Music | Thursday, September 30,2004

sound patrol 9-30-04

Nelly Lite: Less genius, more idiot

Nelly Sweat (Fo Reel/Universal) Nelly is all things to all people -- there are no multiplatinum weirdoes -- and therein lies his charm. Beloved by all races, the photogenic St. Louis rapper

Music | Thursday, September 23,2004

sound patrol 9-23-04

No beating around the Bush here

By René Spencer Saller

Various Artists Future Soundtrack for America (Barsuk) Pity the young Republican who aspires to hipness. The nation might be evenly polarized, but the rock community, particularly the indie fac

Music | Thursday, September 16,2004

sound patrol 9-16-04

Safety first

By René Spencer Saller

Ricky FantéRewind (Virgin) Ricky Fanté makes soul music, nothing "neo" about it: just sweet, buttery, Stax-sounding soul that's wholesome as a plate of hotcakes. No hip-hop flourishes, no Pr

Music | Thursday, September 9,2004

sound patrol 9-9-04

The San Francisco treats

By René Spencer Saller

Doug Hilsinger and Caroleen Beatty Brian Eno's Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) (DBK Works) Thirty years after Brian Eno released his second solo album, Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy), m

Music | Thursday, August 26,2004

sound patrol 8-26-04

On the line between safe and sorry

By René Spencer Saller

Various Artists Por Vida: A Tribute to the Songs of Alejandro Escovedo (Or) Tribute compilations are tricky bastards. Given the regrettably narrow and highly specialized tastes of most music fa

Music | Thursday, August 19,2004

sound patrol 8-19-04

Time for a comfort cat

By René Spencer Saller

The Naysayer Kitten Time (Red Panda Records) As anyone who has ever sobbed into soft, forgiving feline fur can tell you, there's nothing like a cat when it comes to free therapy. Take it from An

Music | Thursday, August 12,2004

sound patrol 8-12-04

Resurrections and second chances

By René Spencer Saller

Jolie Holland Escondida (Anti) With her languid drawl, her vintage guitars, and her penchant for ancient parlor tunes, Jolie Holland traffics in what rock scribe Greil Marcus once called "the

Music | Thursday, August 5,2004

sound patrol 8-5-04

Tipping ever so slightly to the center

By René Spencer Saller

The Roots are, among other things, exhibit A when earnest white National Public Radio members try to argue that not all contemporary rap is crass consumerist crap: "They rail against the system! They

Music | Thursday, July 22,2004

Sound patrol 7-22-04

Redefining ‘pop’ as brain invasion

By René Spencer Saller

A.C. Newman The Slow Wonder (Matador) The problem with the "pop" tag is that it's essentially meaningless: J.Lo is pop. Elvis Costello is pop. OutKast is pop. Bing Crosby is pop. And A.C. Newma

Music | Thursday, July 15,2004

The more things change. . .

Louden Up Now (Touch and Go) & Eleni Mandell Afternoon (Zedtone)

By René Spencer Saller

Getting old sure can blow sometimes. You feel kinda smart and all, telling the shiny-eyed kid that her favorite new band (a) isn't reinventing music as we know it, (b) isn't even inventing a new hybri