Writing a song is easy. You just bang out a chain of chords, always driving to the chorus as fast and as often as possible. Then you throw on some…
Ben Wiser
56 Articles
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
The summer of 1989 was when the Grateful Dead got big. I mean really big. The success of 1987’s In the Dark lead to an influx of new fans —…
Dw. Dunphy
1 Min Read
All rise. The rules of this courtroom are simple. You will be presented with two songs, one by the plaintiff and one by the defendant. It is your task to…
Popdose Staff
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When Alex Chilton died, it left a gaping hole in the hearts of music fans everywhere. The Popdose staff remembers Chilton’s life, music, and legacy.
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
This week in Test of the Boomerang, Ben Wiser wishes a happy 70th birthday to Dead legend Phil Lesh.
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
Twenty years after it was released, Ben Wiser says Peter Murphy’s Deep still cuts you up.
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
By the mid 1980s, many of hardcore’s old guard were outgrowing their three chord attack. A lot of bands found a new identity in the commercially viable crossover of thrash…
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
Relix editor Toni Brown discusses her long history with the Grateful Dead — as well as her own musical career — in an interview with Ben Wiser.
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
My copy of Lord of the Logos arrived just after the monstrous snow storm hit. While the snow drifted six feet up my stairs, some mysterious messenger braved the winter-choked…
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
Skullflower: Strange Keys to Untune God’s Firmament (Neurot) Strange Keys to Untune God’s Firmament is the latest offering from cult noise band Skullflower – one of several ongoing projects of…
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
Ben Wiser interviews Heavy Metal Cookbook author Annick Giroux in an unusually delicious edition of the Chronicles of DOOM.
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
Well met, knaves, rogues, and scoundrels. I’ve been a fan of the Chicago band Pelican since I first heard Australasia on a late-night drive about six or seven years ago. …
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
I’m sure by now everyone is aware that Ronnie James Dio was diagnosed with stomach cancer in November. He is currently recovering from chemotherapy at home and recently posted a…
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
Hey gang, sorry it’s been so long since we last rapped, but things have been way hectic. I finally cut my hair and got myself a respectful 9-5. Actually more…
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
I watched a documentary on KISS recently. It was a pretty in-depth affair. Paul and Gene, talking openly, candidly about their long and fabled history. They talked about how the…
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
I used to frequent a seedy bar on Market Street called The Top Hat. I don’t think it’s there anymore, but I would get $2 bourbon and Cokes while I…
Popdose Staff
1 Min Read
As the decade draws to a close, the Popdose staff looks back at its favorite films of the last 10 years.
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
Start off your Thursday with punishing chunks of doom from some of the best new metal releases, including brand new Yoga, Baroness, and WRNLRD.
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
To paraphrase an old adage: those who can, do, and those who can’t, write. For the last couple of years now, you’ve been good enough to come to our site…
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
At four songs, Om‘s God is Good feels less like a whole album than a brief and tantalizing glimpse at what is yet to come. Om is a band that…
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
In the spring of 1971, Grateful Dead keyboardist Tom Constanten, along with the band Touchstone, produced and performed the music for an off-broadway show at the Circle in the Square…
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
Since 2002, Nadja — the Toronto-based duo of Aidan Baker and Leah Buckareff — have released over 40 full length LPs, split records, singles, CD-Rs and a live DVD. Nadja…
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
Phish is back with their first album in five years, and Ben Wiser thinks it might be their best yet. Also: A list of potential candidates for Phish’s 2009 “Halloween costume.”
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
“But there was something else tugging at Garcia as 1964 turned into 1965. For one thing, like half of America under the age of 25, Jerry had been seduced by…
Jon Cummings
1 Min Read
It’s Beatles Week here at Popdose, and Jon Cummings kicks things off by leading the staff through a list of our personal Fab Four favorites.
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
Nick Cave has spent the better part of the past decade reasserting himself in his role as true rennaisance man. After the subdued and stately The Boatman’s Call (1997) and…
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
My colleague John Hughes has graciously let me take the wheel today for this edition of Lost in the ’80s. Fields of the Nephilim were the gothedelic deathrock cowboys of…
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
Meet James Perry, whose debut solo CD arrives after 20 years spent playing in Bay Area bands. Perry speaks with Ben Wiser about the eclectic new album, titled Now You’re Gone.
Dw. Dunphy
1 Min Read
I know what you were expecting. “See You In September” or “Summer Nights” from Grease or, in a sarcastic vein, “School’s Out” — but we don’t need no steenkin’ kitsch….
Ben Wiser
1 Min Read
Jerry Garcia would have been 67 on Saturday, and to celebrate his birthday, Ben Wiser has delivered another fine Test of the Boomerang mix.
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