Welcome to the first batch of 2021 new album reviews. I examine the sophistipop of Canada’s The Weather Station, as well as 2021 releases from two beloved neo-progressive rock acts. Supergroup Transatlantic’s The Absolute Universe and Steven Wilson’s The Future…
Hüsker Dü are among the embarrassment of riches to emerge from Minnesota in the 1980s – their contemporaries included Prince, The Replacements, and Soul Asylum. The three-piece band played energetic and emotive music – they started playing hardcore punk but…
Last week’s 1980s lyric quiz was won by Eclectic Music Lover, who completed the quiz with 44 seconds to spare. Congratulations to everyone who registered a perfect score. This week you need to connect the hit to the decade. …
Despite a career that spans from the 1962 single ‘Golden Gridiron Boy’ to the 2017 album Dark Matter, L.A. singer-songwriter Randy Newman has only recorded eleven studio albums. He’s also achieved recognition as a film composer, for movies like 1980’s…
Before he became Patti Smith’s lead guitarist, Lenny Kaye compiled the 2 album set, Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era. Released in 1972, the two-LP set covered American garage rock and psychedelia from the years from 1965-1968, and…
Last week’s quiz produced a bunch of different responses – some people cruised through it very fast, while others took a while. Personally I had trouble recognising Gloria Estafan and Paula Abdul, so it took me a while. Congratulations to…
The 1970s were a great decade for albums. Acts like David Bowie, Marvin Gaye, Joni Mitchell, and Led Zeppelin released a swathe of great records. Amongst all the great music, however, plenty of abominable songs also made it onto the…
Before he became Patti Smith’s lead guitarist, Lenny Kaye compiled the 2 album set, Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era. Released in 1972, the two-LP set covered American garage rock and psychedelia from the years from 1965-1968, and…
We had lots of perfect scores last week, but the fastest score went to Music Enthusiast Jim S. Well done everyone. This week you need to enter the first name of famous musicians into a grid, and spell some words.…
A quirky alternative rock band from Boston, Massachusetts, the Pixies effectively bridged two eras in guitar rock; the underground bands of the 1980s like Hüsker Dü and the mega-selling 1990s alt-rock bands like Nirvana and Radiohead. The four-piece guitar band…
