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H.R., the legendary singer of the equally legendary Bad Brains, has had a very interesting life. This documentary does a very impressive job of talking about his career and the myriad of issues surrounding him offstage. Some of the greatest insight comes from H.R.’s brother, Bad Brains drummer Earl Hudson. This is actually the most I think I’ve ever heard Earl talk and what he talks about is fascinating, namely their childhood and H.R.’s subsequent decline into what is basically undiagnosed mental illness. His friends and bandmates in his various reggae bands also talk at length about H.R.’s solo career.…

This long overdue retrospective documentary of legendary guitarist Mick Ronson is quite interesting. Interviews with friends, colleagues, admirers, and the occasional voiceover from Bowie himself paint a picture of a musician who was one of the most talented of his ilk. Not only could he play like a demon, but he could arrange and produce as well. For the most part, he will be remembered as Bowie’s partner in the Spiders From Mars, and a lot of time in this documentary is used to talk about his association with Bowie. Bowie’s former wife Angie tries to steal the show with…

If you’re not familiar with L7, then watch this film and you will be. Four rockin’ badasses from Los Angeles formed the ultimate female alternative rock band and took the ‘90s alt rock underground by storm. Hell, 1992’s Bricks Are Heavy spawned three of the most memorable songs from the alternative rock explosion: “Pretend We’re Dead,” “Wargasm,” and “Shitlist.” This documentary is a bit different from most other rock docs; you never see the ladies of L7 on camera, only in voice-overs. But through scattered praise from fans including members of Garbage, Distillers, Bratmobile, and others, it is highlighted just…

Legend has it that it took 100 takes in the studio before Tom Petty was satisfied that he and the Heartbreakers had done full justice to “Refugee,” the leadoff track on 1979’s Damn The Torpedoes. The song turned out to be their breakthrough, the single that lit a rocket under their until-then gradual transformation from regional up-and-comers into breakout national stars. I like to think that stubbornness wasn’t so much about perfectionism as a determination to get the most you can out of the materials you have to work with. That always seemed to be the Petty ethos, right down…

People write stories for a lot of reasons: to share an idea they think is important with the world; to explore places they’ve never been but always imagined going; to interpret their own experiences in a way that both disguises and closely examines the most wrenching, difficult parts of them. (Never underestimate the therapeutic power of taking control over something happening in your own life by writing about it.) But another reason people write stories is more prosaic, even selfish: because we want to create more of the kind of stories we most enjoy reading. The latter was one of…

Ah, the curse of high expectations. On Monday night I saw a very good band play a diverse set-list, delivering enthusiastic and well-received performances at an attractive venue. A good time appeared to be had by audience and performers alike. It should be that simple, shouldn’t it? But as with nearly anything connected to the almost 50-year-old progressive rock band Yes, the truth is more complicated. The complications begin with the fact that there are currently two bands calling themselves Yes on tour: the official Yes led by longtime guitarist Steve Howe and longtime drummer Alan White, and this upstart…

The word that comes up again and again both when talking about and when talking with Pete Mancini is craft. Mancini’s work as a singer-songwriter is all about craft, whether within the context of indie-rock/Americana quartet Butchers Blind or on his newest venture, a debut solo album that leans more to the country-folk side of the broad Americana equation. Mancini himself prefers to describe the music he makes in both contexts as “American music”—a rich mélange of blues, country, folk and the bastard child the three produced together: rock and roll (thank you, Chuck Berry).Mancini applies his considerable craft to…

Twenty albums do not a lifetime make, but they sure help it over the rough edges...1. Eddy Arnold – Have Guitar Will TravelI told my grandson a few years ago that my family did not own a television set until I was 10 years old. I’m not sure he believed me, as he has never known a world without computers, never mind one without a television set. That meant that the radio and phonograph were the king and queen of the house; my grandfather was in charge of both, and he loved Eddy Arnold. It was country music at its…

The albums in the list below (chronologically arranged, but in no special personal order) mark key milestones on my journey to discovering rock ‘n’ roll itself, growing up in India in the ’80s and ’90s. 1. Kraftwerk – The Man-Machine (1978)The Man-Machine was probably one of my very first exposures to music of any kind, period. My father picked up a cassette tape of this album on one of his trips abroad in the early ’80s (I forget where) on the recommendation of one of his friends. Of course, he didn’t know what Kraftwerk was! I still remember playing with Matchbox…

Here is a list of 20 albums that influenced me. They are not listed in chronological order of release, nor sorted by most to least influential. They are simply in the order that I first heard them. 1. AC/DC – Back in BlackThis was my first love. I was six years old when I got it, on vinyl. This laid down the foundation for a lifelong love of music. It is the perfect rock and roll album. My musical life was off to a hot start! 2. Joan Jett And The Blackhearts – I Love Rock And RollBack in the early…