Popular Music
@Discographies is closer to marketing jingles or consumer guide advice than it is to reviewing—the exercise is fun but limited because it deals with the least valuable part of criticism: the opinion, the verdict. By Bill Marx. Further tongue-in-cheek (?) proof that the traditional conception of arts criticism—that there’s a difference between critical judgment and…
Read MoreI never knew I needed to own a book like this, but I undoubtedly do. If there is anyone you know who loves singing and isn’t a snob about genre, this book would be a great holiday gift. It’s a colossal achievement that is also marvelously idiosyncratic. A Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and…
Read MoreThe Ups and Downs of the biz. At this time of year it’s easy to question your choice of residence in sun-deprived New England. The cold, the wet, and the absence of vitamin D in your skin rattles through to your bones and leaves you asking, can we just skip to June already? You are…
Read MoreBoston’s pop music scene in November has an international flair. Multiple groups from the UK who specialize in folk and electropop join bands from Spain and Ireland in coming to Boston this fall. While the picks for this month all have roots abroad, these acts make the Fall months of Boston that much more inviting.…
Read MoreAs a musical, Rock of Ages may not be an innovative or brilliantly written work of art, but the show’s delightfully cheesy enthusiasm, self-deprecating humor, and talented cast make it very hard to resist, especially for fans of 80s rock. Rock of Ages. Book by Chris D’Arienzo. Directed by Kristin Hanggi. Music Direction by Brandon…
Read MoreBeowulf: A Thousand Years of Baggage. Written and performed by Banana Bag & Bodice. At Oberon, Cambridge, MA, tonight (September 6). Reviewed by Chantal Mendes AF interview with Big Banana & Bodice Oberon is not the kind of place where you think you are going to learn something about what it means to be human.…
Read MoreBy Chantal Mendes This Sunday the enterprising theater troupe Banana Bag & Bodice brings its distinctively modern adaptation of an ancient classic, Beowulf – A Thousand Years of Baggage, to Oberon in Cambridge, MA. For those of us who missed the recent movie version, Beowulf conjures up sleepy times in early English Literature class. Given…
Read MoreEven though it’s the time of year when the T is clogged with wide-eyed college freshman trying to find Faneuil Hall, there are still lots of great shows to go see in Boston. By Thomas Samph This month’s selection of pop music begins with an up-and-coming female pop act from the UK whose Family Jewels…
Read MoreAmbient indie-pop and summery surf sounds take over Boston in the second half of August. By Thomas Samph August 13, Deerhunter at Royale At a Deerhunter show, the sight of frontman Bradford Cox’s skeleton-like figure striding on to the stage through a thick mist (sometimes wearing a dress) is as ethereal and spooky as his…
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Music Review: The Beatles are Still Here, There, and Everywhere