Jun 16, 2022
By Austin Saalman
The apocalypse, as predicted throughout much of art and literature, is to be an extravagant event: the ultimate destruction of an inherently flawed planet, a bombastic pageant of thunder and hellfire, the huddling populace its unwilling centerpiece. David Bowie, while recording his fifth studio album during a tumultuous era not dissimilar to our own, surely recognized this, as the late rock icon’s vision of the end times arrived sprinkled with glitter and wound in spandex. More
Jun 16, 2022
By Austin Saalman
A seminal year in glam, 1972 yielded the releases of David Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, T. Rex’s The Slider, and Lou Reed’s Transformer, each record advancing the evolving sound of rock and steering youth culture away from the earthy optimism of the previous decade, ushering in an era in which popular culture’s eschatology was dictated by sexuality, decadence, and high fashion. More
Jun 02, 2022
By Austin Saalman
Radiohead’s third studio album served not only to usurp its predecessors, but to alter our understanding of modern music as well. More
May 31, 2022
By Austin Saalman
A fascinating American pop cultural fable, yet to receive a worthy cinematic adaptation, the life and career of Jeff Buckley is as saturated in fate’s cruel indifference as his music. More
May 23, 2022
By Austin Saalman
Randy Newman’s lyrical ferocity has always underscored his lush orchestral soundscapes, their rich and intricate pop melodies juxtaposed with grim narratives of dysfunctional personalities, including unrepentant bigots, lushes, television junkies, child murderers, warmongers, and ultimately, Vladimir Putin. More
May 23, 2022
By Austin Saalman
Funkadelic’s first album not to be recorded in its hometown of Detroit, America Eats Its Young serves as a dramatic departure from its timeless predecessor Maggot Brain. More
May 12, 2022
By Austin Saalman
Nearly two years in the making, The Rolling Stones’ sprawling double LP Exile on Main St. was greeted with mixed reviews upon its release, Rolling Stone’s Lenny Kaye lamenting, “The great Stones album of their mature period is yet to come.” Indeed, the album felt to some like a backward stumble, rather than the great leap forward anticipated in the wake of the previous year’s masterful Sticky Fingers. More
May 09, 2022
By Austin Saalman
Behind Southern California’s “orange curtain,” the youthful inhabitants of Orange County’s suburban blocks were no less partial to the spell of punk rock ennui than were their neighbors in San Diego and Los Angeles. From within this temperate tranquility of sun, surf, and straight-laced American living, underrated alt rock outfit Something Corporate emerged with its sophomore album and major-label debut Leaving Through the Window—a warm concoction of guitar-heavy pop-punk and emotive piano rock, charmingly complemented by frontman Andrew McMahon’s naive boy-next-door lyrical sensitivity. More
May 09, 2022
By Austin Saalman
In his twilight, late Los Angeles singer/songwriter Warren Zevon had come to grips with many of the demons which had plagued him throughout much of his nearly 40-year career. A very public battle with addiction, a notorious reputation for being difficult and unpredictable, and frequent commercial failure in the aftermath of his 1978-released breakthrough album Excitable Boy ultimately reduced the artist to a cult act, performing in the shadows of his better-known friends and advocates Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, and Eagles. More
May 04, 2022
By Austin Saalman
By 1982, highly influential English rockers The Cure’s collective wellbeing had entered into a state of disrepair, with each member seemingly engulfed in his own personal Hell. From drug abuse and mental illness to financial struggles and group in-fighting, hard times had befallen the band, leading it to explore far darker themes on its fourth album. More