When I wrote about Decibel's list of the year's best albums, I talked more about what was missing than what made it, and in a way, that was inevitable: It was a weird year for metal. I'm hesitant to…   Read Story »

In the final analysis, the first wave of British punk rock left us with a brief, fractious cacophony. The Sex Pistols imploded quickly and with a famously ferocious violence. Sham-69 and X-Ray Spex…   Read Story »

This year, the three albums at the top of Stereogum's 50 favorite albums of the year are all, in one way or another, Californian studio-pop singer-songwriter opuses. Admittedly, the makers of two of…   Read Story »

I have three tattoos. There's a treeish thing on my calf that doesn't really bother me, and another on my back so unmentionably bad it shall remain undescribed in any public forum as long as I draw…   Read Story »

There will never be another Dismemberment Plan, which is why it's so exciting that there will be another Dismemberment Plan album. Two years of slowly building momentum -- a reissue, a tour, a wealth…   Read Story »

The singular genius of Depeche Mode's music might be the way their songs inspire a gut-wrenching personal response. The best music is, of course, meant to do this, but when Depeche Mode started their…   Read Story »

The world has come a long way since the Who released Tommy in 1969. Tomorrow night, a stage adaptation of the Flaming Lips' seminal 2002 rock opera Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots will premiere at…   Read Story »

"Candy apples and razor blades, little dead are soon in graves / I remember Halloween / This day anything goes, burning bodies hanging from poles / I remember Halloween!" Thus cried Glenn Danzig…   Read Story »

Attempting to rank songs by the Velvet Underground -- the '27 Yankees of rock-music catalogs -- is almost inevitably going to end in tears. Upon hearing of this assignment, our dear friend and fellow…   Read Story »

There's just no getting around it: writing about Leonard Cohen is an intimidating proposition. Trying to put into words the magic of Cohen's art is like trying to play a guitar solo about Jimi…   Read Story »