Greg Bartalos, a New Yorker for virtually his entire life, has been reading The Big Takeover since the early ’90s. He has worked as a financial writer and editor for more than a decade at Barron’s Online and Bloomberg News, among other places. He has also written about radio, politics and current events, and previously hosted a general interest radio talk show on WVOX-AM. For the better part of 20 years, he has also sung and played guitar and keyboards for the Keyboard Kids. His one and only live performance was at CBGB leading the group Allergic Salute.
The Spudboys from Ohio land in the Big Apple and go down a storm, playing material recorded from 1974-1977.
The ex-Stranglers front-man discusses his new album Totem & Taboo, God, Arthur Lee, Jan Svankmajer, Manuel de Falla, Henry Moore and more.
For the first time in 16 years, the Stranglers are returning to tour North America, where today they are releasing “Giants,” their 17th studio album. J.J. Burnel: “There are ups and downs. At the moment, we are in a very big up.”
In a remarkable career that has embraced punk, post-punk, new wave, psychedelia, pop, rock, waltzes and more, the Stranglers are thriving in 2012, while many legendary peers such as the Clash, Ramones and Sex Pistols, are long gone.
Devo is back with its best record in almost three decades.
England’s Leatherface blitzes Brooklyn and plots a return in May.
Whether you want to call Devo legends or not, their highly influential legacy is finally being given its due.
Ex-Stranglers lead singer/guitarist Hugh Cornwell put on one of the most spirited performances I’ve ever seen by him.
33 years and counting, the Damned remain an unstoppable force.
The Damned have released their first album in seven years and thankfully the wait was well worth it.
Dickinson flirts with melodrama but unlike Wile E. Coyote, who invariably chases the Road Runner only to fall off a cliff, Dickinson is more a like an experienced horse that gallops near the periphery of a jagged cliff yet knows enough to not fall off.
With the recent 2-CD reissue of Forever Changes the album continues to astound four decades on.
Last year, U.S. compact disc sales plunged by 19%. With the consumer today facing pressure from all sides, chances are that 2008 will be even worse.
With its name-your-price approach, Radiohead made people feel that they owed the group something and that indebtedness, however manifested, only led to better buzz and more goodwill.
In the future, will we increasingly see names like When People Were Shorter and Lived Near the Water and Bad Mutha Goose and the Brothers Grimm?
Content creators will have an increasingly tough time attracting a large audience as people find themselves with ever more options and ever less free time.
Dee Kesler explains why fish, rabbits, dogs, frogs, monkeys, sharks, piranhas, eagles, turkeys and bears have all found a home in the group’s discography.
Dee Kesler: “Belgian audiences are ridiculously attentive and then equally appreciative after you finish each song. They were by far the best audience we’ve run across on a national basis.”
The musician Stew makes his first foray into theater and delivers a winning rock/ballad/funk/punk/electronic/afro-baroque/avant-garde/cabaret musical.
With Book of Bad Breaks the group has its third winner in as many albums.
If you want a true San Francisco treat then put down the Rice-A-Roni and pick up this stellar album instead.
What albums do you think deserve more credit? The Cavedogs, Readymade and the Godfathers make my list.
The rock industry’s power players love to peddle iconography associated with freedom, rebellion and anti-establishment thinking but when it comes to selecting members for its hall of fame, cloak-and-dagger machinations rule the day.
Thirty years after these British punk pioneers pressed a stun gun to rock’s sagging bottom, The Damned remain electric.
Arthur Lee is no longer with us but thanks to bands like Shaw ‘Nuff his music still is.
On Suite XVI you hear something of its own identity. It’s safe to say Hugh Cornwell’s ghost has finally been put to rest.
We’re all familiar with music that slowly grows on you. But what about music that slowly means less to you over the years?
Last week, Arthur passed away, due to acute myeloid leukemia, in his birthplace of Memphis, Tennessee. Here, I offer my respect to one of music’s all-time greats.
The Gold Record is golden and ranks as one of the best records I’ve heard this year.
In replacing HUGH CORNWELL—who also was the group’s lead singer for 16 years – PAUL ROBERTS had enormous shoes to fill. By most accounts Roberts’ feet were too small.
These old warhorses charged ahead at full gale for roughly 45 minutes with their razor sharp attack as fierce as ever.
While there’s been ample hand-wringing about the evolution from vinyl to CD to the MP3, something good and very underappreciated has happened in the process.
From Carroll Gardens to Cobble Hill to Park Slope, Brooklyn is awash with stoop sales, which is great news for music lovers looking to find low-priced treats.
Much is the same on Ringleader of the Tormentors as in MORRISSEY’s past work: an obsession with love, death, hope, and anguish. But much is different—and in general, this is for the better.
From undulating butts lighting up panoramic scoreboards to BARRY BONDS’ troublesome pursuit of the all-time home run record to a cynical steroids investigation, baseball has never strayed so far from its idyllic roots.
ROGUE WAVE and NADA SURF released albums that were among last year’s very best, which is why this double bill was such a treat.
The aptly named STARS were treated like stars when they took the stage at this sold-out show. And well they should be.
Don’t let the record labels fool you. Thanks to the Internet there are more possibilities for musicians to prosper than ever before.
Pandora.com’s stated mission is “To help you discover new music you’ll love.” Based on my couple of hours using the site, I can say it does just that.
Stern’s radio show on Sirius Satellite, which listeners have to pay to hear, has been made available for free online and by pirate radio stations. With all the talk about music piracy, why did no one see this coming?
With almost a century of music recorded between them legends Chico Hamilton and Arthur Lee hit the studio together. Hamilton will further spoil his fans by releasing three more records throughout the year.
BONO says he’s working to end world poverty, but for an upcoming U2 show in Sao Paulo the cheapest full-price ticket will cost someone earning the minimum wage there two-thirds of his monthly salary.
A new study by British researchers argues that increased access to music is making people appreciate it—less.
You hoist another CAN, scarf down more CAKE, and now suffer indigestion and CRAMPS from too much LAMBCHOP and an excess of RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS.
Thirty years on, some of punk rock’s greatest are still going strong. Here’s why a combined DAMNED / STRANGLERS / BUZZCOCKS / STIFF LITTLE FINGERS tour could be a hit.
If you’re looking for something to warm you up, look no further than THE LONG WINTERS’ hot new EP.