What a romantic idea: deeply-loved '80s college rock band rebounds after repeated failures with fresh new album that reinvents them. It's easy to get lost in this fairytale when listening to R.E.M.'s new release, Accelerate. But unfortunately for Michael Stipe and company, the band doesn't get off that easily.
Read MoreStar magazine movie critic says industry future in doubt
You couldn't tell by his kind smile and steady voice, but Star magazine film critic Marshall Fine has a lot of reasons to be pessimistic about the future of criticism, a role he calls a "dying species."
Read MoreAlbum Review: Raconteurs dominate with fierce Consolers of the Lonely
Jack White has more faces than a high-school yearbook. The specter with an ambiguous past; the rambling folk songwriter; the blazing guitar guru - the man is short of no mysticisms. He's also a workhorse; just nine months since releasing Icky Thump with his cymbal-smashing peppermint patty, Meg White, he's back again with 14 new songs on the Raconteurs' second album, Consolers of the Lonely.
Read MoreExclusive interview: Decemberists' singer-songwriter Colin Meloy
Indie-rockers The Decemberists' singer-songwriter Colin Meloy is temporarily leaving his highly-praised and steadily-momentous band to go on a solo tour to promote his upcoming acoustic live album, Colin Meloy: Sings Live! Meloy, who was kind enough to share some words with The Lamron, will be performing at the Tralf Music Hall in Buffalo on April 18.
Read MoreThe Evolution of Press: Interviewing YouTube sensation Jud Laipply
Motivational speaker/comedian Judson Laipply found the unlikeliest of successes in a video he made of himself performing various arrays of dances made famous over the past six decades. The "Evolution of Dance," as he calls it, is now the most viewed video of all-time on YouTube with a staggering 80,420,691 views.
Read MoreAlbum Review: Former Pavement frontman offers concrete solo record
About as unpredictable as this winter weather in Western New York, Stephen Malkmus is far too enigmatic to be labeled anything, may it be crazed, nonsensical lyricist or genius spokesperson of indie rock. Stephen Malkmus just is.
Read MoreAlbum Review: Battles band wars with tradition
Sure, at first glance, the indie-math-progressive rock freakshow Battles is just another ingenious new band with a killer debut album already under their belt (because there are so many of those, these days…). But trace the Battles' bloodline back a few veins and you'll find a bit more musical experience one would expect from an out-of-nowhere critical success.
Read MoreMusic Flashback: Afrika Bambaataa and the Soul Sonic Force's Planet Rock
There may not be another album, hip-hop or otherwise, that sounds as constantly manic and locomotive as Afrika Bambaataa's Planet Rock (1986). A sonic strobe-light, the album is a space shuttle of funk and electricity that blasts off into the rap stratosphere with the first bash of resonating bass on the album's opening title track.
Read MorePareti: FCC chooses guns over buns
Earlier this month, the FCC fined ABC $1.43 million for a 2003 episode of NYPD Blue in which an adult woman's buttocks were exposed to the camera. It's yet another example of our country's inane sense of values and a sobering reminder of just how imbalanced our precedent is when it comes to sex versus violence in television and movies.
Read MoreAlbum Review: Vampire Weekend bites into African, world influences
Vampire Weekend's Web site states the following declaration: "The name of this band is Vampire Weekend. We are specialists in the following styles: 'Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa,' 'Upper West Side Soweto,' 'Campus,' and 'Oxford Comma Riddim,'"
Read MoreOpen Mic: The Downward Spiral
I'm going to refrain from making jokes about the irony of Amy Winehouse's hit single, "Rehab," because I think the obviousness speaks for itself. What's not so obvious, at least to celebrities, is the creeping obsession with death; the mentality of, as Neil Young once put it, "Better to burn out/Than to fade away" that has subtly nested in the wonderment we have with pop icons over the last few decades.
Read MoreAlbum Review: Magnetic Fields fail to attract on Distortion
The Magnetic Fields have been around the indie block for almost two decades but, as of yet, have not managed to jettison their semi-significance to achieve the tried and true immortality of cult classicism. Their latest release, January's Distortion, promises little in the way of a breakthrough despite elements of the same consistently crafty songwriting.
Read More2007: The best of the year in music
Top Ten Albums of the Year
1.Kings of Leon - Because of the Times: Well, these Nashville brothers grew up fast, didn't they? Rocketing into the southern rock stratosphere from their 2005 launch pad, Aha Shake Heartbreak, the follow-up is not only better in every way possible, it is the most consistently stunning album of the year. An easy choice for the top spot.
