Exploring the intersection of life, running and the business of online communities
Let’s wrap up our Best Of 2010 series and take a stroll around the interwebs to see what were the pleasure trends among fans and critics, what were the best live albums, and what bands should be on your tour […]
This article originally appeared in Popmatters. “You can become one of us by sounding like none of us.” —Buckshot “We use our minds to write rhymes that you can touch / My feet stay planted on the ground / You […]
This article originally appeared in Popmatters. Whether you were ready for it or not, Social and New Media changed our cultural landscape—online and offline—in 2009. At the beginning of the year, experts speculated that social networking platforms and communities like […]
This interview first appeared in Popmatters The debut album of Los Angeles afro-pop collective Fool’s Gold erupts with an exotic mix of African rhythms, percolating rock melodies and purring synths. The urge to dance grabs you instantly, shortly before the […]
This post is a shout out to all my fellow blogging and new media buddies! And a note to you my faithful and cherished Live Fix readers! This Thurs-Sat (Oct 15-17), I’ll be taking Live Fix on the road to Las Vegas […]
For the last two months I’ve been re-absorbing the self-titled debut album by Fool’s Gold, a Los Angeles band that blends world rhythms with afro-pop and rock. They seem to be carving out their own niche and style because their music speaks to me in […]
Just one peek into the strange sociology of music journalists will show you that they’re a peculiar bunch. I can say this because I am one. And it’s true. We are just as eccentric as the artists we write […]
As promised here’s my interview with Chicago emcee/poet/activist FM Supreme. A link to the full interview on Popmatters is below. A chilly drizzle begins to fall and soak the sidewalk as I speak with Chicago emcee Jessica Disu—aka FM […]
This interview first appeared in Popmatters. A chilly drizzle begins to fall and soak the sidewalk as I speak with Chicago emcee Jessica Disu—aka FM Supreme—outside and under awning at the Wicker Well on Chicago’s North Side. It’s an hour […]
On a warm Spring Chicago evening, Black Moth Super Rainbow and School of Seven Bells took the crowd at the Bottom Lounge for a psychedelic ride to a place where vocoders spoke of love and pain, and where ecstasy and […]
I’d like to share with you this Popmatters review I wrote for Los Angeles electro-funk beatman Dam-funk and his latest Stones Throw release Rhythm Trax Vol. 4. Dam-funk is known for laying down some seriously trippy boogie funk for his […]
So what does a hip hop artist/producer who loves creating lushly layered albums do when he can’t create the same feel live? He relies on his rhyming and storytelling talent. Those two combined can reveal to the crowd a deeper dimension of the music […]
This interview first appeared in Popmatters Talking with Danny Swain (aka Danny!), the message is loud and clear: all he wants to do is make music and let people here it. The first part has been the easy part for […]
He’s so right. I completely agree with Ben Rubenstein as he reflects in his MixTape Confessions Popmatters column on a recent trip to see Wilco’s concert/tour film Ashes of American Flags at the Music Box in Chicago. Ben says that […]