most uninspired lyrics since Britney found “Bombastic Love,” and the business-as-usual…

“Deep House Dish” is one of Saturday Night Live’s more popular recurring sketches of the past few years. When it debuted in 2005, it was an absurd send-up of house, techno, and Euro-pop music that bore little resemblance to America’s…

The first time I’d ever heard of Ok Go, they were on stage with the ‘This American Life’ tour at the Town Hall in New York City. Ira Glass deemed them his favorite boy band and mentioned that they were…

So, in my attempt to prove to myself that there is still life beyond pop, I have gone through all of my old CDs, hoping to find some I may have forgotten about–in the mad rush for sequins–that might bring…

1. Juliana Hatfield My first introduction to Juliana Hatfield came from MTV’s Sunday night alternative video show, 120 Minutes (another favorite below). They would always show her video for “What A Life” and “My Sister.” I immediately ran out to…

Written by P. E. Nelson “SOUL PUNX UNITE,” reads the legend on the illustration on the cover of this disc – an apt clue to what lies in store on Kish Kash, the third installment from the dynamic duo of…

Having been selected by Amy to review Department Store Girl, the latest album release by The Rosenbergs, I wasn’t certain of a. who they were or b. why she had asked me to do it (other than, perhaps, my long-winded…

My initial struggle with this review was to find somewhere between “Damn, he’s got impressive rhymes” and “DAMN, he’s hot” – both of which I feel strongly about. Yes, Eminem’s got the dimples to make ladies swoon. But he’s also…

Written by Danielle “An Intimate Evening With Esthero.” “A Very Special Acoustic Benefit With Esthero.” “Drunken Story Telling With the Coolest Pirate Around.” Call it what you will, but it was obvious from the moment Esthero (affectionately known by fans…

Anyone who remembers when alternative really meant alternative, they certainly know Camper Van Beethoven. They were a mainstay on MTV’s 120 Minutes with videos for “Pictures of Matchstick Men,” “Eye of Fatima Pt. II” and, of course, “Take the Skinheads…

I heart Toad the Wet Sprocket. When you’re young and depressed, and writing the lyrics to The Cure’s “Just Like Heaven” over and over again in your diary, there’s nothing better than more sad music full of longing. Because, you…

I have always been a fan of quiet, introspective musicians. Witness my endearing love of Toad the Wet Sprocket, the Indigo Girls and the Counting Crows album August and Everything After. In a game of Gun To My Head, one…

Written by Danielle Sometimes working with a big name producer (or two, or three) can be more of a curse than a blessing. Case in point: Nelly Furtado’s new album, Loose. Sure, she managed to reel in Pharell Williams (No…

So you have a couple of days until Christmas, the malls are almost reaching capacity, unlike your patience that has already hit capacity level. You are stuck for gift ideas, what do you do. What do you do? You hit…

Written by Becka A recent article in Alternative Press magazine focuses on Simple Plan’s knack for not only creating chart topping pop-punk, but also America’s desire to hate them for it. Now, I’m not that big of a fan of…

I often have conversations with myself. Nothing that would scare passersby or anything – I keep it all internal, and it mostly happens when I’m all by myself. Take yesterday, for instance. I boarded the train that would take me…

Time has changed Natalie Maines. The once-perky lead singer for the Dixie Chicks has perhaps grown up, or been affected by motherhood, or been dulled slightly by controversy. Whatever it is, it makes for a completely different concert-going experience. On…

Within the past couple of years, there has been a huge influx of indie bands that have had the limelight thrust upon them by various media outlets. Television of late has seemed to jump on the bandwagon more than usual,…

I have a confession to make. I actually got a sneak peak of the Dixie Chicks new album three weeks ago when I was lucky enough to score tickets to a live taping of an NBC special slated to air…

…when you have a vendetta against the male gender. As most women know, getting all dolled up (or, alternately, slutted down) to go out dancing can serve several different cathartic purposes. There are the times when you just need to…

Written by Nicole Even with the sweetener, there’s no mistaking the trademark soulful, deeply personal songs by Adam Duritz on Hard Candy, the fourth studio album from Counting Crows. If taking a bite of this doesn’t hurt your teeth, or…

I loved Friday Night Lights, but I didn’t watch it until the whole show was over and off the air because I thought I wouldn’t particularly enjoy it. I grew up in East Texas. My high school was Friday Night Lights…

Eager rock fans were still piling into the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto as the clock began to creep towards midnight; the drizzling rain outside had turned to a downpour, as evidenced from the wet t-shirts and blazers of the indie…

Mandy Moore, despite her onetime status as a blond, has never marched to the same drummer as her teen pop princess contemporaries. She’s never had a video that required editing in order to be TRL-friendly, like Christina. She doesn’t talk…

Written by Xiola Who, oh who, can resist an album that begins with someone’s holier-than-thou grandma preaching, “Sin, sin, sin. You’re all sinners. You’re all going to a painful, everlasting, fiery hell!” Yeah, Zombie’s back. And if you thought he…

Next up in our fallback album series – new writer Tom: Daft Punk – Homework When it comes to the issue of musical timelessness, electronic music gets bum rap. Not that the singles-dominated genre doesn’t ask for it, but there…

Messrs. Timberlake and Chasez, take note: Robbie Williams is your future. Once upon a time, when the boyband phenomenon was in its infancy stage and *NSYNC hadn’t even begun their European schooling, five young men from England sent hordes of…

I have something to say today. It may sound blasphemous, but it is something I can no longer keep to myself. The best concerts I have ever had the privilege of seeing were not put on by *NSYNC. This is…