Month: June 2004

When the Polyphonic Spree named its latest disc Together We’re Heavy, they weren’t kidding—there are twenty-nine people in the band. Risen from the ashes of Dallas psychedelic-grunge group Tripping Daisy, the greatly expanded ensemble now takes the stage decked out in robes like they’re headed for a river baptism, whipping up a heady cross between…

Seeing Sonic Youth play at a VFW hall was one of our formative teenage rock experiences. We’ve since grown up, and SY have, well, grown—wavering at points, perhaps, but never getting watered down. Nurse is the band’s nineteenth album, which means that a whole new generation of appreciative indie kids is out there. We suppose…

Forego your usual downtown happy hour and stroll over to Mill City Museum’s dramatic open-air Ruin Courtyard for a change of pace. They’re setting up Thursday nights with series of local-music showcases, old-favorites and up-and-comers alike, plus food from D’Amico Catering and extended museum hours. The lineup includes Adam Levy of the Honeydogs, Kraig Johnson…

Last time we checked in with Brooklyn’s John Linnell and John Flansburgh, they were touring behind Bed Bed Bed, a charming CD and book for kids, but we’re very happy to hear them putting on their grownup rock ’n’ roll shoes for The Spine (available July 13), their tenth album and first full-length rock record…

We’d have an easier job if Leo Kottke would stub his toe just once so we could qualify our praise. But our favorite picker has reduced us to fawning again with yet another masterpiece. As usual, his delightfully obtuse liner notes have virtually nothing to do with the content. What’s changed is that his cover…

He’ll certainly never make a better film than Manhattan, especially considering his output in the last few years. But for pure entertainment, we’ll take Woody Allen as goofy joke-schlepper any day—the Woody in his New Yorker essays, his Standup Comic album, and his first half-dozen films, including this terrific 1969 mockumentary. His first full-fledged directorial…