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daniel brockman

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Matt Pike and High on Fire sludge forward

Slow burn
There are, really, just two types of rock legends: those who try hard to find the rocker within them, and those who are born rockers.

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | October 19, 2010

Die Antwoord's Ninja's zef squad

The brazen frontman talks the talk
Some artists figure out their signature style through a slow organic process.

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | October 18, 2010

M.I.A.: Fixing the glitch

And talking the talk
Monday night, mid-set on stage at Royale, it almost seemed like Maya Arulpragasam, a/k/a M.I.A., had had it.

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | October 06, 2010

East Bay Ray defends a punk-rock legacy
"Every artist is a business." If you're a fan of the legendary and incendiary punk band Dead Kennedys, you'd probably be dismayed to hear those words exit the lips of guitarist and band co-founder Ray Pepperell, a/k/a East Bay Ray.

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | October 08, 2010

Transcript: The Phoenix interviews M.I.A.

In September 2004, Diplo still had to explain who M.I.A. was.

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | October 06, 2010

Interview: Constantine Maroulis

On cracking Rock of Ages
There once was a time when the anthemic earnestness of '80s hard rock was considered giggle-worthy, and keeping a straight face while listening to self-helpy bombast ballads like "Don't Stop Believin' " and "Here I Go Again" was possible only with several veneers of snarky irony.

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | September 30, 2010

Nachtmystium: black-metal psych-out

Night terror
“Psychedelic black metal” is a tag that Chi-town black-metal stalwarts Nachtmystium started to hear around 2006, when they released Instinct: Decay .

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | September 14, 2010

Fall National Pop Preview: The golden age

The industry is dead, but the music lives on
Okay, so the album is dead, the music industry is dead, rock is dead, and the Library of Alexandria you have stored on your C drive has killed 150 years of recorded music culture.

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | September 20, 2010

Of Montreal exposed

Kevin Barnes flashes his indie-rock cred
"I've always been drawn to a density of ideas," states Kevin Barnes, plaintively.

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | September 07, 2010

A Steve Albini vitriol sampler

Shellackings
The Steve Albini of today is a relatively jovial figure: hard-working, straight-talking, practical — but with the contented air of one who's been able to find his own way in a tricky field.

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | August 31, 2010

Shellac's Steve Albini sets his own sonic pace

Pure audiogasm
"It seems, in a sense, like we can get away with murder." I'm talking on the phone with Steve Albini as he relaxes during a rare respite from his engineering duties at the studio he owns and operates, Chicago's Electrical Audio, and he's describing how things operate with Shellac.

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | August 31, 2010

Street-walkin’ cheetah

The Raw Power of the Stooges’ James Williamson
It’s hard to fathom now, when their music has achieved such godhead status, but in 1971, Ann Arbor’s legendary Stooges had dissolved in ignominy, dropped by Elektra after the seemingly indulgent commercial failure that was 1970’s howling Fun House .

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | August 29, 2010

Getting into the mix

Three more that fans want raw
Raw Power is viewed by many as one of the all-time great rock albums — but its hyper-trebly, David Bowie–mixed brittleness has been almost as infamous as the musical mayhem on the wax.

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | August 24, 2010

Katy Perry | Teenage Dream

Capitol (2010)
Contrary to common perception, there are only two genres of popular music: music written and performed by teenagers, and music written and performed by people trying to remember what being a teenager was like.

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | August 24, 2010

Danse macabre

Crystal Castles toughen up synth-pop
"With our songs, with our band, we're always really selfish."

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | August 15, 2010

Endless Boogie | Full House Head

No Quarter Records (2010)
Most bands go through a period of refinement, where the loose-jamming phase gives way to taut compaction. But what if a band's loose jamming is also tight and dynamic — does that mean that said band can stay in the shed forever?

By: DANIEL BROCKMAN | August 05, 2010