Sometimes when I listen to Holly Herndon’s music, I think what an amazing thing that Ms. Herndon is making music in 2016 instead of 20 or 30 years ago. Over the last decade or so, what people have come to think as indie rock has broadened to include things that would have been considered jazz […]

First and foremost, the Burgerama at the Observatory in Santa Ana is a music festival cluttered with teens and college kids, and I have NEVER been to a festival so tightly curated and audience pleasing. From the easy access to the highway and lots of free parking, to the short lines and cordial security/festival workers, […]

Post-punk is now getting slightly long in the tooth. It is not rare to find subject’s of Simon Reynolds’ great book “Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984”, following in the footsteps of the generation before them and hitting the nostalgia circuit. Gang of Four: even though the band’s beloved original lineup made a […]

John Doe and Exene Cervenka of X There’s an old cliché that all one needs for great rock is three chords and the truth. One of the great examples of the three chord/truth paradigm is LA’s own X. Kings and Queens of 70s/80s LA punk scene, X, featuring John Doe and Exene Cervenka (in classic […]

Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. The strong survive. Evolve or die. All that. It explains why so many unique and beautiful-in-their-own-way kinds of life exist on our planet. Species that can no longer exist in the world die off; others evolve around changes in their environment and survive. Evolution can give you a perfect creature, like […]

Often times, solo records from lead singers are problematic. Often losing the chemistry that made a band special is lost and often times, a vocalist free from compromise make self indulgent records that lose the things that made them great. For a few years now, Singer/songwriter Tomás Pagán Motta has been making professional but less than […]

One of the interesting things about bands these days are their infinite ways to be cool or unique.  You can make sounds that have never been heard before. You can write a really simple song or give songs really ornate arrangements. Or you can give provocative interviews and have a new fresh take on music […]

Oklahoma City five-piece, Horse Thief received a lot of buzz with their debut EP, Grow Deep, Grow Wild. One of their songs were even covered by the Flaming Lips! In the wake of this buzz they signed a high-profile contract with highly respected indie label, Bella Union. Some of this big buzz might have been due to […]

Jesus Sons at El Cid — Photo by Bryan Olinger There are many who think that the seminal point in what is now called indie rock is the moment Lou Reed talked avant garde around town for John Cale to take his classical and drone training and bring them to the Velvet Underground; and there are […]

Pinning down Los Angeles-based (and occasionally Brooklyn) band Foxygen is a chore. Are they backward-facing 60s revivalists? Are they loose rockers fusing both the spirit of pre-punk and freedom rock? Are they dreamy pop stars with great hair and great press? Are they a Velvets-ey slacker duo who use faux-apathy to show their disdain for […]

First off, this is not the typical record that your average, casual music listener is used to — and fo’ sho’, Lonnie Holley has not taken the career path that your normal indie rocker have taken,  but please let me implore you to really take in this music because it is rewarding as fuck. Indirect, […]

Local scenes come-and-go. A group of friends otherwise like-minded creative people come across a similar aesthetic and influence each other to create a community of artists all making music that informs and stimulate each other. That happens every day and it’s the main reason why it’s usually a little weird when you don’t know where […]

When was the last time a power-pop album grabbed the attention of the cool kids? I guess it depends on your definition of power-pop but finding the balance between the sweetness of melody, the universality of a soaring melody and the earnestness of no-hyphen-rock-n-roll has been a difficult balance for artists since the early 70s. […]

Contrary to what you might have heard, Savages’ debut album, Silence Yourself is not a perfect record. However, this record might be something more exciting than a perfect record — a record that is both a screeching introduction and a solid foundation to build on. Great debut records are few and far between. Most bands have […]

Half of the term “music business” is “business.” The business and those who work in it, have been a factor in how we listen to, and experience music since the advent of recording. It’s very easy, but very lazy to demonize the entire business of music. Brian Epstein (Beatles manager) plays as large a part as […]

Straight up, the term “rock ‘n’ roll” means sex. Before Chuck Berry, Ike Turner and Little Richard, when someone said rock ‘n’ roll, they weren’t talking about music; they were talking about the deed. Early rock music was f#cking, and f#cking was rock music. And that’s exactly why parents and pastors alike were dead set against this […]

    Remember the Ohio-based collective Pere Ubu?  How about NYC No Wave band DNA? Well those were some the best avant-garde bands of the late 70s.  Totally great, innovative rock bands, they pushed musical boundaries and made albums I still listen to today. Great, but difficult albums are an important part of rock; however, […]

Photo: Ben Irwin of Pinpoint Music Like most “seen it, done it” rock fans, I have the unbearably annoying habit of looking for reasons NOT to like some new rock band before I look for reasons to like it (you, me and my therapist can discuss that later if you’d like); and you can double […]

  The opposite of love is not hate but rather indifference. Arguable, right? I will say this, when a lot of people start loving an indie band, I’m often dubious, and doesn’t really good indie take a while to seep into your pores?  How can someone love a band that’s trying to be different right […]

Ambition. It’s what killed Caesar.  Some have even called it ugly. However, rock music’s very best bands have always had it in spades. Face it, some acts come and go and are very happy to make easy-to-like music. There’s nothing wrong with that, dare I say — we need it? Music listeners can’t always be […]