barry thompson

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Mark Lanegan Band | Blues Funeral

Unlike a few of his early '90s Seattle contemporaries who made tons of money, erstwhile Screaming Trees vocalist Mark Lanegan has not died, put out shitty records, or made a self-deprecating cameo on Portlandia.
4AD (2012)
By BARRY THOMPSON | February 03, 2012

The schizoid stronghold of Iwrestledabearonce

The experts claim irony is dead, but the experts are stupid morons. Irony is an abstract concept. It was never alive, therefore cannot die.
Metal hedge
By BARRY THOMPSON | August 05, 2011

Quiet riot

I'm sick and tired of music bossing everybody around.
The Points North don't need to be pushy
By BARRY THOMPSON | June 25, 2010

Bedroom community

Okay, so Dead Cats Dead Rats are not actually from Boston.
Dead Cats Dead Rats dig out of the 'burbs
By BARRY THOMPSON | June 04, 2010

Photos: Lost Finale Party at the Brattle Theatre

This party had What It Takes
Fans bid Lost farewell at the Brattle | May 23, 2010
By BRANDON CONSTANT AND DAVE BARKER | May 28, 2010

Ruse music

Not that they’d be the first band to pad their résumé in their one-sheet, but even by industry standards, Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling’s backstory tests the threshold of plausibility.
Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling’s front may be a front
By BARRY THOMPSON | May 21, 2010

They're not tripping; they're You Say Party! We Say Die!

If I didn’t know any better, I’d read this quote from You Say Party! We Say Die! siren Becky Ninkovic and assume she’s candyflipping her...
By Barry Thompson | March 25, 2010

Better late than ever

The eternal argument over what is and is not punk rock has been run into the ground for so long, it’s become a cliché — and clichés are so not punk.
Refuse Resist are enough to make a grown man try
By BARRY THOMPSON | February 12, 2010

Sick sense

We've been told there's no such thing as a new idea, but that may well be bullshit. The new ideas are out there, they just need bands like Bunnies to root them out.
There's a madness to Bunnies' method
By BARRY THOMPSON | January 15, 2010

Group effort

If you're inclined to play punk rock, chances are you've got a self-esteem problem. It's not an æsthetic that attracts the well-adjusted. Exhibit A: Mark Lind. As bassist and frontman of the Ducky Boys, he's opened for Rancid, U.S. Bombs, and Flogging M
Don't call Mark Lind's Unloved a solo project
By BARRY THOMPSON | November 20, 2009

Anything and everything

People never like to label themselves. Or, at least they shouldn't.
StreightAngular just want to know what's now
By BARRY THOMPSON | October 09, 2009

Dark matter

To paraphrase some wisdom from Jake "The Snake" Roberts, if a man has power, he never has to raise his voice. Jake was explaining why, unlike his adversaries, he didn't keep screaming gibberish. But it's a universal truth.
Soulsavers keep it eerie on the ears
By BARRY THOMPSON | September 18, 2009

Gloom merchants

It would’ve been nice if Bobby Hecksher, songsmith and ringleader of the Warlocks, had spoon-fed me some anecdotes from back when he used to trip out with Timothy Leary.
The Warlocks’ psych is far from psyched
By BARRY THOMPSON | August 07, 2009

Wandering stars

The line between art and entertainment gets thicker and darker every time someone opens a Facebook account. Most of us music types are entertainers, because entertainers just want attention.
Humanwine's mysterious substance
By BARRY THOMPSON | June 26, 2009

The Detroit Cobras give new life to old soul

There's nothing lazier than the typical cover band: musicians taking the easy way out for listeners who don't want to be challenged — or, worse yet, revisiting the glory years when their shitty taste in music was current and therefore socially acceptabl
Blessed versions
By BARRY THOMPSON | June 05, 2009

Smashing success

It feels as if all the music people these days were rushing toward a hyper-electro-modern future where they'll be programming drum machines hard-wired directly to their erogenous zones.
The New Collisions start things off right
By BARRY THOMPSON | May 29, 2009

Something for everyone

In the last three years Hands and Knees have been signed to the Beatings' Midriff Records and racked up ample gold stars from critics; late last month they also dropped their splendid sophomore record, Et tu, Fluffy?
Hands and Knees' vintage-to-Fraggle rock
By BARRY THOMPSON | May 15, 2009

Between rock and a soft place

There's a blog post on the Everyday Visuals' Web site titled "Pop is fucking (aka. Everything to all people? / a/k/a. Coldplay is just as bad as Wavves)" that I was tempted to cut, paste, and submit in place of this article.
Is the Everyday Visuals' likability a liability?
By BARRY THOMPSON | May 08, 2009

The Milky Way takes it to the streets

Nobody likes gentrification, but everyone loves a parade.
A parade from dead end to new beginning
By BARRY THOMPSON | March 18, 2009

Slay anything

Boston's Irepress weren't supposed to be an instrumental band. What they've evolved into just happens to be too stylishly sinuous to lend itself to lots of words.
Words fail the post-everything epics of Irepress
By BARRY THOMPSON | February 09, 2009

Three Day Threshold take pride in roots

Three Day Threshold take pride in their roots
The undiscovered country
By BARRY THOMPSON | January 26, 2009

Save yourselves

The media-propagated notion that the Canadian sextet Fucked Up are "saving hardcore" seems silly.
Fucked Up are not your father's hardcore
By BARRY THOMPSON | January 12, 2009

Southern exposure

Multi-instrumentalist and Beat Circus patriarch Brian Carpenter has made his share of escapist music, but he's also written dozens of songs that confront real life.
Beat Circus's Brian Carpenter returns to his roots
By BARRY THOMPSON | January 06, 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

Angst-free zone

It’s possible I’m working backward from a bullshit conclusion, but I’m half-convinced the main topic of most arts-and-entertainment journalism isn’t actually arts or entertainment.
Barnicle keep things nice and friendly
By BARRY THOMPSON | December 16, 2008

Punk buccaneer

Jonee Earthquake rumbles below the surface
Jonee Earthquake rumbles below the surface
By BARRY THOMPSON | November 19, 2008

Mob rules

Bang Camaro gang up for round II
Bang Camaro gang up for round II
By BARRY THOMPSON | November 10, 2008

O’Death | Broken Hymns, Limbs and Skin

O’Death, from the rural backwater town of New York City, are a little bit country and a lot more calamitous power-folk.
Kemado (2008)
By BARRY THOMPSON | October 28, 2008

Cellars by strobe light

The ensuing batshit hysteria of this gathering was probably as close as one can realistically and safely get to a temporary autonomous zone.
We Are The Seahorses, Killspree Burlesque, and Real Life Time Machines at an “undisclosed” basement location
By BARRY THOMPSON | October 21, 2008

Scenic route to Hell

When it comes to goals a band can strive to achieve, having an excuse to get hammered and make noise with your buddies is surely among the most practical.
Easter Bloodhounds take their sweet time destroying you
By BARRY THOMPSON | October 20, 2008

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