All music discussion goes here, kiddos.
Being Brazilian musical royalty seems pretty cool. Besides the benefits of being rich, you get to grow up with incredible musicians hanging out with your fam all the time, jet-set around the world, and live off the goodwill of millions. … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Bebel Gilberto -Electro Bossa Nova Is Actually Pretty Great
The guiding voice and often the only voice (writer, composer, guitarist, pianist, and vocalist) behind the low-fi rock of the Mountain Goats, John Darnielle today is an acclaimed author whose early autobiographic rock songs turned into bizarre lovecraftian poetry and … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: The Mountain Goats
There was a brief period during the latter half of my teen years where I watched MTV. During those years, one of my favorite MTV shows was Twelve Angry Viewers, where twelve…people…would discuss a set of music videos and declare which … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Portishead
Let’s get this over with: And now that I’ve posted that, let’s have some fun: Because steampunk is at its best when it embraces the ridiculousness of its own concept. Steampunk is most sublime/ a lot of punks won’t like … Continue reading Scene Spotlight: Steampunk Music Scene
Gorillaz is a band that plays… well, it’s hard to figure out what exactly they play, because it exists at a strange crossroads of rock, soul, electronic, and hip-hop that usually somehow hashes out to be a peculiar sort of … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Gorillaz
As a teenager surfing through Pitchfork’s daunting Top 100 Albums of the 80’s list, one square in particular caught my eye. Galaxie 500’s On Fire: the perfect band name, the perfect album title, and an incendiary album cover that seemed to … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Blake Babies
Kayo Dot are the weirdest, most confounding band in the world, and possibly ever. Each of their 9 bizarre albums has its own distinct mood and personality, to say nothing of how they actually sound. At times, the band appears … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Kayo Dot
“If I could kick his head in, fickle little boyfriend, I’d be satisfied If I could smack some sense into his senses, I might feel alright” Lines from ‘Wishing He Was Dead’ there, a song which encapsulates what I love … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: The Like
You know those Youtube videos that are just like “How every _____ song is written”, where some guy walks you through the recurring themes and formulas a certain artist tends to return to over and over again? If they ever … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Phantogram
Although music is very important to me, I rarely bring it up on the Avocado. For one, I don’t know that I’ve listened to much of anything that anyone else here has. There’s the Beatles and the Stones, and then … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: The Capstan Shafts
Here they are, creators of the Avocado’s “Best” “One-Hit Wonder” song. Continue reading Get The Groove In Your Heart — Deee-Lite Artist Spotlight
Michelle Jacquet DeSevren Branch (b. July 2, 1983) is not a tragic figure. Her achievements in the recording industry — teenage stardom, multiplatinum certifications, mainstream crossover success, even a goddamn Grammy — are nothing to sigh for. It feels weird … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Michelle Branch
Richard James is a fairly common name…even in music. Today, however, I am talking about Richard David James, who is mostly known for his electronic music. He goes by many monikers such as AFX, Caustic Window, Polygon Window, and The … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Aphex Twin
When one thinks of iconic rap groups of the 90s, several names should immediately leap to mind: Wu-Tang, Tribe, De La Soul, maybe Outkast (arguably more of a 00s phenomenon), if we’re feeling ambitious, maybe Company Flow. Yet if that … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
Following the acrimonious break-up of transcendent Minneapolis punk band Hüsker Dü, guitarist Bob Mould was at a musical crossroads. Despite making two resentment-packed solo albums and opening for acts such as Nirvana and Dinosaur Jr., Bob was flat broke. He … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Sugar
Artist Spotlight courtesy of Makomore “Please don’t write that I look like I’m about to burst into tears. That’s just my resting face.” – New York Times interview, 2014 No Shape, Perfume Genius’s fourth album, is out tomorrow, so it’s the … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Perfume Genius
In the context of music, the word “pop” is short for “popular”, and is often used to encompass both anything that actually achieved widespread success, or seems like it could or should have. In this post, we’ll focus on a … Continue reading Scene Spotlight: Power-Pop
Anyone for some Drum ‘n’ Bass? My previous few Artist Spotlights were on musical acts that changed over time. This one, however, is about a musical act that found its lane and pretty much stayed in it. And that lane … Continue reading Artist Spotlight – Lightning Bolt
I originally approached this Spotlight with a bit of snark, wanting to draw the reader in with jokey shenanigans. But I realized that’s dishonest. I don’t enjoy the distancing effect of irony or insincerity when it comes to things I … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Michael Bolton – (Yeah, You Heard Me)
Gor’ blimey, strike a light and welcome to the artist spotlight of Chas n Dave. Pioneers of ‘Rockney’ music, which is rock and roll, pop and boogie woogie thrown together. In a Cockney accent. They are a weird act in … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Chas and Dave
Review courtesy of Pauli The Mars Volta are a polarizing band. Rarely will you come across anyone assessing their ambitious mish-mash of prog, post-hardcore, Latin, metal, funk, and whatever else with an “Eh, it’s alright.” Either you are transported into … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: The Mars Volta
