Coachella Blog, Day Two: Mommy, Why Does Everybody Have a Bomb?
Our Charles Aaron examines sets from Prince, Portishead, Kraftwerk, and more in his Day Two blog.
By Charles Aaron 04.28.08 6:28 PM
In a better universe, Prince would've been the original alternative rocker. Able to play virtually any instrument in virtually any style -- funk, soul, R&B, gospel, pop, rock, folk, psych, new-wave -- he was a multiracial, pansexual, politically minded, sacredly profane fashion freakazoid who posed in the shower wearing a trench coat and a "Rude Boy" button.
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Coachella Blog, Day One: Summer Is Ready When You Are
Our Charles Aaron compares two forces of nature: Steven Tyler and Black Kids, and makes many more Coachella observations in his Day One blog.
By Charles Aaron 04.26.08 11:50 PM
Here are two skewed views of the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, which opened its three-session 2008 cavalcade at Empire Polo Field in Indio, California Friday (just minutes away from where the late Merv Griffin once held court as the cardiganed billionaire pasha of this desert resort-village refuge, as the sultan of streets named after legendary golfers -- Nicklaus, Palmer, even We
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Do What Thou Wilt: Led Zeppelin Reunite in London
At their already mythical London reunion show, Led Zeppelin dropped the hammer of the gods one more time.
By Charles Aaron 01.26.08 10:42 AM
When a bleary Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, and Jason Bonham formed a sweaty scrum, soaked up the adulation of 22,000 fanatics, and left London's O2 Arena stage after 130 minutes on December 10, 2007, the logo still remained.
LED ZEPPELIN.
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Soulsavers, 'It's Not How Far You Fall, It's the Way You Land'
Nobody does down-home melodrama like Euro hipsters.
By Charles Aaron 01.18.08 4:17 AM
"There's gonna be a revival tonight," intones Mark Lanegan, accompanied by members of the London Community Gospel Choir, to open the second Soulsavers album from British producers Rich Machin and Ian Glover. Enveloped by a lush organ and dusty, looped beat, Lanegan sounds, if not reborn, then hopeful, which is a fresh look for the grunge-scarred meth-blues crooner.
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The Pack, 'Based Boys' (Up All Nite/ Jive)
One-hit hyphy wunderkinds go dumb with a weak thud.
By Charles Aaron 01.18.08 4:17 AM
When the sneaker-pimpin', sleigh-bell-shakin' hit "Vans" blew up online last year, these kids were poised to be the first bona fide breakout act for the forever-bubblin' Bay Area hyphy scene (despite being performing- arts-school kids assisted by old-timer Too Short, one of the members' uncles).
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Ghostland Observatory, 'Paparazzi Lightning' (Trashy Moped)
Electronica gets a big ten-inch boost from Lone Star loonies.
By Charles Aaron 01.18.08 4:17 AM
When Daft Punk's alien ghetto blast "Da Funk" touched down at a Texas rave in the late '90s, there wasn't an X Files-level conspiracy panic, but the ground was irreparably shaken for drummer/ keyboardist/producer Thomas Turner.
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