2.Dungen - Tio Bitar: Such a sincere, accurate portrayal of '60s acid rock may never again be done. And, a Swedish farm boy leads Dungen, no less! Bluesy guitar solos, Jethro Tull-ish flute sections and chameleon-like song movements make this a superbly interesting listen.
3.Radiohead - In Rainbows: The long wait for a new album was worth it, and not just for the do-it-yourself price tag. In Rainbows is dense, atmospheric and deeply emotional. Blending the digital coldness of Kid A with the lush layers of OK Computer, Radiohead reminds the world that they are still kings of experimental rock.
4.Queens of the Stone Age - Era Vulgaris: Grimy cock-rock returns in full fashion on Queens of the Stone Age's sleazy, slinky June release. The fuzzed-out guitars and grungy vocals make this another hit for the volatile rockers. Best track: the "Smells Like Teen Spirit"-esque riff and killer solo on "3's & 7's."
5.Minus the Bear - Planet of Ice: Minus the Bear are really making a statement with Planet of Ice, and that statement is: "Listen to us: We are so damn good at what we do!" What they do is combine Postal Service electronica with Pink Floyd prog-rock for a catchy, danceable sound that also rocks out hard.
6.Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank: With the manic, delirious sounds of lead singer Isaac Brock, We Were Dead has more of the trademark off-kilter fun, making Modest Mouse one of the more consistent rockers out there today.
7.The White Stripes - Icky Thump: Boy, do these two have expectations to fulfill with each release or what?! Icky Thump may not be as flawless as their last two records, but Jack White continues to take the band's sound further, incorporating Latin horn arrangements and twangy acoustic guitars. And, of course, there's the rocking, infectious title track.
8.The Shins - Wincing the Night Away: Containing maybe the best opening song all year in "Sleeping Lessons," The Shins show once again why they continue to be media darlings and fan favorites. Noteworthy moment: when the band jams to close out "Sea Legs," a grooving, swaying highlight on the album.
9.LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver: Diversifying their sound to incorporate elements of Talking Heads, David Bowie and Public Image Ltd., band leader James Murphy acknowledges his dense musical knowledge when he references Pink Floyd as he sings, "We set controls for the heart of the sun/one of the ways we show our age."
10.Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity: These indie oddities are hardly accessible, but then again, people said the same thing about Captain Beefheart. Friend Opportunity certainly has shades of Trout Mask Replica in the strange riot of sounds, but you can't deny the hilarity of the band's no-barrier-can't-be-broken approach.
Honorable Mentions: Bright Eyes - Cassadaga
The Fratellis - Costello Music
Neil Young - Chrome Dreams II
The Good, the Bad and the Queen - The Good, the Bad and the Queen
Air - Pocket Symphony
Neil Young gets back to basics with new LP
There's just something about a bitter, aged ex-hippie singing the abhorrence of a presidential administration that doesn't quite grip a nation's attention. At the heart of every effective protest is the intensity of youth, which is why Neil Young's ornery 2006 political statement, Living With War, didn't exactly start any fires.
Read MoreAn interview: Third Eye Blind's Brad Hargreaves
Nov. 17 may still be a few days away, but in lieu of Third Eye Blind's fall concert in Kuhl Gym, the alt-rockers' drummer, Brad Hargreaves, shared his thoughts with The Lamron regarding the band's new album, touring and the climate of today's music scene.
Read MoreDerek Trucks Band ignites packed Rochester crowd
A light fog encircled the stage like an aqueous shell in the Water Street Music Hall on Monday as hundreds of plastered patrons crammed into the Rochester venue to witness acute talent Derek Trucks turn his Gibson SG guitar into a child's plaything.
Read MoreFlawed Guitar Hero III still a must for musical masters
Steve Vai-wannabes and air guitar enthusiasts have reason to reunite once again: the wildly popular Guitar Hero franchise got its third entry into home video game consoles this week with the release of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (technically, Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the '80s came third, but who's counting).
Read MoreMusic Flashback: Primal Scream
Primal Scream's 1991 pastel illumination of music, Screamadelica, is either a rock-conscious techno album or a rhythmic, dance-club injected throwback to Rolling Stones blues. Lots of great albums in the past have straddled genre lines, but classic rock and dance pop?
Read MoreIce Knights open with two losses
Shaken by seven injured players, the men's hockey team was unable to duplicate last year's 2-0 start, succumbing twice to Neumann last week in Aston, Penn.
Read MoreOut of Bounds: There's no place in the NHL for timid general managers
The NHL franchise player isn't dead, but the timid manager just might be
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