Celebrating Community
The rhythm, the rebels. The smart assault of clipping. returned last month with a full-on assault. Dead Channel Sky is the hip-hop crew’s first album in five years (CD, LP, download on Sub Pop Records) and only their fifth full-length since their 2014 debut. It was worth the wait. After a quick intro that fills the table with topics in […]
\ Sultry haze of balmy nights. The Egypt-born, Quebec-based singer/composer/producer Nadah El Shazly has built a following in recent years with a blend of club music experimentation and Arabic tradition. She’s been a big part of the rich and exciting music coming out of the Beirut / Cairo / Istanbul triangle (Karkhana, Praed Orchestra!) as well as a variety of […]
People frequently (that is, once every few years) stop me on the street and ask me, “George” (no one really knows who I am), “should I be listening to jazz?” My first response is always, “absolutely!” Then, when they ask me why, this is what I tell them (again almost never happens, but it’s good to have a handy quasi-script […]
Michael Jones has worked in many different industries — as a manager for Brooklyn synthpop duo Holy Ghost!, at Vice Media in the early days of online video, in the emerging New York City 2010s tech scene at places like Cameo and Dash, and then doing brand development for a company transforming small business lending by blending technology, data, and […]
Punk’s not dread. Back in the ’90s, Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon had “Girls invented punk rock, not England” emblazoned on a t-shirt. Photos of her sporting the slogan circulate every so often—I’ve been seeing them again lately on social media. I’m not sure what it means, I’m not sure if I agree, but I’m not about to argue the point. […]
First, the good news: the Library of Congress last month added new albums to its National Recording Registry, which preserves the most important and salient examples of American audio culture. One of the new entries is Miles Davis’ monumental, complex, darkly thrilling Bitches Brew. It’s a testament to the brilliance and possibilities of this country that it produced Miles and […]
Faithful readers of this paper will remember how I discovered one the great community gems that Brooklyn has to offer (and offered for over fifty years). I what because of the late Nino Pantano that I found myself in a Sunset Park elementary school auditorium being blown away by talent that I thought was only reserved for tourists and well-heeled […]
A Critical Moment for a Beloved Brooklyn Venue On May 2nd and 3rd, The Music Matters will present a two-night indie music showcase at Our Wicked Lady (OWL)in Bushwick. What began as a grassroots blog has evolved into a platform dedicated to elevating New York City’s emerging music talent. The showcase also arrives at a turning point. OWL, one of […]
George FialaGeorge Fiala has worked in radio, newspapers and direct marketing his whole life, except for when he was a vendor at Shea Stadium, pizza and cheesesteak maker in Lancaster, PA, and an occasional comic book dealer. He studied English and drinking in college, international relations at the New School, and in his spare time plays drums and fixes pinball […]
Apparitions of the Eternal Earth. On their monolithic 2022 debut, Eyes Like Predatory Wealth, the Houston, TX trio Apparitions set forth a slow burn with three tracks running, in sequence, 10, 20 and 30 minutes. The fire has been spreading ever since. In 2023, they issued the digital-only Semel, with three poundingly untitled tracks, and this month comes Volcanic Reality (CD […]