Technicolour Dream Cats: In Praise of Love and RocketsA friend introduced me to Love and Rockets (the band, not the comic) in 1985. I was well aware of Bauhaus. I knew they'd broken up two years before, but didn't know that three-quarters had spun off into this psych-rock outfit. It was love at first listen. On The Seventh Dream of Teenage Heaven, Daniel Ash's Brit-inflected vocals and Mick Ronson strumming merge with Joy Division keyboard-playing (for which all receive credit) and the majestic drumming of Kevin Haskins, who pounds out a rolling, thundering, but never overpowering beat.Back in the mid-1980s, I purchased most music on cassette. I didn'

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Reason #486 to Love Gnarls BarkleyI'm listening to the record as I type. I didn't plan it that way, but it's the most addictive concoction of the year. Come to think of it, I should probably stop singing its praises. Like me, you may have a hard time extracting it from your player, so as to give something else a chance. Or maybe not. Maybe Danger and Cee-Lo, as Wayne and Garth [right], already have enough fans. After all, they pulled "Crazy" from the UK after they figured it had sufficiently penetrated the British psyche. When's the last time a band made a move designed to curtail sales? It doesn't happen, and it's not as if the song was controversial

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Bees, Ducks, and Other (Cinematic) DelightsI realize it makes me the world's biggest geek, but I write down every film I see. And I've been doing so for years. Otherwise, I won't remember, and I need all the help I can get as I participate in an annual countdown. I also compile a personal top 30--the Axman's party only requires 10 titles--so it helps to have a master list from which to work.This weekend, I hit the big 250, so it seems like a good time to bring my favorites to light. I've arranged them in chronological order, since I won't be doing any actual organizing until late-December/early-January. Also, I still haven't seen some of the year's mo

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Been Caught StealingStefy, The Orange Album, Wind-up/SonyI put off playing this CD for the longest time because the packaging is so slick and anonymous. Well, I kind of like it--but for all the wrong reasons. First of all, the music is just as slick as the cover art (see below). To quote the Digable Planets, "It's slicker than grease." What I like is that it brings me back to my high school days. Not to the music I was actually listening to at the time, like the Talking Heads and the Police, but to the music I couldn't quite get away from, like Pet Benatar, Missing Persons, and Berlin.In other words, Stefy Rae Eustace--how's that for a name--has a pow

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If You're Feeling SinisterStars of Track and Field, Centuries Before Love and War, Sidecho/Wind-upIf you're feeling sinister, you'vecome to the wrong place. If, on the other hand, you're experiencing arush of blood to the head...With a name like Stars of Track and Field, I was expecting Belle and Sebastian-like indie pop. Well, the Low-meets-Keane sound this Portland combo conjures up isn't a world away, but there's more feedback and electronic effects than their moniker would indicate.I use the word pleasant too much, but it's the first one that springs to mind. Centuries Before Love and War is competent and tuneful. Augmented by producer Tony Lash (

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The Doors of PerceptionEvanescence, The Open Door, Wind-up/SonyThis is probably the first and last time I'll write about a #1 record on this site. I've always been more interested in music that's off the beaten path. I doubt that will ever change. Long story short, I was asked to review The Open Door, then the offer was rescinded. Since Wind-up Records was kind enough to send me the CD, even after I let them know it was no longer necessary, I figure the least I can do is listen.Over the years, Evanescence has been labeled both Christian and Gothic. Joy Division and Bauhaus aside, I'm a fan of neither genre, but I'm not so sure it matters. I hear more

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No Waxy BuildupWax Tailor, Tales of the Forgotten Melodies, DeconJC Le Saoût (La Formule) is a French DJ with a jones for vintage jazz and film noir, so I was expecting something akin to St. Germain. On his 2005 debut Tales of the Forgotten Melodies, issued Stateside earlier this year, that's what I got. Although the former hip-hop producer is less enamored with house and acid jazz than Germain's Ludovic Navarre, both downtempo denizens have much love for the flute (I share their affection). Granted, Le Saoût opts for movie/television samples over blues/R&B samples, but the neon-lit nightclub-meets-designer boutique vibe is similar.As with DJ Shad

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The View From Google Every few months, I search Google using my name, in its dual permutations (Kathy vs. Kathleen), to see where my reviewsare ending up. Here are some of the more interesting results.***** Bloodshot Records:AndMoreAgain review of Paul Burch - East to WestCultureSpace:Reference to my Amazon review of the Kills - No Wow:The film's soundtrack [The Beat That My Heart Skipped] also bears a mixed sense of quietude and tension. The baroque melodies Tom [Romain Duris] is trying to master become abrasive in his impatient hands. But it's the song "Monkey 23," performed by the punk-blues duo the Kills (my favorite band of the moment), that is p

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Early Review:Love at First SightThe Bird and the Bee, The Bird and the Bee, Metro Blue/Blue Note Some records need time to grow on you, others are instantly appealing. I don't think one kind is superior to the other. The Bird and the Bee, first full-length from LA duo Inara George and Greg Kurstin, falls into the latter category. It's the kind of dreamy retro-pop I just can't resist. It's too soon to say whether this album has staying power, i.e. whether I'll find the 20th spin as enchanting as the first, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. For now, I proclaim it one of the year's most enjoyable debuts.First, it should be noted that Inara is

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Sleepy Science With Michel GondryPart Four: On New Projects and Old FavoritesMos Def [left], who appears in Dave Chappelle's Block Party, reunites with Gondry for Be Kind Rewind *****In this section, Michel Gondry talks about his next two films. (This was a joint interview with a fellow named Tyler.) To read parts one through three, please click here. Caveat: Certain passages were hard to make out. I've done my best to transcribe them as accurately as possible, but I'm sure I got a word or two wrong. Gondry's English is excellent, but he's soft spoken and his accent is strong. The result was lively conversation, difficult transcription.*****Tyler: Do

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Really Getting It OnFunkadelic, Standing on the Verge of Getting It On, Westbound [Reissue]Several years ago, I loaned my copy of this groovy disc to a co-worker at a certain internet retailer and never got it back (shortly afterwards, we were re-org'ed, then made redundant). I wonder if he was friends with the other wage slave who absconded with my Chambers Brothers cassette back in the 1980s...? Birds of a feather and all that.So, a few months ago, I added it to my wish list and just received a copy for my birthday (thanks, Mom!). Though I still prefer the harder funk of side one to the more expansive funk of side two, the whole damn thing is essent

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