Toby Lightman Devils and an Angel by Jay S. Jacobs The music biz is always hungrily searching for the next big thing. They’re trying to find an artist that has the talent and the vibe and the chops to make a huge splash in the choppy waters of popular culture. It should be someone who has … Continue reading
Jill Hennessy crossing Jill by Jay S. Jacobs Copyright ©2004 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: February 27, 2004. When the 2003 television season started, fans of the popular forensic drama Crossing Jordan were surprised to find the show was not on NBC’s schedule. Many asked if the show been canceled. How could that be? The show … Continue reading
fountains of wayne bright future in record sales by jay s. Jacobs When the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences released their 2004 Grammy nominations, Fountains of Wayne were one of the acts nominated as Best New Artist. This must have surprised the members of the band, who were under the impression that they’d been playing together for over a decade. They believed … Continue reading
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
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 (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 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 (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 (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? (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
