Author Archives: Chris Merriman

There are reasons why some side projects are … side projects. During breaks from his main gig as Queens of the Stone Age frontman, Josh Homme becomes Carlo Von Sexron (the choice of the name will soon make sense), the drumming half of Eagles of Death Metal. His counterpart, childhood friend Jesse Hughes, takes over »

He has yet to serve his one-year jail sentence, but the prospect of prison seems to have affected T.I. Although his latest release, “Paper Trail,” still contains standard gangsta tracks, the tone and lyrical content of many of his songs have matured in the wake of last October’s conviction. Initially, there is no way of »

Kings of Leon did it all in reverse. Contrary to many indie bands, their album trajectory moved upwards, with their previous two albums showing both musical improvement and maturation from their 2003 debut, “Youth & Young Manhood.” These sons (and nephew) of an evangelist preacher converted to rock ’n roll and all the vices that »

Calexico has been labeled many different things over the course of its 18-year career. Yet despite the seeming contradictions of classifications ranging from alt-country to indie rock to Mariachi music, Calexico creates continuity through constant allusions — both lyrical and musical — to the American Southwest from which both the band’s name and roots derive. »

The cameras cut to a shot of the barricaded school — as if it was just another mundane news story. As I watched television with my host mother in her Buenos Aires apartment, I was shocked to hear that the city’s most prestigious public high school had been taken over by its students. They were »

Following the success of groundbreaking bands like Nirvana, the early mid-nineties saw an alternative rock scene emerge with Stone Temple Pilots, Jane’s Addiction and so on. This era also featured many memorable one-hit wonders: “Song 2” by Blur (the “Woo” song), “Sex and Candy” by Marcy Playground. One such wonder — Blind Melon — made »