Category Archives: Scribes Sounding Off

The Experience Music Project’s Pop Conference is coming up in just a few days, and as someone who has attended this annual gathering for many years, it always gets me thinking about what French “urbanist” philosopher Paul Virilio describes as the “art of the accident.” Every year at this event I hear academics and journalistsRead more...

Subtitled “Travels to Backstages, Frontlines, and Assorted Sideshows,” Andrew Mueller’s new collection of “being there, doing that” stories from the benches and trenches of broad western pop and underground world rock is this spring’s rock book to grab and sink into.

I wanted to put this list together toot sweet so that our readers might have some perfect last minute choices as gifts for music fans this holiday season. Even in a speedy age of instant cheerleading and grousing, the old-fashioned music biography or history lesson or consumer guide (or more contemporary mixture of autobiography andRead more...

There has been an awful lot of non-album related punk rock stuff coming out lately: Band history and concert DVDs, zines, books, and even toys. For the little terror you have on your list, you might want to think of tying one of these to a chunk of coal and aiming it at his headRead more...

If you’re in the independent music scene for any amount of time, you find out just how important the people are who aren’t necessarily making music. These could be show promoters who make sure your band is well matched with the rest of a line-up on a Tuesday night; the beautiful bartender at the SunsetRead more...

It may be too early to tell, but I think that Cassette From My Ex: Stories and Soundtracks of Lost Loves is going to be the gift book of the season. For any music lovers and lovers who share music who have ever been spun around by the magic of giving a mix-tape or gottenRead more...