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Wanna push this blogger’s buttons? A surefire winner always is the mix of indelible melodies with chaotic guitar noise, whatever the context and other elements at work. But while many critics were hailing Treats, the 2010, M.I.A.-endorsed debut by the Brooklyn duo Sleigh Bells, as a masterpiece in... more
As a skeptic even when Van Halen was in its hair-metal heyday more than three decades ago—spandex, sophomoric double entendres and hammer-on’s just never did much for me—it’s hard to share in the enthusiasm of critics and fans trumpeting that “Van Halen finally is back to being Van Halen” on its... more
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On this week's Global Notes, Jerome and Tony Sarabia listen to cuts from Brazilian artist Gal Costa's latest labum, Recanto. A veteran of Brazil's Tropicalismo music scene, Costa records songs in Portuguese, Spanish and English. She's known for blending smooth Brazilian sounds with heavy rock, pop... more
What becomes a ’90s cult-rock legend most? That death is a great career move is a sad cliché, but it’s true nonetheless; witness Kurt Cobain and Jeff Buckley. Second, though—and considerably healthier—is the mysterious disappearing act. In another era, Brian Wilson, Roky Erickson and Syd Barrett... more
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No critic of popular music can avoid a good spirited debate about “authenticity”—Bon Iver is for real, man! Odd Future is a phony hype! Etc., etc., ad infinitum/nauseum—but the perfect storm of gossip, slander, speculation, classism, sexism, attack, defense, love, hate, backlash, and backlash to... more
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Few could dispute that 77-year-old Leonard Cohen is a musical treasure, the author of some of the most beautiful and poetic songs of the last four decades. And only the heartless would deny the Canadian artist the very late and long overdue career resurgence courtesy of the legion of admirers... more

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