Aaliyah (born Aaliyah Dana Houghton) was a singular talent – the voice of an angel, the ability to project a unique measure of vulnerability and confidence simultaneously, and the effortless swagger of a Hall Of Fame-worthy pop diva, all residing … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Aaliyah

Retro-futurism is a dead aesthetic. Past ideas of what the future will look like always seem impossibly quaint in hindsight, and pointing that out amounts to kicking the past when it’s down. And yet there was one band who managed … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Stereolab

The Clash were known as “the only band that matters.” But what was that supposed to mean, exactly? How can any band “matter” in the grand scheme of things? Were they supposed to have mattered because of their politics? Every … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: The Clash

Dälek make the harshest, most unforgiving rap music in existence. Hailing straight outta Newark, New Jersey, they construct explosive tracks filled with feedback squalls, distorted vocals, waves of sheer white noise, walls of impenetrable static, and the odd sample of … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Dälek

Jucifer are a cult band’s cult band. Throughout their 25-year career, the Georgia duo have become known mainly for two things: their female singer/male drummer lineup, almost unheard-of for a metal band, and for the giant wall of amps and … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Jucifer

Some bands were obviously never going make it big. Some make it there, only to lose the very thing that made them special. Some fluke their way to success, through sheer happenstance. And then there are those bands who had … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Cave In

Those screams. Good god. Anyone who has heard The Blood Brothers can attest to the horrific effect of their signature feature, the dueling call-and-response vocal assault of singers Johnny Whitney and Jordan Blilie, trading shrill, piercing howls like an especially … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: The Blood Brothers

Pretty Girls Make Graves really seemed like they were on to something good. Part of this is because they explicitly positioned themselves as indie rock saviors of a kind – they were revivalists of a certain post-punk sound and style, … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Pretty Girls Make Graves

R.E.M. performed a vital, yet thankless task: they, more than anyone else, are solely responsible for the modernization of classic rock. It’s impossible to imagine what a good 30+ years’ worth of indie, alternative and mainstream rock bands would have … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: R.E.M.

What IS it about Pearl Jam? Their status as the number two most iconic, quintessential rock band of the 1990s is nearly undisputed (they never did quite eclipse the memory of Nirvana), and with a string of immortal radio singles … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Pearl Jam