The Shake, a local blend

May 15, 2008

The Shake is one of those bands that probably shouldn't fit together, but somehow does.

Recent columns

• Duffy's 'Rockferry' a lot like Winehouse, in a good way

  May 13, 2008

  Duffy is much more than a nicer, non-addicted Amy Winehouse or the new-millennium Dusty Springfield, though being either of those things would be enough reason for celebration.

• Matt Fazzi ushers in Taking Back Sunday's new era

  May 8, 2008

  After being holed up in a Williamsburg rehearsal space for the past two months, Taking Back Sunday is eager to try out some new material tomorrow night in that intimate little setting also known as Madison Square Garden.

• Music review: Clay Aiken's 'On My Way Here'

  May 6, 2008

  Clay Aiken has always seemed like the most bewildered of the " American Idol" graduates -- his insta-fame cut with a bit of what-just-happened? caution, his music a hit-or-miss split between what he wants and what he's supposed to want.

• Long Island bands invade Jersey for Bamboozle fest

  May 1, 2008

  The Bamboozle festival may be at the Meadowlands, but it's always had a distinctly Long Island flavor - even beyond the 25,000 or so fans from the Island who attend - and this year is no exception.

• Review: Madonna's new 'Hard Candy' CD

  April 29, 2008

  Fear not, Madonna fans. The Material Girl still controls her material on her new album, "Hard Candy" (Warner Bros.)

• Ushering in a feel-good era for LI-based musicians

  April 24, 2008

  It wasn't that long ago that Long Island bands would have to say they hailed from New York to make their record companies happy. Rockers from Long Island were seen as less edgy than their Manhattan counterparts. Rappers from Long Island, as Amityville's De La Soul once explained to me, were thought to be "too country" compared with city rappers.

• Review: Ashlee Simpson's 'Bittersweet World'

  April 22, 2008

  Yes, everyone wants to know whether Ashlee Simpson and her fiancé, Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz, are expecting their first child. But after listening to Simpson's new "Bittersweet World" (Geffen) album, what should concern them is that she may actually have no idea what year it is.

• Hayes Carll's album is an ode to Texas-styled country

  April 20, 2008

  In today's fast-paced, super-connected wired world, the idea of regional scenes seems almost quaint, like rotary phones and 8-tracks.

• THE LONG ISLAND SOUND

  April 17, 2008

  Cass Dillon has a hard time putting the last six months into words.

• On 'E=MC2,' Mariah Carey has no equal

  April 15, 2008

  'Uncle." (Should it be "Aunt"?)

• Jay Z, Live Nation strike $150-million deal

  April 13, 2008

  Remember a few months ago when there were rumors about Jay-Z looking for a $100 million contract to start a new label, and many in the music industry snickered at the possibility of anyone paying that?

• Long Island Sound: Matthrew Bair, Eve 6, Bandcamp

  April 10, 2008

  He isn't a cast member, but Matthew Bair could soon be putting his stamp on the new season of "The Real World XX: Hollywood," which celebrates its 20th anniversary when it debuts Wednesday on MTV.

• Breeders strange for strange's sake

  April 8, 2008

  At their best, The Breeders were equal parts quirk and pop, but over the years, they have shed the pop sensibility. It has reached the point that their new album "Mountain Battles" (4AD) is essentially a collection of quirks - some sung in German ("German Studies"), some in Español ("Regalameok Esta Noche"), some in weird Breeder-cheerleader language ("Istanbul.") Sometimes the oddness generates something interesting, but more often it's simply strange for strangeness' sake. That may be fun for the band, but for listeners "Mountain Battles" is an adventure excursion that never leads anywhere.

• Review: R.E.M. returns to greatness with 'Accelerate'

  April 1, 2008

  The secret to success for R.E.M., like all great rock bands, is balance.

• Panic at the Disco's new CD is 'Pretty. Odd.'

  March 25, 2008

  Who says punctuation isn't important?

• Wales' Duffy is coming to America with 'Rockferry'

  March 23, 2008

  Duffy is already a huge star in England, with both her album "Rockferry" (Mercury) and her single "Mercy" currently atop the charts there.

