These guys are from Atlanta, Georgia, not even remotely from Manchester,and they are not an orchestra, but a rockband–albeit a sophisticated one, a bandI discovered because Andy Hull, their band leader and principle songwriter, once collaborated with The Dear Hunter. I only have this one E.P. , The Valley of Vision,even though I streamed theirContinue reading “#793: M is for Manchester Orchestra”
Tag Archives: review
#792: M is for Magdalena Bay
Magdalena Bay might be the best 80’smale and female duo ever to form in the twenty-first century. More experimental than the Eurythmics and less rock oriented than Roxette, while Everything ButThe Girl maybe comes closest with their flirtation with jazz, Magdalena Bay bringstogether the other-worldly lead vocal from Mica Tenenbaum and the prog-leaning, synthesizer-heavy, andContinue reading “#792: M is for Magdalena Bay”
#783: L is for Laufey
Lo eh veh. Or Lo eu veh. Or LOI-vay. Not Laffey, please, as many of us likelymispronounced her name once we became aware of this young Icelandicsensation bringing what sounded likestandard vocal jazz to the world of pop. Right next door to k.d. lang in the stacks, a comparison seems appropriate. Whilethe quality of theirContinue reading “#783: L is for Laufey”
#781: K is for The Knack
As popular as The Knack was, as big of a splash as they made with their debutalbum, my understanding is that they, relatively soon after their meteoric rise to rock stardom, got some extreme push-back to lyrics that were pretty much blatantly pedo adjacent. What am I saying? The fact that “My Sharona” was writtenContinue reading “#781: K is for The Knack”
#779: K is for Klark Kent
It’s alphabetized under Klark and not Kentbecause this is more of a project namethan it is the name of an artist. It is the pseudonym, the stage name, the appellation, the moniker, the sobriquet, used on the first solo album by the most famous drummer of the most famous band of the 80’s, one ofContinue reading “#779: K is for Klark Kent”
#774: K is for King Crimson (1969)
In the 80’s, there was an SNLknock-off on ABC called Fridays. On one episode, the musical guestwas a band called King Crimson. I don’t remember if, at the time, I had any awareness of this bandor if I was hearing the name for the first time, but I do know thatthis was the first timeContinue reading “#774: K is for King Crimson (1969)”
#771: K is for Kansas
It may be a kind of cursefor progressive rock bands to have big hits. “Carry OnMy Wayward Son” is arguablyone of the greatest and most catchy prog rock songsin history, rivaled only by maybe “Roundabout” from Yes. But what’s also clearis that after Leftoverture and Point of No Return anda sequence of a couple ofContinue reading “#771: K is for Kansas”
#759: J is for Jellyfish
I cannot think of a better 90’s bandthat did not sound like the 90’s. Maybe The Posies or They Might BeGiants both come close, but thesecats, this Jellyfish band, I saw liveonce in their first iteration at a smallclub downtown shortly after that firstalbum, Bellybutton, and it was nearlya religious experience. Andy Sturmer, lead singingContinue reading “#759: J is for Jellyfish”
#739: J is for Jackson, Joe
At first, Joe Jackson struck meas the “other” Elvis Costello, and at the time, in my teens, I could not imagine needing another one. I was wrong aboutthat, of course, and I knew itas soon as Jackson released the big band album, Jumpin’Jive. He actually beat Costelloto the punch with the genrehopping. But this, NightContinue reading “#739: J is for Jackson, Joe”
#721: G is for Grant, John
I stumbled upon a live studio recording of Elbowperforming a song called“Kindling” from the Little Fictions album with a guestvocal performance by a guynamed John Grant. Who’s this person, I wondered. And I concluded, if he’s a friendof Elbow’s, he’s a friend ofmine, and then I watched thatvideo. Whoever this JohnGrant person was, he wasContinue reading “#721: G is for Grant, John”
michael jarmer 