Music | Thursday, April 28,2005

sound patrol 4-28-05

Crooked, creaky, cobbled-together optimism

A paraplegic since 1983 and an acclaimed singer/songwriter since 1988, when he was Officially Discovered by Michael Stipe, Vic Chesnutt has enjoyed a long, proli

Music | Thursday, April 21,2005

sound patrol 4-21-05

This apple didn’t fall far from the tree

By René Spencer Saller

It’s a shame that Martha Wainwright is blessed with such hypeworthy DNA. There are many other interesting, even important things to say about the Brooklyn

Music | Thursday, April 14,2005

sound patrol 4-14-05

A maturing Beck hits a familiar note

By René Spencer Saller

Never mind that Beck looks approximately 15. Never mind that he previewed songs from Guero, his eighth album, on The O.C. He’s 34 years old, married, and a new father.

Music | Thursday, April 7,2005

sound patrol 4-7-05

Bird lays Eggs — and takes flight

By René Spencer Saller

Apart from fame and riches, former Squirrel Nut Zipper Andrew Bird has it all. He is to the violin what Jimi Hendrix was to the guitar, which is to say not merely a

Music | Thursday, March 31,2005

sound patrol 3-31-05

Keeping an eye on the neighborhood

By René Spencer Saller

You don’t intend to watch American Idol, really you don’t, but like millions of your lumpen brethren, you find yourself prostrate on the couch every week, gawkin

Music | Thursday, March 24,2005

sound patrol 3-24-05

A mess of contradictions

By René Spencer Saller

Like most worthwhile artists, the Los Angeles-based folk singer Mia Doi Todd is a mess of contradictions. This slipperiness, this ability to be simultaneously on

Music | Thursday, March 17,2005

sound patrol 3-17-05

Snide aside: You’re not special

By René Spencer Saller

Besides being a character in a William S. Burroughs novel, Clem Snide is a band, a funny and touching alt-countrified/indie-rock band whose frontman and singer/s

Music | Thursday, March 10,2005

sound patrol 3-10-05

Low turns up the volume, in a way

By René Spencer Saller

The consensus on The Great Destroyer, Low’s seventh full-length and first for Sub Pop, is that it represents a Great Departure. Adjectives that have never before

Music | Thursday, March 3,2005

sound patrol 3-3-05

The best rap album of 2005

By René Spencer Saller

Sure, globalization has its drawbacks: McDonald’s in the ruins, Wal-Marts in the rainforest, Guatemalan peasants quoting Dr. Phil. Sometimes, though, it

Music | Thursday, February 24,2005

sound patrol 2-24-05

Welsh rare bits

By René Spencer Saller

Super Furry AnimalsSongbook: The Singles, Vol. 1 (XL) Let’s give it up for Wales. As if Dylan Thomas, Bertrand Russell, and John Cale weren’t enough,