I have sounded off elsewhere (like in every review I've written in the past six months) about how every new artist seems to be sounding like one of six predecessors: Alice In Chains, Faith No More, Nine-Inch Nails, Britney Spears, N'Sync, or Genuwine. It accordingly would be easy to dismiss...

Realworld Records artist and occasional WOMAD festival performer Afro Celt Soundsystem pretty much embodies what I love about the progression of World Music. Yeah, I like traditional, culturally significant instruments played in a traditional, culturally significant style, but for me personally, the World Music that gets my juices flowing...

The first thing you notice gawking at Alice's new album is the "black" is back... as in the black face paint he first made famous all those years ago. This creation that is "Alice Cooper" who paved the way for so many of those artistically inclined showmen to follow...

Right out of the gate I have to say I'm WAY late talking about this band. I happened to be channel surfing in the middle of the night a few weeks ago and caught their "Smooth Criminal" video. Since none of the music channels play music any more except in...

I am, and have always been, the world's best audience. When I was in grade school, the class clown would always make sure that I was witness to his cutups. I would laugh, and get in trouble twice: once for laughing, and once for refusing to reveal the source of...

Ah yes, a band after my own heart... and could this be the beginning of a new trend -- the lashing out at pre-packaged sell-out success and teeny-bop Pop? One thing's for sure, even if you don't like their music, can't stand their appearance, dismiss 'em as a laughable...

You know this is really, really serious. Not only is our piano man credited as "William Joel, composer" here, but this venture is also released on Sony's staid Classical imprint. Velvet Underground fans may recall that's how Lou Reed wanted his noise opus, Metal Machine Music, to be issued on...

At three stars, "Vespertine" clocks in as a huge disappointment. Every song sounds the same as the last and, were it not for some very interesting percussive experimentation (industrial and organic rhythms abound, albeit buried in the mix), I don't know if I could have found much in the way...

How does one continuously write good music for ten years? Brian McKnight might be able to tell you. After releasing a self-titled album (1992), I Remember You (1995), Anytime (1997), and Back at One (1999), the multi-platinum artist has done it again with his latest, superhero. The 15-track album, which...

Their new album can be summed up in one simple word -- "Nightmare," as in "it's a... While the first song rages forth about rebel youth and the return of the Punx-attack. Now I know, looks notwithstanding, these guys have been compared with The Exploited, GBH and Varukers, and...