Last summer, when Blur were reuniting to record a couple new tracks and play the closing ceremonies of the 2013 Olympics, I wrote here about the great English band's 10 best songs. I opened that post…   Read Story »

I couldn't presume to say that there's a right way or a wrong way to hear PJ Harvey for the first time, but I like the way that I did it. I don't remember exactly what was happening the first time I…   Read Story »

When Tool headlined 2009's Lollapalooza in Chicago, they were the most popular act on the bill by several light years. Hours before they started playing, people started filling up the field around…   Read Story »

Suede's self-titled debut has a few big, important historical distinctions. For one thing, it's generally acknowledged as the birth of Britpop -- possibly the last moment that guitar-rock has been…   Read Story »

The Jersey City duo P.M. Dawn's biggest hit was 1991's Spandau Ballet-sampling "Set Adrift On Memory Bliss," the first-ever Billboard #1 from a non-white rapper, and the first from anyone who wasn't…   Read Story »

Every once in a while, you'll still meet people who claim that Pablo Honey is Radiohead's best album. Musical taste is an entirely subjective thing, and we're all special unique flowers, but these…   Read Story »

Albums from 20 years ago generally tend to age much better than albums a decade old. At 20, an album has time to see its influence slowly disseminate into music at large, to become a part of the…   Read Story »

It's a strange task: thinking of 50 Cent, at this very moment, as the powerhouse that Get Rich Or Die Tryin' catapulted him into being. A die-hard might harbor a melancholy hope, angry for the…   Read Story »

Last month, Dr. Dre ended up on the top of a Forbes list of the year's highest-earning musicians -- this while releasing virtually no music. Dre is up there because of his Beats By Dre headphones…   Read Story »

A thought experiment: Imagine how Kendrick Lamar might've been different if he'd been born two decades earlier. Lamar is a distant descendent of the Los Angeles boho-rap scene that produced the…   Read Story »