indy cd & vinyl

 
CD: NEIL YOUNG—LIVING WITH WAR
Review: Upon hearing that an established rock artist is going to promote his or her latest album as “political,” one must tread warily. Oftentimes with such albums, the lyrics are so pointed and “topical” that, however well-intentioned or “important,” they turn into clichéd banalities or tired diatribes (e.g., John Lennon’s […]

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CD: THOM YORKE—”THE ERASER”
 
Review: Yorke, lead singer of Radiohead, has, along with producer Nigel Goodrich, made something rather wonderful with The Eraser. They have crafted an electronica album that focuses on the SONGS and MELODY rather than on the beats or programming. While the same can be said for parts of albums by a variety […]

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CD: “APOLLO SUNSHINE”—APOLLO SUNSHINE
Rock, $15.98 (list price), Spinart

Basic Story: Amazingly varied first album by a rock and roll band.

Sample: “You can say there’s more to life than this, but there’s always more to life/There’s always too much of everything, and there’s always not enough.”

Review: Apollo Sunshine’s debut album starts off with a reverb-drenched surf-guitar riff, […]

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CD: “SOUND DIRECTIONS: THE FUNKY SIDE OF LIFE”—YESTERDAY’S NEW QUINTET
Instrumental Hip-Hop/Funk, $15.98 (list price), Stones Throw

Basic Story: Madlib, maestro of instrumental hip-hop, dons one of his many aliases and serves up a tasty hip-hop, jazz, and funk stew.

Sample: All instrumental

Review: Madlib, one of the most prolific and talented artists on the “underground” hip-hop scene, uses […]

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CD: “IN THE HEART OF THE MOON”—ALI FARKE TOURE & TOUMANI DIABATE

World. $18.98 (list price), World Circuit

Basic Story: World Circuit, the label that brought you the Buena Vista Social Club, presents two longtime world music masters, one on kora (21-string harp) and the other on acoustic guitar.

Example: “Hello Ali”…”It’s a wrap.” Little else is […]

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