Randy Newman

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The Big Hurt: Unnecessary press release roundup

No matter how lazy music writers get, we can't spin every press release into a freebie news story, or even a scrap of "Web content" (shudder) for whichever shit aggregator pays our parking tickets.
Aggregating
By DAVID THORPE | December 16, 2011

For Chris Monti, Home is where the heart is

After a few spins through the latest solo release from blues/country/folk maestro Chris Monti, it's clear the man can spin a darn good, engaging tale with guitar (and harmonica and kazoo and fiddle) skills to match.
Nature's way
By CHRIS CONTI | March 04, 2011

Musician + Author = Crap

On Tuesday, musician Ben Folds (formerly of the Five) and rock-obsessed novelist Nick Hornby ( High Fidelity ) released a collaborative record called Lonely Avenue . The result of this musical-literary team-up isn't excruciating.
Worst of Both Worlds
By EUGENIA WILLIAMSON | October 01, 2010

Wrote a song for everyone

Political experts know the most important factor in a successful race for governor is the campaign song.
Name that tune
By AL DIAMON | May 07, 2010

Interview: Paul Provenza

In Satiristas! veteran comic Paul Provenza engages in revealing, surprising conversation with a diverse group about comedy’s role in revealing uncomfortable truths about our world and ourselves.
Comedy life saver
By ROB TURBOVSKY | May 07, 2010

Netsky notes

Hankus Netsky founded the Klezmer Conservatory Band 30 years ago at New England Conservatory and sparked an American klezmer revival that continues to this day.
The KCB's main man talks Klezmer
By JON GARELICK | February 26, 2010

Bringing it all back home

"Pull around back, head up the fire escape and knock twice, someone will let you in."
In the studio — a former pasta sauce factory in Central Falls — with the Low Anthem
By CHRIS CONTI | February 26, 2010

Jew note

Defining "Jewish" music is pretty much a fool's task — not much easier than defining jazz.
First Annual Boston Jewish Music Festival, plus the Klezmatics
By JON GARELICK | February 26, 2010

Various Artists | Where the Action Is: Los Angeles Nuggets 1965 - 1968

More than three years in the making, the most recent installment of Rhino's legendary archival garage-rock series offers an amazingly comprehensive excavation of an absurdly fertile scene.
Rhino (2009)
By MIKE MILIARD | December 18, 2009

From kidneys to kittens

The Killdevils have been kicking around the area to much acclaim over the past six years.
Killdevils frontman Jacob Haller’s Mistaken Identity
By CHRIS CONTI | November 20, 2009

Lowe life

Nick Lowe is a rare creature, a punk rock founding father who has endured and evolved gracefully.
Nick Lowe on growing up and growing old in the music business
By MICHAEL ATCHISON | October 09, 2009

Falling fast

As almost always seems to be the case, I have to start the "fall preview" by detailing this upcoming weekend, which promises to be one of the most active of the year.
Let's get things started right away
By SAM PFEIFLE | September 18, 2009

Interview: Michael Angelakos of Passion Pit

In 2008, Passion Pit won Best New Artist in our Best Music Poll.
Cleaning up with this year's BMP winners
By CARLY CARIOLI AND RYAN STEWART | July 31, 2009

Levon Helm | Electric Dirt

Helm's 2007 Dirt Farmer won the Best Traditional Folk Album Grammy for its acoustic arrangements of songs plucked from the Delta soil of the Band drummer and singer's rural Arkansas youth.
Dirt Farmer Music/Vanguard
By TED DROZDOWSKI | June 26, 2009

Revival of the fittest

While we all snoozed on eggnog during the 2007 holidays, Jeff Prystowsky and the rest of the Low Anthem were shacked up in a rickety old house on Block Island, a deserted little hamlet full of empty summer cottages off the coast of Rhode Island.
The deep, dark Americana of the Low Anthem
By MATT PARISH | June 12, 2009

Giant step

Indie-folk trio the Low Anthem — Jeff Prystowsky, Ben Knox Miller, and Jocie Adams — have signed with Nonesuch Records, which will re-release their highly-acclaimed disc, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin, on June 9.
The Low Anthem sign with Nonesuch Records
By CHRIS CONTI | April 17, 2009

2008 Listravaganza!

We are not at all sick of bands with animal names yet and seem to have a soft spot for Erykah Badu that we kept very hush about all year.
An absolute glut of cruelly reductive Top 10 lists from our dedicated staff of tirelessly enthusiastic writers
By BOSTON PHOENIX MUSIC STAFF | December 24, 2008

Listen!

10 pop and jazz discs you need
By JIM MACNIE | December 23, 2008

Black Affair

Mason’s off-kilter lyrics and psychedelic sense of melody overpower the thrift-store Gary Numan and Depeche pastiches and the trite S&M vibe.
Pleasure Pressure Point | V2
By GUSTAVO TURNER | August 19, 2008

Aaron Parks

He likes the shape of pop tunes, their dynamics, their unfolding dramas. He names Radiohead as an influence.
Invisible Cinema | Blue Note
By JON GARELICK | August 12, 2008

Randy Newman

As welcome as it is to have Newman’s acerbic wit back, it remains a singular pleasure to listen to a simple, devastating ballad like “Losing You.”
Harps + Angels | Nonesuch
By ZETH LUNDY | August 12, 2008

Boston music news: July 4, 2008

Three or so years ago, Mike Sempert up and moved to San Francisco, taking his creative moniker Birds and Batteries with him.
Notes on Birds and Batteries, Perennials, and the F Yeah Tour
By MICHAEL BRODEUR | July 02, 2008

Willie Nelson: Moment of Forever

Nelson turns 75 in April, but this disc sounds fresh and timeless next to other recent albums from Nashville’s Music Row.
Lost Highway
By TED DROZDOWSKI | February 26, 2008

Armor for Sleep

It's kind of refreshing to hear a bitchy emo record that doesn’t direct all its ire toward the heartless females.
Smile for Them | Sire
By MIKAEL WOOD | December 26, 2007

Teasers and tidbits

The puppeteer’s face and body reflect what the puppet is going through, as if the puppet were giving life to him instead of the other way around.
Bunraku at the Majestic; Marcus Schulkind at Green Street
By MARCIA B. SIEGEL | October 09, 2007

Subversive chanteuse

McKay is an odd duck — a true musical eccentric.
Nellie McKay, Paradise Rock Club, October 2, 2007
By MATT AHSARE | October 08, 2007

Adaptation

If your inner Mr. Memory — not to mention your outer Blockbuster — is operating, you recall The 39 Steps.
The 39 Steps winks at the Huntington; All the King’s Men thrills at Trinity
By CAROLYN CLAY | September 26, 2007

Stark contrasts

The 20th anniversary production of Trinity Repertory Company’s All the King’s Men is remarkable, not simply a skillful reprise but a re-envisioning.
Trinity Rep’s All the King’s Men is a masterpiece
By BILL RODRIGUEZ | September 25, 2007

Warning signs

Dear Dr. Lovemonkey, In seeing a woman for a couple of months I’m starting to notice some strange things.
Dr. Lovemonkey
By DR. LOVEMONKEY | December 20, 2006

Sing the song!

What’s the deal with Madeleine Peyroux? Slideshow: Madeleine Peyroux at Berklee Performance Center, November 1, 2006
Madeleine Peyroux, Berklee Performance Center, November 1, 2006
By JON GARELICK | November 02, 2006

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