http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/ Tue, 02 Sep 2008 23:08:34 -0800 Yahoo! http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/spin/2961/slide-away/ One minute and twenty-seven seconds into the new album from Jersey roots-punkers the Gaslight Anthem and there it is. "Great Expectations," the lead-off track, is roaring along, tense and taut, like the sound of thunder sped up and stretched out, then, an electric screech swoops in to herald the coming chorus. That noise is a pick slide--and I love it. Tue, 02 Sep 2008 23:08:33 -0800 David Marchese http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/spin/2955/king-tuffs-time-machine/ What will today sound like tomorrow? That question comes to mind courtesy of King Tuff. Though the name seems like it belongs to a dub reggae toaster, King Tuff is actually singer-guitarist Kyle Thomas, who's best known (if he's known at all) as the frontman in J. Mascis's stoner-metal side-project Witch. Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:00:02 -0800 David Marchese http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/spin/2954/diamond-reflections/ It took me a long time to take Neil Diamond seriously. That alternately eye-rolling and ear-catching document of a 1972 L.A. concert was undoubtedly cheesy, but I liked the way it tasted. I've been a Neil Diamond fan ever since, albeit a closet one. I'm happy to listen to him by myself, but a little embarrassed to play his stuff outside the judgment-free zone of my headphones. Mon, 18 Aug 2008 20:57:44 -0800 David Marchese http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/spin/2950/radiohead-rocks/ At the risk of losing my credibility as a music writer, I'll admit that I hadn't seen Radiohead play live before last Friday, when the band headlined the opening night of the inaugural All Points West Festival on Liberty Island in New Jersey. How could I have missed out on something so fundamentally awesome? No good reason, really. But, after the show, I understood the incredulity, because Radiohead live are amazing. Mon, 11 Aug 2008 18:56:37 -0800 David Marchese http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/spin/2939/italian-rockers-fuhgeddaboutit/ It occurred to me that, you know, the Italians have given the world a lot. But they haven't given us a great rock band. But maybe, like kids who flourish when they get out from under their parent's expectations, Italians had to get away from the land of Da Vinci and Michelangelo in order to produce good rock‘n'roll, because Italian-Americans have kicked out some spicy jams. Mon, 04 Aug 2008 20:44:20 -0800 David Marchese http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/spin/2931/for-those-about-to-sleep/ Last Sunday night, Spiritualized made me want to go to sleep. And thank goodness for that. Seeing the band play live, where leader Jason Pierce's weary croon and his bandmates' floating electric guitars and bleary keyboards come together in hazy majesty, made me realize how much I enjoy listening to the veteran British psych-rockers before going to bed. Tue, 29 Jul 2008 01:08:38 -0800 David Marchese http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/spin/2926/the-ten-best-batsongs/ As you surely know by now, The Dark Knight scored the biggest opening-weekend box office take in Hollywood history. I've listed the 10 best songs that have appeared on the soundtrack to a Batman movie. And no, Steve Miller's "The Joker" isn’t on the list. Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:27:51 -0800 David Marchese http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/spin/2910/summer-bummers/ There's been a lot of scuttlebutt this summer about the lack of a breakout seasonal single. Unlike in past years, there's been no ubiquitous jam--no "Crazy" or " Umbrella" to accompany the sounds of splashing in the pool or cracking open a cool one. Tue, 15 Jul 2008 01:07:42 -0800 David Marchese http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/spin/199/stand-and-salute-rocks-most-anthemic-bands/ I recently went to check out a band called the Good Gospel Truth. A Brooklyn quartet originally from Tennessee, these guys put on one of the best club shows I've seen in a long time. In a word: anthemic. Tue, 08 Jul 2008 00:57:33 -0800 David Marchese http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/spin/72/confessions-of-a-coldplay-convert/ I’d pretty much sworn off large-scale concerts. But I’ve had a change of heart. Actually, I've had two. The thing that changed my mind about massive shows was itself something I’d been ambivalent about: Coldplay. Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:33:46 -0800 David Marchese