King Crimson

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The Big Hurt: Deluxe buyer's guide

The word on seasonal box sets
Record labels used to be content to slap a "remastered" sticker and a few B-sides on an album and call it deluxe, but that kind of lackluster package won't fly in 2010.
By DAVID THORPE | November 02, 2010

Same old song

Reissued and remastered CDs give classic releases a fresh face
Most music fans can probably be forgiven, at this point, for being doubting Thomases at the alleged demise of the major-label music industry.
By DANIEL BROCKMAN | December 08, 2009

Same old song

Dirty old men

The Jesus Lizard return to rewreck rock
"We were kind of just . . . normal guys who liked to . . . enjoy stuff."
By DANIEL BROCKMAN | November 12, 2009

Review: California Smile | Roof Came Off House

California Smile's magnificent controlled chaos
"There isn't any presupposed concept to our music," says California Smile keyboardist/piano man Victor Mansella while promoting the band's upcoming sophomore release Roof Came Off House (Limbus Infantus). "The music is intended to take the listener on his or her own adventure."
By CHRIS CONTI | September 08, 2009

Beauty in the beast

Mastodon, live at the Boston House of Blues, May 7, 2009
My Zen moment with Mastodon hit at about the point where the maelstrom of "The Czar, pt. I: Usurper" receded only to be replaced with the falling-down-stairs drum battery and faux Southern-rock riff twang and intentional pick squeals of "The Czar, pt. II: Escape."
By DANIEL BROCKMAN | May 11, 2009

About that style . . .

Great moments in two-handed finger tapping
Marnie Stern's guitar style is notable for the two ways she breaks from the indie-rock-guitar rulebook.
By DANIEL BROCKMAN | November 24, 2008

Nine-step program

The best pedals ever to happen to rock music
The history of rock, as a technical story, is a mix of skilled craftsmen and total doofuses sticking their fingers in wall sockets over and over.
By DANIEL BROCKMAN | September 08, 2008

Japanamayhem

Boris are completely out of control
Although Boris might seem just another Japanese drone-happy drop-tuned stoner-rock outfit, close inspection reveals instead a 16-year investigation of the meaning of sound and music itself.
By DANIEL BROCKMAN | July 07, 2008

Celebration of sound

Kris Hansen’s Left Hand Band; plus, New Year’s Eve options
Despite living in a world that is seemingly rotating off its axis and just plain miserable, there are, believe it or not, many reasons to give thanks.
By BOB GULLA | December 26, 2007

Ween

La Cucaracha | Rounder
Ween come out flapping and squawking on La Cucaracha .
By PATRICK CATES | October 22, 2007

Endless rhapsody

How Queen trumped the punks
If Queen had not existed, it would by no means have been necessary to invent them.
By JAMES PARKER | August 07, 2007

Planet rock

The prog stylings of Porcupine Tree
Vinyl collectors will be greeted with a familiar sight when they open Porcupine Tree’s Fear of a Blank Planet.
By BRETT MILANO | May 01, 2007

Sound samples

Baylies Band, Lucky 57, Fred Kendall Abong, and more
Spinning the local music CD lazy susan has turned up some pretty cool surprises.
By BOB GULLA | March 27, 2007

O RLY? YA RLY

The LemmingTrail holiday party, Great Scott, December 22, 2006
“It smells like a middle-school dance,” said username andysad at the LemmingTrail message-board holiday party at Great Scott last Friday.
By WILL SPITZ | December 29, 2006

Smooth sailing

The Slip broaden their horizon on Eisenhower
Like a constantly flowing river meandering through an ancient rock canyon, the Slip has been burrowing its music into the welcoming consciousness of today’s indie rock and jam audiences with a passionate, multi-hued, thoroughly intoxicating vibe.
By BOB GULLA | November 28, 2006

Boys of summer

A novelist’s take on Brian Wilson
When Watertown novelist Mike Heppner needed a “spiritual guide” for his New England-set novel Pike’s Folly , he fictionalized the Beach Boys’ reclusive genius Brian Wilson.
By BRIAN KING | June 21, 2006

From Chicago to Addis

The Vandermark 5 and the Either/Orchestra bring it all back home
I know of no single, clear definition of “free bop,” but I think I know it when I hear it, and I’d say no one does it better than the Vandermark 5.
By JON GARELICK | February 09, 2006