Features

Stripped Down to The Core. Robert Schneider of the Apples in Stereo talks about giving up the retro rock fetish for something new. By Allan Martin Kemler20/09/2002 In a year rocked by terrorism, accounting scandals and a lingering recession, the view of the world that popular culture chooses to reflect back to its public seems to bear little resemblance to the day-to-day reality of most Americans’ lives. As the encroachment of ever-increasing media consolidation threatens to further constrict the information Continue Reading

Will talks to Salford Poptones veterans, The Montgolfier Brothers about The World Is Flat and their ‘lucrative friend’ , Alan McGee. Interview by Will Jenkins.27/08/2002 Salford is a city with a strong community spirit that is inherently born out of the strong partisanship of Manchester. As one of the first active industrial cities in the world, the area has always considered itself to be a place with a modern outlook merely because of the enormous changes that have altered the Continue Reading

They might not be the most charismatic band in the world. They may be struggling very hard with the press this summer to correct that opinion. What you can’t correct though are the facts behind the songs.08/08/2002 With the new album, ‘A Rush Of Blood to The Head’ set for release, Crud asked Chris Martin and his chums to take us through the tracks on the new album. Here are the results. As plain as the nose on your face. Continue Reading

Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy talks about how he and his band put together one of the best albums of the year. By Allan Martin Kemler08/08/2002 Nothing ventured, nothing gained goes the cliché, and it’s true. There is a direct correlation between how much a person is willing to fail and how much they can possibly achieve. But on the other side of the coin lies the possibility for total destruction. So how can a person tell whether they are embarking on Continue Reading

Live and direct from Cardiff, Wales, the Super Furry Animals, Macca and you. Allan Martin Kemler interviews the UK’s lefty anti-heroes on the eve of the US release of “Rings Around The World”. Photo by Matt Greenberg.22/07/2002 The Super Furry Animals are not related to the Teletubbies. They aren’t a spin-off of Pokemon and you won’t find them in the candy aisle next to the root beer barrels and Gummi Bears. However, they could be any or all of these Continue Reading

A new album, a cult following. Not been seen for years. Sound familiar? The garage door is open wide and the ‘serialists’ push forth. Whilst waiting the necessary time to meet Godot, Allan and Kim, talk shop.14/06/2002 After 21 years and 15 albums, New York’s perennial uptown hipsters have laid down tracks for a 16th: Murray Street. What follows, gentle reader, is a fictitious account of a real interview with Kim Gordon. Since conversations often reveal more detail and insight Continue Reading

Violins, mandolins and deep flowing intakes of clear fresh air. Hem return to their roots and add something new to an ongoing American narrative. Forget the new Lambchop album. The future’s where you left it. The song, ’Lazy Eye’ draws attention to the hem of the dress of an old, possibly lost love: “There’s a lazy eye that looks at you and sees you the same as before“ As a defining image of the album’s intent both musically and intellectually Continue Reading

Elf Power’s lyrics paint vivid mental pictures through oblique references to made-up mythological creatures, magic powers and the visions of seers. So no drugs here then. Andrew Rieger talks about psychedelia, spirituality and the new album ‘Creatures’29/04/2002 ATHENS, GEORGIA—land of pecans and blooming dogwoods. A land the local chamber of commerce calls the “closest place to Heaven on Earth.” Fifty miles northeast of Atlanta and 600 feet above sea level, the little college town that spawned such legendary acts as Continue Reading

Imogen Heap and and Guy Sigsworth (Frou Frou) are about to dish up a tasty nutritious blend of sultry yet spunky trip-hop in the form of the forthcoming single ‘Breathe In’. Backed in the UK by LHB and Jo Wiley – this is about as cred’ and as delightful as it gets for pop. And so spot on.30/04/2002 Fresh from her emphatic guest slot on LHB’s equally emphatic pop spectacle, ‘Tell ’em Who We Are’ comes Imogen Heap: sultry and Continue Reading

Sonic gladiator, glam philosopher and general wildman of rock, Andrew W.K suggests there’s another side to his big pulsating blend of stadium-sized alterna. Something to do with regurgitation and spiritual debt? Allan Kemler talks to Mr W.K. Andrew W.K. has done the rock ‘n’ roll math and it all adds up. Despite the hype in the UK, where he’s been described by the fawning British music press as an amalgam of Diamond Dave Roth, Eddie Van Halen, Slade and GBV, Continue Reading