• DROPS: 'Mail' is almost letter perfect

  March 18, 2008

  Unlike most of hip-hop's recent hitmakers, Flo Rida doesn't really have a hook. There's no island lilt like Akon, no vocoder sound like T-Pain, no cartoonish behavior like so much of the Dirty South.

• Nine Inch Nails scares up sales with ‘Ghosts’

  March 16, 2008

  In chaos, there is opportunity. And yes, cynics, that even applies to the free-fallin'-sales chaos of today's music industry.

• Review: Snoop Dogg's new CD 'Ego Trippin"

  March 11, 2008

  Snoop Dogg has cultivated two distinct personalities for years now. There's playful Snoop, the one with the izzle-speak, the one with a show on E!, the one who drops it like it's hot. And then there's gangsta Snoop, the brooding one, the one with a violent streak, the one still allied with the Crips.

• Review: Kathleen Edwards' 'Asking for Flowers'

  March 4, 2008

  It's a good thing that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama keep going 'round and 'round about, doesn't cover country stars, because on a level playing field Canadian Kathleen Edwards would wipe out most of her American counterparts.

• Review: Janet Jackson's latest CD 'Discipline'

  February 26, 2008

  On the title track of her new "Discipline" (Island Def Jam) album, over a loop of heavy breathing and Prince-ly slow-grinding synth-funk, Janet Jackson coos, "Take out your frustrations on me."

• Reviews: Bell X1's 'Flock,' Moorer's 'Mockingbird'

  February 19, 2008

  Man, those Irish people must be an adventurous lot.

• Broadcast radio needs to take risks like WRXP's

  February 17, 2008

  Radio - like its symbiotic partner, the music industry, and its mainstream brethren, broadcast television and newspapers - is in serious need of new ideas.

• Sheryl Crow finds her way with 'Detours'

  February 5, 2008

  Sheryl Crow seemed destined to meander down one of those winding roads she claims that every day is, adrift into adult contemporary la-la land, where every song is kinda nice and sorta bland.

• Review: The Magnetic Fields' 'Distortion'

  January 15, 2008

  Well, you can't say you weren't warned. The Magnetic Fields' new album "Distortion" (Nonesuch) is totally filled with, well, distortion.

• Jumping on different band wagons

  March 11, 2007

  In 1984, there was no musical middle ground. You had to pick sides, and you had to do it with a with-us-or-against-us intensity that really hasn't been seen since.

• A prime-time hit parade

  October 8, 2006

  It seems like Mat Kearney's music is everywhere these days - everywhere except, well, you know, the radio.

• The Killers don't quite go to town in their latest

  October 3, 2006

  The Killers wanted "Sam's Town" (Island) to be great.

• A dream duo come true: Ray Charles, Count Basie

  October 1, 2006

  It started with an old box of tapes that Concord Records had received from its purchase of Fantasy Records.

• Fergie's debut makes for an uneven ride

  September 19, 2006

  How come every time they come around, singers like Fergie always seem to let us down?

• Justin sets sale

  September 12, 2006

  Justin Timberlake is always selling. It's probably what he does best.

• Good, but not quite a 'Day' to remember

  September 5, 2006

  When you look like Beyoncé, when you dance like Beyoncé and, most importantly, when you sing like Beyoncé, good isn't always good enough.

• The Cure finds one in its comeback CD

  June 29, 2004

  The long-awaited return of The Cure starts tentatively, with singer Robert Smith repeating "I can't find myself," softly and slowly in "Lost" over a lone acoustic guitar.

• A Moment to Party Amid the Grief

  October 21, 2001

  FOR A BRIEF moment, the ongoing nightmare of the Sept. 11 attacks and their aftermath was replaced by a shiny rock and roll dream of unity, as Paul McCartney and his megastar friends told us all that there will be an answer. For “Let It Be,” McCartney, dressed in a blue FDNY T-shirt, played the piano, with Eric Clapton on guitar, Billy Joel on keyboards and everyone from James Taylor, The Who’s Roger Daltrey, Jon Bon Jovi, Sheryl Crow and Melissa Etheridge on backing vocals.

• Nightcrawler

  September 27, 2001

  THEIR FEELINGS were the same: Something had to be done.