Rock

Concert Review: The Flaming Lips — Still Keeping the Pink Robots at Bay

April 26, 2024
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“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.

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Music Interview: Matthew Sweet — After Five Years, Back on the Road

April 9, 2024
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The alternative rock/power pop singer-songwriter and musician was slowed down during the COVID years — but now he is back.

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Concert Review: The Sessanta Tour — Three of Alt-Rock’s Top-Tier Bands Triumphant

April 4, 2024
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Sessanta succeeded in making “old” songs and “old” bands sound powerful, vital, and progressive.

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Music Commentary: A Deep Dive into The Mothers of Invention’s “Plastic People”

March 29, 2024
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Frank Zappa’s tight editing ensured that “Plastic People” was a compelling aural creation, and his fierce confidence compelled listeners to pay attention to the words.

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Music Commentary: A Mystery Solved on the 50th Anniversary of the Release of “Queen II”

March 28, 2024
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It is well established that the lyrics to the song on “Queen II” that’s directly about the painting (called “The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke”) originate from a poem Richard Dadd wrote about his picture. What’s never been established though is exactly how Freddie Mercury became aware of this poem.

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Concert Review: “Fort Nights” — A Celebration of Life and Community

March 19, 2024
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Saturday night’s advertised performers paid robust homage to the late Gary Smith — the Fort Apache Studios owner, producer, and band manager —  across three and a half hours at the Somerville Theatre.

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Concert Review: Disco Biscuits — A Band Reborn

March 19, 2024
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The Disco Biscuits are playing champion-level shows following a period of rebuilding and recalibrating that brought the band out of semi-retirement.

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Concert Review: Hurray for the Riff Raff — Ringing Loud and Clear

March 10, 2024
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“The Past is Still Alive” hones Alynda Segarra’s songs to an accessible Americana that allows their travelogue-tinged tales to nestle in ways both literal and metaphorical. It’s one of the best records of the nascent new year.

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Music Interview: Disco Biscuits Redux — “Revolution in Motion”

March 10, 2024
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The Disco Biscuits improvisations are not driven by a guitar-rock root: they are more apt to dive into a piece of classical music and then ease into a propulsive dance-club beat that eventually swerves into Zappa-style brainy grime.

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Rock Album Review: Kim Gordon’s “The Collective” — Ensnared in Anxieties

March 8, 2024
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The album’s layers of thick and swampy sound make Kim Gordon’s anxious point.

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