Matt Hanson
Gary Clark Jr.’s “JPEG RAW” could be seen as an orchard whose far-reaching sonic branches — nurtured by the rich, fertile, and ancient soil of the blues — stretch into jazz, hip hop, and funk.
“Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots” was the only record of the Flaming Lips that I knew in any real depth; it turns out that the band’s live show was heartwarming, a buoyant and visually exuberant experience.
Cindy Lee’s “Diamond Jubilee” is nothing if not immersed in its own inner world. That’s part of its complexity, its strength, and its beauty.
This brilliant novel is not only out to subvert narrative expectations, but to undercut the act of reading itself.
Don’t underestimate the elemental power of a story that takes the reader inside the mind and heart of a good and decent man caught in a helpless situation.
The group’s first record of new material in well over a decade, “Hackney Diamonds” isn’t quite a bad Rolling Stones record but it’s decidedly not a good one.
These new mixes and remixes of the source material, outtakes, and scintillating live cuts show how The Replacements were one of the greatest bands to ever not care much about being one.
Joe Strummer is clearly having a ball that night, in fine form: cracking jokes and proudly announcing his bandmates.
Maybe The Zombies are not quite as elaborately visionary as they used to be, but after all this time that is no great sin. And Colin Blunstone and Ron Argent’s breathy but soulful voices have held up magnificently.
I’ve always admired Bob Dylan’s resolute reluctance to repeat himself, artistically or otherwise. The Bootleg Series Vol. 17: Fragments reminds us how obsessive that aesthetic restlessness really is.
Classical Music Commentary: What’s Next for the Boston Symphony? — Lessons from the Past