Part I of this Spotlight covers the history through 1992. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds were riding the success of Henry’s Dream when they were tapped to play Lollapalooza in 1994. At their greatest commercial exposure to date, anticipation … Continue reading Artist Spotlight – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (Part II)

I first discovered Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds when I was in my early teens. Watching Teletunes, a 2-hour block of alternative videos that aired at 10:00 PM every Sunday night, worlds of musical and artistic creativity were opened … Continue reading Artist Spotlight – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (Part I)

Martin Denny could be described a lot of ways. An ethnomusicological pastiche artist. An embarrassing cultural imperialist. The logical conclusion of “tiki culture.” A watered-down jazz performer. A creator of overcooked elevator music. The soundtrack to every Shag print ever … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Martin Denny – Jimmy Buffett for the Mad Men Set

One rainy night in 1994, I went with my saxophone teacher to Tower Records and bought two CDs: Don’t Try This at Home, by Michael Brecker, who I covered in my last Artist Spotlight ; and Blue Train, by John Coltrane. At the time, … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: John Coltrane

Sorry LMFAO, you might have been Party Rockin in 2011, but Andrew WK was the one that started the party. Welcome to Artist Spotlight – Andrew WK. A lot of music and new artists I hear about nowadays is thanks … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Andrew WK

Buenos dias/tardes . I’m going to try something different today. Rather than an artist spotlight on someone I’m a total fan of and want to see better known, I’m going with someone who’s massively famous anyway and has made some … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Kelly Clarkson

Disclaimer: This is my first artist spotlight (it’s also the first thread I’ve ever posted). I don’t often read the other artist spotlights, because my musical tastes (mostly 70s guitar rock – shocking, I know) don’t align well with the … Continue reading Artist Spotlight – Blue Öyster Cult

When I start this you’re gonna wonder what on earth it has to do with Vampire Weekend. It’s connected, I promise! I grew up a Jehovah’s Witness, and I was a true believer: I tried to convert my friends and … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Vampire Weekend

Hold on, that is not Mark Oliver Everett! There are some musical acts that get buy on being adorable. Just super cutesy, even when they sing something naughty…actually, particularly when they sing something naughty. Teehee. Then there are those who … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: EeL

Artist Spotlight courtesy of Callipygian Pigeon A month ago, Dikachu posted a thread about concerts you would see if you had a time machine. Wussy’s first concert didn’t make my cut because I still have a hard time imagining it … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Wussy

Artist Spotlight courtesy of Pucky Fear is one of the most powerful emotions in not only the human experience but in virtually all animals. Fear can paralyze and fear can drive you insane. One of the most general fears in … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Tool – Musical Bête Noire Makes Good (A Reflection in Six Parts)

Artist Spotlight courtesy of The Prighlofone So it’s unlikely I’m the best person to do a full-on biography of Tonedeff. I have this anxiety that all I’ll do is basically rehash his Wikipedia page, although I have used it as … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Tonedeff

Michael Brecker was the Great Jazz Saxophonist of the 1990s and 2000s. (Sorry, Branford.) His stylistic and harmonic innovations have been studied by musicians for years, and the Internet is full of videos demonstrating how to replicate his sound, or … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Michael Brecker

I have noticed there isn’t many Avocadians from Central Europe, so I figured I will help you a bit with a musical coverage from beyond the pond. So without further introduction, this is a Polish band BOKKA: I chose the live … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: BOKKA

Good afternoon/morning/evening. I’d like to talk about one of the first cool bands I got into, and got into ,at least at first , because they were cool Look at them in that video. Dean Garcia just looking both insouciant and … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Curve

Artist Spotlight courtesy of OccasionalJonathan A little about me-I love all kinds of music and I am constantly on the lookout for something new and interesting. I’ve got no qualms about genre at the ripe old age of 39 but I’m … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: High On Fire

Below is a collection of phrases used by reviewers to describe Eleni Mandell and her music: “quirky Los Angeles torch singer” New Yorker, 3-5-09 “exudes a nocturnal, beat-poet, wry, avant-garde veneer” – AllMusic, 2002 “mellifluous chanteuse voice” – American Songwriter, … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Eleni Mandell

I first heard Band of Horses when watching, of all things, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. The movie, which is actually relatively charming by the way (and cowritten by one of the best modern YA writers, David Levithan), uses the … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Band of Horses – The General Specific As to Why Band of Horses is So Great

Yeah, that’s right. You get a second Artist Spotlight today. I was gong to push this back to tomorrow, but it was way too much work to re-edit this in preparation to post it so it is not an absolute … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Boris – …why always Boris?

NOTE: This was originally written September 2013; a subthread earlier today reminded me of my somewhat-complicated feelings about the band, so I thought I’d repost it here today in lieu of an Artist Spotlight. ****** There have been a lot … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Nirvana – Of Myths and Men

Electro swing traces its origins back to the 1990s, with bands like Doop and Jurassic 5 experimenting with swing in hip hop, house and EDM. It wasn’t until the late 00’s that the sound began to truly become its own … Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Caravan Palace – This New Music Really Swings