2006 was the single worst year in recorded music history. You want to dance with me on that one? I’ll let you because there are only about ten albums, maybe fifteen, that you can actually use in a defense of the year 2006. Even so, those albums do not offer a strong enough case to trump any other year of recorded music, making it the single worst. Period.

And in 2006, I saw that trend hit home as I watched some of my perennial favorite artists make their worst albums yet. It was a sad time because of all the years for music, 2006 was really the year I needed them to stand up and produce some good stuff for me. But one by one, my favorites released albums. And one by one, those albums took one spin in my player and then got shelved. The letdown was a tough blow for me to swallow, but none was a tougher chew than that of Pat Green. Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t think it comes as a surprise to our regular visitors that we here at Gigatracks are something that one might call slack-asses. We don’t update as frequently as we ought to and all that jazz, but hey, we keep hangin’ around. And one of my resolutions is to post a little more frequently. And it’s already the fifth and I haven’t broken my resolution yet, so I’m doing better than I figured.

Anyway, I finally got motivated and have put together my list of the best albums of 2006. And since I’m not a critic who kisses very much ass or shares anything as far as taste goes with most music critics, don’t be surprised when my list looks different from everyone else’s. Too bad for them that my list is the right one and their’s is just so, so wrong. And it won’t surprise me one bit if ol’ Bogtrotter doesn’t come on here with his list and try to claim otherwise… but we all know better. Read the rest of this entry »

David Gates, a music critic that came up during the 60’s, has an article over at Newsweek detailing his trek through musical history. His conclusion? THESE are the good ol’ days.

David Gates is a baby boomer music critic who has written an interesting piece that chronicles his personal journey through rock and pop music. I found the article to be really interesting, so I thought I might share. Here’s an excerpt:

“Maybe I’ve kept up out of contrariness. Some of my coevals got off the train at disco, unable to recognize that this was the most danceable music since the waltz, or to hear such classic soul singers as Donna Summer and Patti LaBelle through the cultural noise. Others dropped away when they didn’t get the Ramones or the Sex Pistols or Elvis Costello or Talking Heads. (Now they think they liked them all along.) And when hip-hop arrived, many white boomers—some 40-ish blacks too—suddenly got old and cranky. You should’ve been there when, in my first naive enthusiasm, I played “F— Tha Police” for a longtime music buddy. I might have felt the same, if I hadn’t been writing about it for a news magazine. But come on: trance music with block-rocking beats and cusswords? I’d been waiting for this since I was 9.”

If you are interested, check out the full article:
A Generation That Changed Music

“Just a super nice guy, ya know… Layne was just funny. Never had a bad word to say about anybody. And.. unfortunately just struggled really hard with his addictions. He had a helluva voice and when we did the Mad Season record, I remember him coming in and just doing these things that were just amazing…”  -Mike McCready, guitarist Pearl Jam.

I’m sitting inside a coffee shop in Spartanburg, South Carolina. That old Southern sun is drifting down and bouncing light off the corporate headquarters of Denny’s into the park below. The flow of today’s latest Pop filters out of the speakers and caffeine’s consummate soldiers come marching in and out of the doors. My head is weary, slightly perplexed and the simple thoughts of this article… an article that I’ve had spinning in my head for months now… just won’t let me concentrate on anything else. So, the fingers have begun to do what they do and the story begins. Read the rest of this entry »

Do you hear that… Off in the distance…. It’s the sound of the rare and wild guitar solo. It’s running free and untamed. But alas, this fine creature, it seems, is almost extinct. But a few mainstream musicians are doing their part to preserve this beast, and you might be surprised at who I’m talking about.

I have a confession to make. A confession that has ridden with me since the days of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’. I must confess before any more words begin to spill, that I was indeed a fan of 80’s metal. Yes, hair metal. Oh yes, glam rock. My confession can also include the fact that my favorite guilty pleasure of the 21st century consists of spinning a few glam rock albums every now and again, rolling with the wail of the guitar and screaming out the lyrics with any of the long, blond-haired front men of the day. Do I miss those days? Yeah, a little. Okay, sometimes a lot…even though only one of my favorite all-time artists came from that period of music.  Read the rest of this entry »

I realize that Matt is probably going to beat me for posting this on his website because given that the sole purpose of Gigatracks is to promote and help sell the cuts of independent artists, putting an article up about a rock goddess of the mainstream could be pretty incriminating. Nevertheless, Matt is tall and lanky, has been since birth, and therefore…I think I can probably take him. So here goes…

Before I say anything else, let’s get the obvious out there. Sheryl Crow is going to have a long road ahead of her. There it is, spread out along the table like spilt gravy or a tub of Country Crock. Having not quite reached the finish line with her beau, Lance Armstrong, she is going to become very cheap fodder (or should I say streamlined expensive fodder) for the tabloids and talk shows. No doubt the relationship weight itself is crushing her and the celebrity piled on top of it will only cause her knees to bend that much more. But the thing is…for fans…there could be one small light on the other side, despite what Sheryl may or may not be running through right now. Read the rest of this entry »

The Grammy’s confuse me to no end. How can an album be selected for awards in 2005 and then come back around and be nominated again in 2006 for awards and win again? Albeit that it wasn’t the exact same awards, but U2 had songs off of “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” nominated in 2005. So…doesn’t it make sense to have the entire album nominated in 2005 as well? Instead it got nominated again this year, knocking out some poor blokes and racking up more metal for the ole mantle. And I am not knocking U2 mind you. I like those kids and everything Bono is doing for the world. As Pat Wilson from Weezer said, anybody who still puts that much passion into the rock music they’ve been doing for twenty-five years has my respect. I just think that system needs tweaking a wee bit. I mean giving awards for art is arbitrary anyway, so at least get it right if you are going to do it. Right?

Anyway, watching part of the Grammy’s gave me heartburn and also sparked me into finally getting around to doing this article. Because everybody…I mean everybody…whether they annoy you or whether you just can’t get enough of them…everybody loves a list. So, here’s my list of the Top 5 Albums of 2005. Relish, get pickled and enjoy. Read the rest of this entry »

The Internet has been often touted as being the great distribution medium that finally levels the playing field between indie artists and the major labels. What’s surprising is how many artists aren’t taking advantage of their newfound abilities to reach the public.

The other day I sat down to scope out some new music to feature here at Gigatracks. I figured this time I’d try something a little different in my quest for great new music. I’d start out with one of my local music directories and try to focus on some of the artists that are close by. I open it up and start browsing from artist to artist and I notice something surprising. Very few of these bands have web pages at all! In a college town! Read the rest of this entry »