The trouble with talking about a discrete movement in pop music is that there’s only so much one can say; and more often than not, what one can say is probably a woeful generalization. Take, for example, Andy Cabic of Vetiver. Willfully nebulous though it may be, there’s probably no current movement more discrete than the quote-unquote “freak folk” Cabic and his more famous friend, Devendra Banhart, have been slowly and steadily bringing to the indie limelight since 2002 or so. It can be …

As our Stax tribute week plows on, it becomes even more conspicuous that Stax was a label full of legends, soul masters and trend setters. The most cursory trip through the Stax catalogue yields the usual characters: Otis Redding, Albert King, Wilson Pickett… you can probably fill in the rest. And the thing that bound these artists together, bundled them up into an identity and place in history under the banner of Stax, was the sound of the recordings themselves. Yeah, …

We, the collective audience, love pop culture dynasties. Perhaps the appeal is in the idea that the level of talent that allows one to rise to the heights of stardom is not something that can be learned or even a matter of universal randomness. Rather, it is a genetic trait – something that can only be passed from the blessed few on to their blessed children. So sayeth the gospel of LA. Whatever the case, our entertainment history books are littered with the names …

Musical brothers are not known for getting along. Remember the epic battles between Oasis’s Noel and Liam Gallagher? For that matter, it seems like almost every time families get involved together musically, shit gets fucked up. The Jackson Five were notoriously rumoured to share their sexual partners, and are thought to have been abused by their father, Joe Jackson. Also, speaking of parental abuse, how about the Shaggs? Those talentless (but utterly entertaining) Wiggins sisters were forced to leave school by their father …

If you’ve never heard Sly & The Family Stone’s There’s a Riot Goin’ On before, I suggest you go do so immediately. I think it’s an album that everyone can get the same vibes from: hazy, fuzzy, depressing, a funk record with a tone so different from other funk records that it’s always surprising. There’s a Riot Goin’ On is simply end-of-an-era coked out genius – and if any one of Sly & The Family Stone’s albums deserves a book written about …

Sondre Lerche does not fit into my stereotypes of a Norwegian musician. He does not play death or black metal. He does not kill his fellow bandmates. Nor has he ever (at least to this reviewer’s knowledge) burned down a church in the names of Satan and rock and roll. And until now, it’s never mattered: Lerche’s prior releases, Faces Down and Two Way Monologue, were artful pop records which cemented the then-teenager as a musical phenom. Those albums found the right mixture …

I believe that the Velvet Underground’s transition from “Sweet Jane” to “Rock & Roll” links one of the most inspired track pairings in history. For me those songs are forever mated; listening to “Sweet Jane” and then skipping “Rock & Roll” is like eating a meal and skipping dessert. Unless you absolutely have to, you don’t do it. My favorite Rolling Stones record is Between the Buttons. Yes, yes, we all know Exile on Main St. is a masterpiece, but it just doesn’t …

Every year, the hipsters of the world find a mainstream artist, usually female, who they all simultaneously decide to love. It’s a tradition based on a deceptively simple principle: the songs by this artist of choice might not be that great or original, but damn, are they catchy. Last year’s queen of pop crossover was of course the first ever American Idol, Kelly Clarkson, whose “Since U Been Gone” could be heard pouring out of everyone’s car windows during the summer of 2005. Even …