Fiona Apple

Bilal's New A Love Surreal Was Inspired By Salvador Dali

Even though Bilal Sayeed Oliver -- that's Bilal, to his fans -- has a new album, A Love Surreal, ready for fans to consume, he is still hounded by that one question: Will Love for Sale ever get the proper release it deserves? "Well, I don't know," Oliver says. "I would like for it to, but it's a lo ... More >>

Defend Your Ballot: Steven Hyden, Pazz and Jop 2012 Contributor

You can't really know where you're headed unless you know where you've been. For that reason, we're taking a look back at Pazz & Jop 2012 to drill down into the ballots of contributors and voters who participated. Maybe amongst the rubble we'll find clues about what lies ahead for music lovers in 20 ... More >>

Defend Your Ballot: Nick Greene, Who Didn't Get a Pazz and Jop Ballot

You can't really know where you're headed unless you know where you've been. For that reason, we're taking a look back at Pazz & Jop 2012 to drill down into the ballots of contributors and voters who participated. Maybe amongst the rubble we'll find clues about what lies ahead for music lovers in 20 ... More >>

Pazz & Jop 2012 Tabulation Notes

Weak consensus versus inspiring diversity

The Kanye You Once Loved Is Dead and Gone

Well, thanks for getting Kim Kardashian knocked up, Kanye? Ever since the rapper announced from the stage that the world's most famous (and least talented) Armenian is now carrying his seed, everyone's on Kimye baby alert. To tell the truth, I'm starting to think that all the attention being paid t ... More >>

The Ten Best Concerts In New York This Week

These are the 10 best concerts in NYC this week.

Toronto's Metz: The Complete Inversion of the Post-Arcade Fire Canadian Music Glut

We caught up with Toronto punks Metz just after they crossed the border of their Canadian homeland down toward New York where they play Wednesday night at Music Hall of Williamsburg. They had just been pulled over, which they say happens a lot when they border hop. So far they haven't had any major ... More >>

Waste of Paint: King Tuff Goes Retro, Pissed Jeans Get Pissed Off, Slug Guts Spook, and Sky Ferreira Charms

Illustrations by Debbie Allen CMJ is great. It's got all the stressful clusterfuckery of SXSW, but with none of the late night hot tub parties or surprise Kanye West performances! It brings a ton of acts to town all at once, and you can't really get mad at that. In honor of this grand industry tra ... More >>

The 15 Most Ridiculous Band Promo Photos

By Daniel Hill Here at SOTC Music HQ we see literally one shitload of press photos every week. Many of them stick to a template: Gather all band members together, shoulder to shoulder. Make sure no one smiles, ever. Have the artists try to look thoughtful, but also like they are not trying to look ... More >>

Live: Rock And Roll Shape-Shifts And Settles Into The Ding Dong Lounge

Strapping Fieldhands w/Escape By Ostrich, Harpoon Forever, Aaron Rosenblum Ding Dong Lounge Saturday, July 28 Better than: Being in the maze. There aren't many people actively watching the bands at the Ding Dong Lounge on Saturday night, though the music doesn't get ignored either. In one part of ... More >>

Lloyd Kaufman: The Toxic Director

The filmmaker gets his close-up after 40 years of Troma (more or less)

Questlove's Quest

The always-working bandleader puts the world on shuffle at BAM

Q&A: Questlove On Artistic Freedom, "Shuffle Culture," And Spreading The Springsteen Gospel

In a recent tweet responding to a follower's assertion that he was a celebrity, the drummer and head Root Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson demurred, claiming he was merely "a personality." The follower had a point, though; according to a website devoted to Quest's blogs about meeting famous people, for in ... More >>

Live: Lady Gaga Is Z100's Homecoming Queen At The Jingle Ball

​Z100 Jingle Ball: Lady Gaga, Pitbull, David Guetta, Kelly Clarkson, LMFAO, Gym Class Heroes, Demi Lovato, Foster The People, and Hot Chelle Rae w/Karmin, The Script Madison Square Garden Friday, December 9 Better than: A lump of coal and a "Firework" CD single. To begin, let's run down a f ... More >>

Bridesmaids Gets Screwed

American Idol, Season 10, Top 12 Women: The Glut Of Interchangeable Blonde Chicks

Julie Zorrilla has been downgraded from "molten hot" to "ridiculously fly." Credit: Michael Becker/FOX.​Here's something Steven Tyler said on TV tonight: "After Monday and Tuesday, even the week says WTF!" This was after Pia Toscana's show-closing, triumphant, r&b-ified take on "I'll Stand by ... More >>

Kanye West's Sunday Morning Mixtape, As Told to Twitter

​The man had a long week. After finishing a new song with Beyoncé at 5 a.m., Kanye decided he should debut it on the radio the following afternoon. He really did it. The next night he played a secret show at New York City club The Box, in which everyone was required to wear formal attire, par ... More >>

Are You There, God? It's Me, Regina Spektor

The downtown ingénue takes on bigger audiences and weightier issues

Doing Laundry with Deradoorian a/k/a Angel from Dirty Projectors

"Kids in elementary school would call me 'DeraDorito.'" When you're in a critically acclaimed band like the Dirty Projectors, finding time to do those mundane things like laundry or talk to writers becomes a bit precarious. Such rings true for bassist Angel Deradoorian, who has more than a few th ... More >>

Live: The Ingenious Maude Maggart at the Oak Room

Here we have Maude soundtracking a Stephen Colbert tribute video, and why not. Maude Maggart, who recently opened a five-week run at the Oak Room, has a sweet and pretty voice, but this is at most a secondary attraction. There are plenty of singers in New York clubs who can out-sing her, but none ... More >>

On the Town with Jonathan Ames

A quasi-date with the writer, ringmaster, and newly minted graphic novelist

All Hail the Ronette From Hell

Dazzling soul savior triumphs despite being painted with the crazy brush

Musto vs. Musto

Our gossip maven talks to himself about starfucking, outing, and his new book

Don't Call It Noise Music

Japanese metal bands summon power and energy from the '70s

I'm My Favorite Game

Proof that no matter how hard we pretend to be, we're all fragile

Dean's List

Top Ten Plus

Register behind me bird in Arular's Sunday Illinois woodz machine

Four More Music Video Veterans Enshrined in Pop Canon

The Quarterly Report: Status Ain't Hood's Favorite Albums Since July

Growing by Degrees

Kanye West adds new subtlety, complexity, and Jon Brion to the idea of sophomoric

NY Mirror

Nickel Creeker finds life way beyond bluegrass

Cinematographer Harris Savides on Trust, Birth, and Invisible Light

God Bless the Infesticons

Bearfoot in the Head

The 1999 Pazz & Jop Critics’ Poll

Rev That Azz Up

Nervous Rhythms, Chopped-Up Language, Thumping Slapstick Pop

It's a Mann’s Mann's Mann's World

Paul Thomas Anderson Lets It All Hang Out

Family Man

Letters