Love Justin Bieber, but afraid to reveal it to your punk rock friends? Do you tell your friends that the music you’re blasting on your iPod is the latest pop sensation when it’s really Black Flag’s Damaged? Wish these two worlds could finally meet? Well, XLR8R and Exclaim! music writer and Grown Ups member Josiah … [Read more…]
I recently critiqued an article by Steve Almond that I felt unfairly and naively  lambasted music criticism. Almond wrote music criticism is pointless: I disagreed. And then I stumbled upon something that support Almond’s point 100 percent. I still don’t agree with what Almond wrote, but this piece of “music criticism” by Impose’s Jason Diamond … [Read more…]
A couple years back, Minor Threat drummer and Dischord Records co-founder Jeff Nelson decided to do a little spring cleaning. So, he did what any person looking to unload a whole lot of perceived junk would do: Sell it on eBay. Yet, Nelson wasn’t getting rid of, say, an old Tickle Me Elmo. Nelson began … [Read more…]
Crisis of Conformity reunited on “SNL” this weekend. Don’t remember Crisis of Conformity? Perhaps the video of the reunion will jump your memory [via Unlikely Words and The Daily Swarm]: [huluvid id=”YVEFp4lescx3IOWrHFyHJw”] Ok, there was no band by that name. But, kudos to “SNL” for a well-played satire of all-walks-of-life bands reuniting, especially when the … [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 Overlooked Albums of the Aughts. A while back I started an ongoing feature called “Overlooked in … [Read more…]
It was indeed “A Decade Under The Influence.†But while Taking Back Sunday could string together a few solid hits drenched in a post-hardcore milieu and cut with pop sensibilities, chances are no one in the band could have predicted how influential emo would become in the aughts. The presence of the word in the … [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…]
Overlooked in the Aughts is an ongoing feature focusing on some of the best albums from the 2000s that haven’t quite received the attention they deserved. Today’s post: Beauty Pill’s The Unsustainable Lifestyle. Dischord in the Aughts was something many of the label’s ardent fans never saw coming. The beloved DIY label seemed to be going through … [Read more…]
Overlooked in the Aughts is an ongoing feature focusing on some of the best albums from the 2000s that haven’t quite received the attention they deserved. Today’s post: Parts & Labor’s Mapmaker. Back in June, music writer Christopher R. Weingarten extolled the pains that have befallen music journalism at the 140 Characters Conference. Among many of his excellent … [Read more…]