Years ago, I had a friend who was a singer in a retro-punk band called Vaginal Cancer. He picked the name after his girlfriend had had a suspicious Pap smear….
CD Reviews
635 Articles
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
If you’re more than 16 years old — and let’s face it, dear reader, you probably are (we know our demographic here at Popdose!), continue reading only if you have…
Dw. Dunphy
1 Min Read
Well, you can’t say they didn’t warn you. As alluded to by the title, the latest by the freak-out wizards of the Flaming Lips goes back to the embryo —…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
Just a week or so after tackling Rhino’s massive Big Star release, Keep An Eye on the Sky, I’m back writing about another huge effort from Rhino, Where the Action…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
Rod Stewart is one of the most soulful vocalists on Earth, as well as one of rock’s finest interpreters. He also sucks. This Rod dichotomy has been a part of…
Pete Chianca
1 Min Read
Brian Setzer doesnÁ¢€â„¢t want your money. ThatÁ¢€â„¢s the only possible explanation for all the banjo-plucking, yodeling, classical noodling and other activities guaranteed to keep his songs off the radio, not…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
It seems that no album by a Texas songwriter would be complete without a tip of the hat to the late master Townes Van Zandt. Guy Clark covered “If I…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
Last year, the Revelations featuring Tre Williams released their Deep Soul EP, which was not only one of my favorite recordings of the year, but one that I voted for…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
Ken Shane reviews a release that will have power-pop lovers drowning in ecstasy for the rest of the year: the new Big Star box set from Rhino Records.
Mike Heyliger
1 Min Read
Mention the name Meshell Ndegeocello to the average music fan and you’ll likely receive a “huh?” in response. There may be a handful of people who remember her from her…
Popdose Staff
1 Min Read
Any good label manager would tell you: don’t name your album something a reviewer could turn into a catchy, snarky counterpoint. But as we know far too well, most of…
Rob Smith
1 Min Read
Built to Spill, There is No Enemy (2009, Warner Bros.) Purchase this album (Amazon) If Doug Martsch sang like Dave Grohl, Rivers Cuomo, or even Thom Yorke, Built to Spill…
Dw. Dunphy
1 Min Read
The dread that falls over a fan when they hear their favorite band is about to release a live album or an umpteenth greatest hits compilation is palpable. You didn’t…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
Last week, in my review of Crayon Angel: A Tribute to the Music of Judee Sill, I said that in most cases, tribute albums are a hit-or-miss affair. That’s not…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
Selena Gomez co-credits her full-length debut to a band called the Scene, but let’s get this out of the way up front: On Kiss & Tell, Gomez sounds no more…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
It’s easy to hate Paramore. With her diminutive stature, big vocals, and perpetually scrunched-up face, singer Hayley Williams comes across like a younger, snottier version of Avril Lavigne — an…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
Last summer when I saw the Avett Brothers at the Newport Folk Festival, they were a charming, energetic, ragtag bunch of guys dressed in white shirts and vests with skinny…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
Mariah Carey’s last album, 2008’s E=MCÁ‚², marked the spot where she broke Elvis Presley’s record for Number One singles by a solo artist — and it also boasted the biggest…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
Cleveland has a reputation for being a sort of American cultural black hole, but like a lot of bad reputations, it isn’t entirely deserved: having spent an enjoyable February weekend…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
She went to Spain on a Fulbright scholarship, but Haroula Rose is firmly rooted in Laurel Canyon on her debut EP, Someday, a dreamy, beautifully packaged five-song effort that features…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
So this is what 50,000 dollars looks like 10 oÁ¢€â„¢clock sharp in the morning, whenever youÁ¢€â„¢d like in the evening So you can take it or you can pass it…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
Discerning folk fans have long known that nobody does New England folk like the people at Boston’s Signature Sounds. With a catalog boasting some of the finest efforts from distinguished…
Dw. Dunphy
1 Min Read
When a band soldiers on with new personnel after a loss — such as, say, the overdose death of original Alice in Chains lead singer Layne Staley — the preeminent…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
The history of popular music is filled with stories of triumph and tragedy. Among the latter, no story is more tragic than that of Judee Sill. After a difficult childhood…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
I’m a big fan of Justin Vernon in his day job as Bon Iver. His is one of the freshest and most creative voices to emerge from the north woods…
Dw. Dunphy
1 Min Read
If you were born of a certain generation that, once upon a time, thought Whitesnake was bitchin’, Firebirds and Trans Ams were hot rides and the mullet was, well, it…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
I am honored to play a small role in the wonderful music community centered around Asbury Park, N.J. There are a number of really good bands among us, and we’re…
Jeff Giles
1 Min Read
Take the rootsy instrumentation of Lowen & Navarro and blend it with the marshmallow-sweet vocal harmonies of the Guggenheim Grotto, and you’ve got yourself Oak and Gorski, the cello-rockin’ duo…
Rob Smith
1 Min Read
The popularity of David Gray’s White Ladder nine or so years ago was a fluke, an accident, a total surprise, never should have happened. The man had been plugging away…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
The new Works Progress Administration album is the sort of musical collaboration that should be encouraged. The core of WPA consists of Glen Phillips (Toad the Wet Sprocket), Sean Watkins…