25 Dec 2001

The Year Offered Plenty of Out-of-the-Way Treasures

By John James
As the year wraps itself into a nice little bow, here's my "best of 2001" to perhaps tickle your ear and set you in search of these under-the-radar favorites. Yes, none of these found a home among the Lolitas, pretty boys, and thuggish bravado that continues to dominate the charts, but you, dear reader, are one of the enlightened ones, eh? In no particular order, here are the albums that made my heart soar, stretched the space between my ears, and totally captured my attention.
04 Dec 2001

New CD Delivers Power-Pop Magic

By John James
• My favorite new CD of the moment goes to Rick Altizer and his power -pop masterpiece All Tie Zer. Bearing the imprint of the Not Lame Recordings, a Colorado label serving up the best in indie pop, this new album is candy for the ears with its "Dear God"-era XTC meets Tom Petty cleverness and melancholy melodies.
27 Nov 2001

Labels Work Together to Speed Tribute Album

By John James
• The "big five" major music companies - Sony, EMI, BMG, Universal, and the Warner Music Group - have laid down their swords and come together to rush the release this Tuesday of America: A Tribute to Heroes, a not-for-profit CD, VHS, or DVD documenting the somber benefit broadcast from September 21.
20 Nov 2001

New Film a Love Letter to Indie Rock

By John James
• The new independent film Dean Quixote is an indie-rock love letter, with an appearance by Dayton, Ohio's Guided by Voices and a tastefully selected soundtrack. Just released on the spinART Records label, it features the band's "If We Wait" alongside Olivia Tremor Control, Beachwood Sparks, The Minders, Bevis Frond, Bettie Serveert, and Orchestra Fantastique, a new side project from Robert Schneider of The Apples in Stereo.
13 Nov 2001

Brother Cleans Up at Country-Music Awards

By John James
• I let out a holler and a hoot over the smashing success of the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack at the 35th annual Country Music Association Awards in Nashville, as the set won best album and single for "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow" by the Soggy Bottom Boys featuring vocalist Dan Tyminski.
23 Oct 2001

The Misfits Do the Mash

By John James
• Blast those little window-soapin' goblins with a sonic slap of the original monsters of rock, The Misfits, as the band is finally releasing its rare Mars Attacks! demo sessions just in time for Hallow's Eve. On Tuesday, the Roadrunner Records label is spitting out this 19-track collection of odd nuggets from 1996 through 2001, entitled Cuts from the Crypt.
18 Oct 2001

Bass Legends Hop on the Mule

By John James
• This Tuesday, the master musicians of four-string funk show up as guest players on the new Gov't Mule album, The Deep End Volume 1. The record, on the ATO label, marks the band's first studio recordings since the death last year of founding bassist Allen Woody.
09 Oct 2001

Sub Pop Gets Kinky Cover Fever

By John James
• The Kinks are the recipient of Sub Pop Records' upcoming tribute set, entitled Give The People What They Want, on November 6. The 19-track collection features a Sup Pop super-stable of participants, including C-Average's spin on "Revenge," Mark Lanegan's take on "Nothin' in the World Can Stop Me Worryin' 'bout That Girl," The Murder City Devils' splash of "Alcohol," Mudhoney's turn on "Who Will Be the Next in Line," and Heather Duby's version of "The Way Love Used to Be.
02 Oct 2001

Will the Real Tuesday Weld Please Stand Up?

By John James
• My favorite new CD of the moment is When Cupid Meets Psyche by the enigmatically monikered (The Real) Tuesday Weld. Just picturing the actress Tuesday Weld in Thief with James Caan or Sex Kittens in College is enough to make me tingle warmly all over, but this newly released Kindercore Records CD isn't reaching back into 1960s and 1970s iconology; it takes a much deeper time trip into the 1920s and 1930s big-band swing of your grandfather's 78 RPM records with modern-day loops and electronic beats.
25 Sep 2001

Lennon Tribute Re-Scheduled for Next Week

By John James
• This coming Monday, October 1, the TNT cable channel will broadcast the much-anticipated John Lennon tribute concert live from New York City's Radio City Music Hall. The event was originally scheduled for this past week, but the horrific events of September 11 put the honor on hold, and it has now emerged with additional artists and renamed Come Together: A Night for John Lennon's Words & Music, Dedicated to New York City & Its People.

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