The Ed Sullivan Show Rock ‘n’ Roll Classics (Rhino-2002) Your tolerance of the variety show format is equally proportional to the amount of hours you’ve viewed MTV since 1981. More than two decades have passed since the rest of television adapted to the now-taken-for-granted style of the quick-edited, odd-camera-angled, sound-bit, irony-heavy entertainment presentation. You are … Continue reading
Category Archives: Rock & Roll
The Bangles – Some Things That They Said
the BANGLES some things that THEY SAID by jay S. JACOBS It’s funny how things change in the world. For example, the last time the Bangles released a new album, George Bush was in the White House, we had a bad economy and there were troops in Iraq trying to get to Saddam Hussein. Hey, wait a second… … Continue reading
Liz Phair – Liz Phair (A PopEntertainment.com Music Review)
Liz Phair – Liz Phair (Capitol) Hardcore Liz Phair fans weaned on the spiky likes of Exile From Guyville and Whip-Smart have apparently reacted with disdain towards the latest album from the queen of alt-rock. Well, Liz Phair is definitely a change of direction for the singer, but it’s also her best album yet. On the new album, Liz just seems to … Continue reading
Joss Stone – Soul Sister
JOSS STONE SOUL SISTER by Jay S. Jacobs You can’t help but notice the voice. It is strong, sensuous, assured. It soars to a crescendo or sighs to a whisper. It flat-out belts a soulful, joyful noise that reaches for the heavens and tries to box with God. Yet it doesn’t fall victim to the showiness … Continue reading
The Bangles – Doll Revolution (A PopEntertainment.com Music Review)
The Bangles – Doll Revolution (Victor-Japan) Thirteen years on since the Bangles broke up… while on top of the charts and top of the world… here comes a reunion album that makes it seem like not a minute has passed since they went away. The group’s jangly-Byrdsy pop-rock feels every bit as palatable today as it … Continue reading
The Flaming Lips – Fight Test (A PopEntertainment.com Music Review)
The Flaming Lips – Fight Test (Warner Brothers) The Flaming Lips have put together a nice, quirky body of work since catching our attention with “She Don’t Like Jelly” a few years ago. This covers-heavy EP is only going to add a footnote to their body of work, though. It starts off rather spectacularly with a … Continue reading
Marshall Crenshaw – What’s In the Bag? (A PopEntertainment.com Music Review)
Marshall Crenshaw – What’s In the Bag? (Razor & Tie) It’s nice to see that over twenty years on from the self-titled debut album which had Marshall Crenshaw anointed the next big thing, Crenshaw is still releasing vital, passionate music. He never became as huge as the pundits said he would in 1982 when he had … Continue reading
Tom Verica – American Dad
Tom Verica American Dad by Ronald Sklar Tom Verica stars as family patriarch Jack Pryor on the NBC sleeper hit American Dreams. The role calls for the strong silent type: a challenge which is not always as appreciated as it should be in a medium that often displays the dad as the house fool. Here, Verica … Continue reading
Switchfoot – Never Let Us Down
Switchfoot Never Let Us Down by Sheila Lussier Pulling up to the legendary Roxy in Hollywood, I found a line wrapped around the block and down the sidewalk. It was made up of Switchfoot fans that had waited more than twohours in line for their favorite band to go on. The band’s tour manager brought me … Continue reading
Elton John – Greatest Hits 1970-2002 (A PopEntertainment.com Music Review)
Elton John – Greatest Hits 1970-2002 (Mercury) From 1970 to 1977 Elton John had an almost unprecedented run of musical brilliance, during that time his work with lyricist Bernie Taupin rivaled the work of Lennon and McCartney and Brian Wilson. In this short bridge of time, John recorded about two very good albums a year … Continue reading