Month: October 2016

Alice In Chains was always one of my favorites from the Seattle era, and they still are. Though they went through unspeakable tragedy, they channeled the pain and darkness into the music and came out with some of the bleakest and dreary rock music of the ‘90s. Losing Layne Staley to an overdose in 2002 nearly crippled them for good, but Sean Kinney, Jerry Cantrell, and Mike Inez rose from the ashes, and together with William Duvall, came back not only stronger but lighter. The music still has the same intensity, but it’s not as overwhelmingly black and that’s a…

Well, here it is, the first definitive documentary of the legendary Southern alt rockers Drivin’ N’ Cryin’. The band’s whole story is told here, warts and all; it gets a bit dark after a while, but the silver lining is the recognition the band has received in the last 10 years or so as one of the definitive bands of the South. Best known to the general public, if they remember them at all, for songs like “Straight To Hell” and “Fly Me Courageous,” the band has had a very long career – over 30 years in all with frontman/guitarist/songwriter…

Phish is a live band, so why are we talking about their studio albums? The balance of attention their music receives leans so far in favor of their live performances that even many of the band’s biggest fans don’t bother with their albums. But in their prime, they actually did release some pretty great records. To date, they’ve released 13 official studio albums (though I’ve added in a few apocryphal ones bringing this list up to 18), and while there are certainly some weaker records among them, Phish is a better studio band than many people give them credit for.When…

This is the book about The Replacements we've all been waiting for. While multiple documentaries, biographies, and endless speculation exist and will probably continue to multiply as the band's legacy becomes even more prominent, Bob Mehr goes right to the source here with information from all the members, as well as managers, roadies, ex-girlfriends, family members and those handling their day to day duties since day one. It's all spelled out in a way that's easy to absorb and matter-of-fact, often presenting different versions of the past since The Replacements can’t always agree on exactly how some events unfolded. Mehr…