Scott Cossu Trio – Islands / 2007 MVD / 60 Minutes / http://www.mvdb2b.com / Scott Cossu has been around in the jazz scene for longer than I have been on this earth. Ey started in 1981, I entered this world in 1983. That’s pretty impressive; this footage is as well. It is impressive not only for the cuts that are present, but rather because it is so sharp and well-recorded.…
Kiss The Gunner – Why Are We So Dead? / 2007 Harvest Earth / 9 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/kissthegunner / http://www.harvestearth.com / While Kiss The Gunner does a very hard-hitting brand of hardcore that verges on metal a great deal of the time, “Why Are We So Dead?†does not sound like the same thing that a number of artists in a similar genre try to pander their listeners. There is…
Jerry Lee Lewis – Last Man Standing / 2006 Shangri-La / 21 Tracks / http://www.jerryleelewis.com / Jerry Lee Lewis is an individual whose time had came and left by the time that I started listening to music in the middle nineties. This does not mean that ey does not have anything left in the gas tank, but that I had never heard anything more than a few singles from Lewis…
Andromeda – Playing Off The Board / 2007 MVD / 205 Minutes / http://www.musicvideodistributors.com / This Swedish progressive metal act has been around a relatively short time, providing their own take on the prog scene since 1999. The band has been able to cut four albums in that time, and this DVD shows the band touring in support of their last album – 2006’s Chimara. Instead of merely focusing on…
Suburban Pastoral / $? / 1:00 / 44M / http://www.voicesnewjersey.blogspot.net / Suburban Pastoral is a collection of poems by Hank Kalet, who spends most of eir time editing newspapers in the New Jersey area, along with writing columns for The Progressive Populist. This is a chapbook containing Kalet’s works over the last few years. Voices of Reason, the imprint under which Kalet released this chapbook, “is an arts collective that…
Sasha & Shawna – Siren / 2007 Blue Note / 12 Tracks / http://www.sashaandshawna.com / http://www.manhattanrecords.com / I feel so un-educated when I get an album like “Sirenâ€. For example, I was not familiar with Sasha Lazard, Shawna Stone, or Grammy-award winning producer Peter Asher. This album is a blend of classic opera tracks along with the duo’s reinterpretation of popular songs. These songs include Radiohead’s “Fade Outâ€, which opens…
Rachel Margaret – Buena Vista Park / 2007 Self / 4 Tracks http://www.myspace.com/rachelmargaretmusic / “Landfill” is one of the focal points on “Buena Vista Park”, and while the instrumentation is softly-stated and meanders around the vocals, Margaret here comes correct and creates a brand of modern pop-rock that is just as honest and impressive as anything released by Fiona Apple or others of her ilk. “Someday Soon” is a slightly…
OBITUARY EXCLUSIVE I-TUNES PROMOTION  Candlelight Records together with I-Tunes will premiere the first song from Obituary’s upcoming new album Xecutioner’s Return via an advance single. “Evil Ways” will be available for purchase starting July 31 and for fans will be the first and only advance listen of the album set to hit North American stores on August 28.
The Christine Spero Group – My Spanish Dream / 2007 Self / 9 Tracks / http://cdbaby.com/cd/christinespero2 / One of the first things that is heard at the beginning of “My Spanish Dream” has to be the entirety of The Christine Spero Group weaving their instruments together to come up with a coherent and cohesive sound. Hints of Latin arrangements and jazz spontaneity immediately confront listeners during the disc’s first track,…
Paris Luna – City Lights / 2007 Self / 11 Tracks / http://www.parisluna.com / Paris Luna start out their “City Lights†in a way that reminds me of Sixpence None the Richer. The first track on “City Lights†is “Having a Hard Timeâ€. “Having a Hard Time†is a rock track in the same vein as a Kelly Clarkson; the bass and drums make for an easy listening track, one…
Street Dogs – Fading American Dream / 2006 Brass Tacks / 13 Tracks / http://www.street-dogs.com / http://www.drt-entertainment.com / Street Dogs’ first album was fucking amazing. Simple as that. Their second album was still decent, but it had less of the fury and fun style that “Savin Hill†had. Street Dogs are back with their third album, “Fading American Dreamâ€, and it might just be the best of the three. The…
Albert Hammond, Jr – Yours To Keep / 2007 New Lie / 10 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/alberthammonjr / http://www.newlinerecords.com / Albert Hammond does not sound like much of a rocker. However, for those individuals that do not know, ey was one of the integral parts to the seminal band The Strokes. The opening track on “Yours To Keep†is “Cartoon Music For Superheroesâ€, and it does not sound like the hard,…
Music Nation (www.musicnation.com <http://www.musicnation.com/> ) has today announced the release of Friend Finder – a web tool that allows Music Nation artists and fans to seamlessly send out invitations to contacts in their pre-existing Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail address books.  In order to encourage artists to utilize this new functionality, Music Nation has launched a contest in tandem with the release of Friend Finder.  Artists who bring in the most…
C-BO TEAMS UP WITH THE AND 1 STREET BALL TOUR FOR EXCLUSIVE PERFORMANCES AND HOSTING In support of the recent G-Unit South signing, and the release of the highly anticipated WESTSIDE RYDERS 3 compilation (IN STORES NOW), C-Bo has joined the AND 1 Mixtape tour this summer for a string of exclusive performances and official after party hosting. With over 2 million records sold, and 17 solo albums, C-Bo has…
Bittersweet Dream / $? / :45 / 28M / [email protected] / Bittersweet Dream; I have no clue where I found you, but I am glad I found you. This is a zine that is a communal project, more so than most other small-market magazines. There are poems, cartoons, and ideas for how to create revolution, all contained within 28 pages. There is simply something for everyone here. I may not…
Kate Voegele is a 20-year-old singer/songwriter that is honestly years beyond her young age. Her debut album, “Don’t Look Away,” just came out on MySpace Records and her first single is “Only Fooling Myself,”. You can hear her at: http://www.myspace.com/katevoegele . Check out some photos of Kate here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wuny/sets/72157600247544301/ Kate is also on the Kyle XY Soundtrack that is out now. Here is the tracklisting: 1. The 88 – Hide…
Revolution on Canvas 2 / $12.99 / 2007 Warner / 2:00 / 236M / This is the second volume of what I believe is the only book that is dedicated to collecting the poetry of some of the most famous rock stars in the emo, hardcore, and metalcore genres. This volume features a different selection of artists than the first volume. This time around, individuals from Motion City Soundtrack, The…
Acid Drinkers – The Hand That Rocks The Coffin / 2006 MVD / 120 Minutes / http://www.musicvideodistributors.com / Man, I really feel bad that I do not know any of the acts that MVD and Metal Mind are putting out onto DVD. Acid Drinkers have a great lineage, as the band started in 1985. The band didn’t really get started on their path until 1987, when they added a former…
Wherewithal #3 / $1 / :20 / 16M / Emerson Dameron, 1323 N. Artesian #1F, Chicago, IL 60622 / [email protected] / Wherewithal is a short but fun little zine that comes from the mind of one Emerson. The zine consists of black text on white pages, with only a few pictures to break things up. Luckily for readers of Wherewithal, Emerson is one of the most talented individuals with the…
Mind Key – Habemus Poland / 2006 MVD / 125 Minutes / http://www.musicvideodistributors.com / Mind Key is going to be releasing their new album here in the next few months. How could they get any more publicity before the album is released beyond putting out an amazing live DVD? This 120-plus minute DVD, released jointly by MVD and Metal Mind, shows the allure of this rock band in the live…