Rush fans, rejoice. Though they’ve yet to schmooze their way into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, the Toronto-based prog-rockers have made it into perhaps an even more august establishment: The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. The band was inducted on Sunday, March 28, for the songs “Tom Sawyer,” “The Spirit of Radio,” “Limelight,” [...]

On May 18, Lost Highway will release the Jayhawk’s self-titled debut album for the first time on CD. Previously, the 1986 “Bunkhouse album,” an early precursor to the alt-country movement, was confined to 2,000 vinyl copies, making it an instant collector’s item. One track, “Falling Star,” was included on 2009′s Music From The North Country: [...]

DUM DUM GIRLS I Will Be (SUB POP) Rating: If Dum Dum Girls’ retro pop sounds more convincing than that of the countless young garage groups trying to recreate the girl-group harmonies of the 1960s, there’s good reason. The group’s debut album, I Will Be, was helmed with producer Richard Gottehrer, who in his youth [...]

There’s a long-distance train rolling through the rain, Tears on the letter I write. There’s a woman I long to touch and I miss her so much But she’s drifting like a satellite. There’s a neon light ablaze in this green smoky haze, Laughter down on Elizabeth Street And a lonesome bell tone in that [...]

Lou Reed, filmmaker? The iconic rocker has teamed up with Ralph Gibson to shoot Red Shirley, a documentary on Reed’s cousin, Shirley Novack, who recently turned 100-years-old. Novack spins her life story as new music from Reed’s Metal Machine Trio plays in the background. The film will debut in Switzerland in next month. Check out [...]

If you’re serious about your craft, you’ll appreciate having hit songwriter and MasterWriter creator Barry DeVorzon walk you through the ins and outs of MasterWriter in an online demo. In this free web video, taken from a live taping on March 13th, Barry begins with a personal story that illustrates how songs become hits, followed [...]

If you’ve never seen La Blogotheque’s Take Away Show, you’re in for a treat. The French web series shoots indie rock bands (Okkervil River, Fleet Foxes) and singer-songwriters (Josh Rouse, Jeffrey Lewis) in unusual settings, from Delancey Street in New York City to outside the Eiffel Tower (check out a video archive here.) The show’s [...]

HOLLY GOLIGHTLY AND THE BROKEOFFS Medicine County (TRANSDREAMER RECORDS) Rating: On their third studio album, Medicine County, Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs find the sweet spot somewhere between swanky twang and acoustic charm. One might not imagine a seasoned British singer-songwriter as the best candidate to take on classic American folk tunes like “Jack O’ [...]

“The future’s eternally bankrupt but history provides” Winter was hard on New York City. February 27, a Saturday, started before dawn for Erik Della Penna of Kill Henry Sugar, who rode the A train from his Central Park West apartment to 176th Street to walk across the George Washington Bridge, meet his sister for a [...]

A little man walked up and down, He found an eating place in town. He looked the menu through and through To see what fifteen cents could do: One meatball, one meatball, He couldn’t bought but one meatball. He told the waiter near at hand The simple dinner he had planned. The guests were startled, [...]

GRETCHEN WILSON I Got Your Country Right Here (REDNECK RECORDS) Rating: It’s no mystery why Gretchen Wilson was a sensation the moment she came on the scene; here was a woman as tough and brash and hard-partying as any male country star, plus she could actually sing. Not a combination that comes around terribly often. [...]