john cale

These 10 bands made Boston one of America’s greatest punk-rock towns

A greasy R&B riff rips from the speakers, coated in more fuzz than a peach orchard wearing a 50-year-old wool sweater. A singer with a sneer that could wilt Elvis’ upper lip indicates he’s gonna tell you a story about his town. He snarls about hanging out by the notoriously polluted Charles River, “along with […]

15 artists who show that the Velvet Underground’s influence is eternal

Lester Bangs, the greatest rock journalist ever, felt eternal Lower East Side musical royals the Velvet Underground were “our Beatles and Bob Dylan combined” and that “modern music begins” with them. He wasn’t wrong. They existed only for a handful of years—1965 to 1970. But five years was enough for them to create virtually everything […]

11 artists from the '70s who formed the frontlines of NYC’s punk scene

Since the world first became aware that there is such a thing as punk, there’s been a nonstop argument about its birthplace. The clueless mainstream media reported for years that it began in England, simply because the Sex Pistols’ snarl was more extreme. Which royally pissed off New York City, the first place to essentially […]

Jawbox guitarist J. Robbins on tour this week

The reconvening of post-hardcore legends Jawbox was a high point of this past summer. It wasn’t the only high point for guitarist/vocalist J. Robbins, though. He was able to finish his first proper solo album, Un-Becoming, that was released by Dischord in May. Having dedicated a year-and-a-half’s worth of weekends in support of Jawbox, Robbins […]