Punk rock legend Blag Dahlia (Paul Cafaro) has been touring the world for over 30 years as founder and lead singer of “The Dwarves.” Courting controversy is second nature to the band, though it always comes after solid hard-core musicality and Paul’s inspired song lyrics. The Dwarves have produced fourteen albums, several music videos, and […]
As part of our 35th anniversary celebration, we asked 35 well-known artists to select their 35 favorite lesser-known artists. The response was so overwhelming. We had too many responses. Thus, part two was born. There are so many great yet obscure artists you probably haven’t heard. We figured “Why not create another list to showcase them?” Without further ado, here […]
With most indie venues closed due to the pandemic and many record stores altering their business methods, it was a challenging year for music discovery. Luckily, we live in the internet age, where a glowing album review, trending social media post or intriguing Bandcamp tag can instantly connect fans to their next favorite band. As […]
To paraphrase a saying attributed to Buddha, when the student is ready, the Leonard Cohen song will appear. Philosopher king and ladies’ man, poet and ordained Buddhist monk, aesthete and pilgrim — in his nearly 50-year musical career, Cohen embodied contradictions and sang his story-songs in a trademark sandpapery voice in the pursuit of beauty […]
COVID-19 brought the concert industry to a screeching halt in 2020. But all that disposable income music fans generally spend on concert tickets and tour merch has been redirected to the retail front: supporting artists and labels by shopping online during quarantine. And this holiday season brings an overwhelming amount of worthy box sets, books, […]
For a year that made no sense, it’s only fitting that 2020’s best songs make strange neighbors on a mixtape. You can’t recap 2020 without mentioning Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP,” a sex song so dirty that even the edited version leans toward an R rating (“wet and gushy,” anyone?). But on this […]
After a deluge of canceled or delayed tours, drive-in experiments, Bandcamp Fridays and bedroom livestreams, we’re finally here. Yay? It’s hard to celebrate much of anything in 2020. But one encouraging sign from the music industry has been the number of artists innovating on the fly — figuring out ways to sustain their careers through […]
SPIN has always highlighted the under-heralded, but an uncountable number of amazing songs have fallen through the cracks since the publication’s 1985 launch. It’s hard to scratch the surface in a list of this size, but consider this chronological mixtape a fun attempt. Many of these selections are personal — cherished, semi-obscure tracks that deserve […]
We know, we know — the best concert of all-time is your friend’s obscure indie-punk band playing a sweaty neighborhood basement back in ‘94. We admit that one slipped through the cracks. Maybe it’s a fool’s errand, but this list is our attempt to narrow down three and a half decades of worthy live music events […]
When the Van Halen brothers started playing music together in Pasadena in the 1960s, Alex played guitar with younger brother Eddie on drums and it was Alex’s growing prowess on drums that led them to switch instruments. From those humble beginnings, the duo formed their eponymous band with Eddie Van Halen becoming one of the […]