Aquarium Drunkard

True story. I knew so very little about Ben Kweller in 2002, that I went to his show at the Roxy to see My Morning Jacket open and then immediately split before his set. But truthfully, after all that early-period MMJ rockness, I probably would have thought his schtick to be shit anyways. The accompanying […]

Alejandro Escovedo’s cover of Gun Club’s “Sex Beat” has been posted here before; been played more than once on my radio show as well. Why? Because like any good re-interpretation, it’s takes the song’s bare essence and spins it until it becomes something different entirely — and yet it hangs on to the the same […]

If you were in the Research Triangle area, or surrounding states, in the early to mid ’90s, chances are you were a Superchunk fan. If so, this one’s for you. While it’s not Superchunk (it’s been 4 years and change since the last SC album) this one, in a lot of ways, feels damn close. […]

It’s 2006, so that must mean another Yo La Tengo record. Wait, take a step back, things are different here, really. The first of fifteen tracks, “Pass The Hatchet, I Think I’m Goodkind,” is all distorted droning guitars and attitude. It begs you to try and not listen; not get sucked into it’s fierce pull. […]

I am a child of the ’80s from the American South. Like many of my brethren, R.E.M. served as my first taste of left-of-center musical fare; what was then referred to as “college music.” Seems such a dated term now, but at the time it was as kicked around as the ad nauseam of today’s […]

Upon first listening to the upcoming Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3 record Ole! Tarantula I was immediately struck with two competing thoughts: a) damn, this is really good. B) I would bet cash money that Bob Pollard is a huge Soft Boys/Hitchcock fan.
This LP marks a clear return to the garage pop Hitchcock used […]

Even today most fans still do not know that Led Zeppelin’s epic “Dazed And Confused,” off their eponymous debut, was in actuality a cover tune. During a U.S. American tour in the late ’60s the Jimmy Page led version of the Yardbirds shared a NYC Greenwich Village gig with the American folk singer Jake Holmes. […]

Some time ago I was listening to a Will Oldham incarnation, be it a Palace project or Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy I cannot recall, but I do distinctly remember a piece of the Doors lyric “mute nostril agony” running through my mind and perfectly describing the feeling of what I was listening to. Succinct tales of […]

One of the beauties of the iPod, or any mass music storage device with a shuffle option, is that they present the opportunity to approach and listen to music in a (sometimes entirely) different light. The latest case for this happened recently while half-listening to my iTunes on shuffle mode. Nearly back-t0-back I heard The […]

Prior to the show, you could just feel the anticipation in the room….the Joo’s were actually here in Los Angeles playing the Henry Fonda Music Box. Rumors were flying around that Steve Malkmus would make a cameo, but it didn’t happen. No matter, D.C. Berman and crew more than held their own playing fan favorites […]

Initially released a year ago via Catbird Records; Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin sees their album, Broom, reissued by Polyvinyl in the here and now of 2006. If you didn’t check out these guys the first time around, I would suggest doing so now. At the very least play the MP3 samples below. Airtight […]

Parker Gispert, vocalist for Athens, Ga. trio The Whigs, answered six questions on a Drunkard’s mind. The band’s self-released album, Give ‘em All A Big Fat Lip is on my short-list for 2006. It is also being re-released by their new home: ATO Records. Do check them out, live or on record.———————————————————–
A.D. - Athens […]