Spun Out: The Year in Sonic Chaos
By Davis McGraw I suck at keeping up with new releases, but I’m a sucker for show & tell. Here are five records that I heard in 2011 and deserve a good listen. 5. Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes: Havin’ A Party With Southside Johnny (1979) [Goodwill in Laconia, August] Johnny found his way...
Taylor on Taylor: Episode Two
Last episode, Taylor K. Brown and I, Taylor K. Long, took you through the wild world of Katy Perry, Kanye West, sci-fi, sex metaphors, R. Kelly, Fleet Foxes and Starbucks. If you missed it, you can relive the glory here. This time, the Taylors go through an in-depth personality analysis of David Lynch, and explore...
David Byrne @ Prospect Park Bandshell, Monday, June 8th
An overwhelming 27,000 people showed up to see David Byrne play a free show at the Prospect Park Bandshell in Brooklyn on Monday night. The show was the opening of the 2009 Celebrate Brooklyn concert series. Celebration was easily the theme of the night, whether you were celebrating the fact that it didn’t rain, the...
T-Sides Elsewhere, April 23rd Edition
The webmistress has been a little preoccupied with looking for paying work, but I’m still out there, spreading the T-Sides love! Over on Popdose, I reviewed two albums that have a decent shot at making it to my year-end list: Neko Case’s Middle Cyclone, and the solo album from the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, Keep...
Double Dipping: Morrissey @ Webster Hall, The Grates & Micachu and the Shapes @ Pianos, Wednesday, March 25th
New York City living, with its ever-expanding list of options, presents a reoccurring problem: What to do when you need or want to be in two places at once? Given the opportunity to see both legendary crooner Morrissey at Webster Hall for free and up and coming hype bands the Grates and Micachu and the...
Nine Inch Nails @ DCU Center, Sunday, Nov. 9th
Image courtesy flickr user kernelslacker It would go against the trail-blazing spirit of Trent Reznor to use him as any sort of guideline, but it must be said that any arena rock band should turn to Reznor’s live show for inspiration. Every aspect of Sunday night’s show at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA was...
Smashing Pumpkins @ United Palace, Thursday, Nov. 6th
Anyone who was unsure as to what to expect from the Smashing Pumpkins’ performance at United Palace last Thursday surely had that question answered within the first few minutes. They started on time, and opened “Roctopus” with a Jimmy Chamberlin drum solo, after which erratic frontman Billy Corgan took the stage – in a dress....
Dengue Fever & Rachid Taha @ Central Park SummerStage, Saturday, July 5th
Of the many things that can be said about the performances of Dengue Fever and Rachid Taha at Central Park’s SummerStage, the biggest link between the two is a good performer’s ability to keep the audience entranced when they don’t speak the same language. Dengue Fever are American based, but to complement the group’s Cambodian...
T-Sides Elsewhere, June 12th Edition
Bullz-Eye: I attended the Eagles concert at Madison Square Garden as part of the Long Road to Eden tour. Read my review here. Popdose: 2008 has been a lackluster year thus far, but now that summer is approaching, the new release calendar is heating up. I reviewed Scarlett Johansson’s weirdo Tom Waits cover album here,...
The Dirty Projectors @ Bowery Ballroom, Tuesday, Dec. 4th
Dirty Projectors are the kind of band that music writers drool over. Describing a band like the Dirty Projectors is a kind of challenge we’re all too eager to accept, encouraged by the unique quality of the music and our own egos, itching to be the one who “wrote it best.” It brings out hyperbolic...
Bob Dylan’s “Not There”
Todd Haynes could not have chosen a more apt title for his Bob Dylan tribute film, I’m Not There. Dylan is not often found within the two hours and 25 minutes of the film: not in the character’s names, not in the soundtrack (the songs are covers), and only occasionally in the plot. As an...
T-Sides Contest: Win a copy of Mark Ronson’s “Version”
I’ve written before about my love for Mark Ronson’s album, Version – and this is your chance to win a copy for yourself in the very first T-Sides Contest. How, you ask? Here’s how: Can you identify the songs covered on Version? E-mail as many of the original song titles/artists as you can to taylor@t-sides.com...
Soapbox