Reviews

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Beacon Theatre - 5/20/13

By Alan Scherstuhl Tue., May 21 2013 at 6:53 AM
Categories: Reviews, Tom Petty

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You cannot count the fucks Tom Petty does not give.
Better Than: Having one foot in the grave.

Imagine Tom Petty and his Heartbreakers drop a new LP, and it's just killer. Not just "killer" in that Echo or Mojo way, as in a killer document of a killer band doing what it was hatched to do. I mean in that Wildflowers or Full Moon Fever way, that damn near universal way, the songs so urgent with defiant life they could haul you up out of a coma. Imagine Tom Petty puts out a new record so vital and affecting that it would be adored by anyone who has ever before liked a Tom Petty song, even just "Free Fallin.'"

Now ask yourself, "How would anyone ever hear it?"

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Reviews

We Should Be More Cynical About Albums Claiming to Change the World

By Luke Winkie Mon., Apr. 22 2013 at 12:48 PM
Categories: Reviews

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The Knife
There's no denying that The Knife's Shaking the Habitual is a significant work of art. It's mystic, cold, brutal, and darkly groovy. There are moments where it seems The Knife is trying to be as unpleasant as possible, like the frosty, 19-minute passage "Old Dreams Waiting To Be Realized," which comes together like a nasty anxiety-attack. Or the 37-second ear-scraping snippet "Oryx," which is blaringly intrusive in the most artistic of ways. Taken as a whole, the album feels like it's about something, in the way that many hoity-toity borderline-operatic albums feel rife with commentary. It's powerful, it's unique, it's transformative - Karin and Olof Dreijer are smart people who deserve to have their music studied.

But come on. Shaking the Habitual isn't near as important as we're all pretending it is. At least not yet.

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Pondering the Beautiful and Complicated Contradiction That Is Josh Groban and His New Song "Brave"

By David Thorpe Tue., Dec. 18 2012 at 4:00 AM
Categories: Ha, This Song Is Fucking Terrible, New Releases, Reviews

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I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that you, dear reader, are probably not in the Josh Groban demographic. I'm not exactly sure what the Josh Groban demographic is, but I'm almost certain it doesn't involve reading blogs, or knowing what they are. My guess is that Josh Groban fans stick to the Missing Child Prayer Alert/My Google Won't Download corners of the web. I'm not in his demographic either, but for some reason I find Josh Groban fascinating.

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Reviews of Wines From Famous Rock 'n' Roll Bands!

By Brian McManus Tue., Sep. 18 2012 at 4:30 AM
Categories: Reviews

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By Brian McManus

Lately we've noticed a lot of bands have their own brands of wine, including Motörhead, Kiss, AC/DC, and Ratt. (Even Warrant has a wine. Warrant.) One of our friends at Wine Spectator magazine showed us the piece they wrote in April about this trend, and noted they were going to rate many of them in their October issue. But then walking ego Gene Simmons got word that his Kiss wine was rated poorly and threatened to sue. Wine Spectator felt it wasn't worth the hassle, so they killed the piece.

Here at Sound of the City, however, we're fearless motherfuckers who refuse to be pushed around. Also, we're drunk. So we sent an intern to find the piece in the trash at Wine Spectator and we are running it below. Bring it on, Simmons.


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