Well, the battle between a kinda old political song and a pretty hollow Miley Cyrus cover has been decided. Rage Against The Machine’s 1992 single “Killing in the Name” sold more than 500,000 copies in the last week, more than enough to beat Joe McElderry’s “The Climb” in the race to be this year’s Christmas … [Read more…]
Most people would bring gloves, boots and their best winter coat to a snowball fight. One cop brought a gun. The Washington City Paper‘s City Desk blog has the down-low: According to an eyewitness, a D.C. Police detective (pictured above w/ gun) went nuts after kids pelted his Hummer with snowballs at 14th and U Streets … [Read more…]
For the first time in who knows how long, all eyes are on the British music charts in a battle of Christmas spirits. The Christmas single is, as is my understanding of Love Actually, a pretty big deal. The group or artist that manages to sell the most copies of their newest song during the holiday … [Read more…]
And now a quick break from our normally scheduled music writings for… Iron Man 2 The trailer is now online and it is 2 amazing for words. It features 2 awesome hard rock songs by the hands of AC/DC and Black Sabbath. It’s almost 2 much! Then there’s Robert Downey Jr. being 2 smug! Mickey … [Read more…]
I never thought I would read the following statement: Eminem is also the top male artist of the decade. The female honor goes to Beyoncé, while the top duo/group is Nickelback. Congrats Billboard, you’ve done it again. This time, you’ve really proven how obsolete the Billboard charts are as a way of “scientifically” measuring the tastes of … [Read more…]
It’s the halfway point of Hannukah, and it’s unexpected presence on the calendar has marked a sudden disconnect I’ve had with the Jewish community. For most of my life, I’ve been surrounded by aspects of Judaism and Jewish culture, be it growing up attending temple, my various stays in Israel or attending a university with … [Read more…]
The new year is almost here, and with it comes a maelstrom of “End of the Year Lists.†Here on Ex-Spectator, I’ll be rolling out a few “End of the Yearâ€/â€End of the Decade†lists. Today’s list: The Best Albums of 2009. As I’ve mentioned previously, there are a lot of pitfalls for “best of†… [Read more…]
I’m putting together a “best albums of the year list” like last year. However, I’m splitting it between this blog and the one I run over at True/Slant. That one should be up in the next day or two. This list is a collection, a round-up of runners-up, great albums I missed from last year … [Read more…]
The new year is almost here, and with it comes a maelstrom of “End of the Year Lists.†Here on Ex-Spectator, I’ll be rolling out a few “End of the Yearâ€/â€End of the Decade†lists. Today’s list: The Best Music Books of the Aughts. I would be lying if I said I’ve read every music … [Read more…]
Setting: Lincoln Hall, Chicago. About 10:30ish, 15 minutes or so into Headlights‘ set, about a half hour after Maritime‘s performance. Mike Kinsella and his friend (who I unfortunately did not get the name of) sitting at the southern end of the bar. I pop up before I leave the show… Me: Hey, it was really … [Read more…]