Talkin' With Lucinda WilliamsPart One: Stuck in LimboThe following is an edited version of an interview conducted with Lucinda Williams shortly after the release of her Rough Trade debut. It was originally published in KCMU's Wire in 1989--that's right, 17 years ago. I've tried to eliminate as much "chaff" from the piece--mine, not hers--as possible. Overall, it was a pleasure to chat with Williams. This was one of my first interviews and she made it easy. I'm grateful for that. I just wish I'd asked more questions about her music rather than its marketing, but I was working as the advertising/promotions coordinator for a local retailer at the time an

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Girls RockThere are some things you can't cover up / With lipstick and powder / Well, I heard you mention my name / Can't you talk any louder?-- Nick Lowe, "Girls Talk"Girlschool, The Very Best of Girlschool, SanctuaryI've been in love with Suzi Quatro and Joan Jett for awhile now, so it was inevitable that I'd get around to Girlschool (1978-1992). Granted, there's a fine line between hard rock and heavy metal. Much as I may dig Ms. Jett, I was never a big fan of sexed-up ex-bandmate Lita Ford. Except for "Kiss Me Deadly" (Ford's take on Generation X), that metal chick thing wasn't for me. Jett only looked metal, but she was--and is--straight-up rock

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Review: A Cowboy in SeattleMark Pickerel and His Praying Hands, Snake in the Radio, Bloodshot RecordsThough I did write about the Detroit Cobras last year, I was surprised to find this CD in my mailbox. I didn't know I was on the Bloodshot mailing list...That said, it was a nice surprise. Best known as the drummer in the Screaming Trees, Pickerel isn't as distinctive a vocalist as frequent co-conspirator Mark Lanegan (he's played on several of the other Mark's recordings), but he has a pleasant style, i.e. a pleasing voice combined with solid compositional skills. Like Lanegan, he seems to have taken a great deal of inspiration from Lee "A Cowboy in S

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This Must Be the Place,or the View From GoogleHome is where I want to bePick me up and turn me round.-- Talking Heads,"This Must Be the Place"*****Every other month I take a trip over to Google to see where my reviews are ending up. Some of the more interesting sites are listed below. This time my full name garnered 110,000 hits (Kathy Fennessy garnered 29,200). This may be the last time I post my findings as these lists all look the same. Clearly, I need to start doing different kinds of writingto start showing up in different kinds of search results!Answers.com:Over-long AMG bio of the Scientists Bibliochat:Amazon review of Born Into BrothelsThe Big

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André 3000 Says Happy Valentine's DayAnd there's so much fuss about Santa ClausBut see Cupid will not be defeated.Happy Valentine's Day, every day the 14th!-- Outkast, Speaker-boxxx/The Love BelowThese are some of the reviews I'm working on for this month.Amazon: The Newsroom - The Complete Second Season [two-disc set] (clever Canadian sitcom verité, but not as funnyas that first amazing season), New York Doll (moving portrait ofthe late Arthur "Killer" Kane, bass player for the New York Dolls),Sugarcubes - The DVD (crude, but fun), Yellowcard - Lights and Sounds (slick LA-by-way-of-FL pop-punk), The Chess Players (entertaining historical allegory fro

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Reviews: From New Or-leans to Charleston (byWay of Bologna)Belong, October Lan-guage, Carpark RecordsRecorded in pre-Katrina NewOrleans, October Language is instrumental rock in the vein of Pelican, but not as metallic.Moody, but not spooky. Mellow, but (definitely) not new age.When it comes to music san vocals, I like jazz—especiallyMiles Davis and John Coltrane—and soundtracks—especially Henry Mancini and Ennio Morricone—but I've never gotteninto Tortoise-style post-rock. Not bad, just not my thing.Extra credit for the Out Hud-esque titles: "I Nev-er Lose. Never Really," "I'm Too Sleepy...Shall WeSwim?," "The Door Opens the Other Way," etc.Dévics, P

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