It can not be said that Nick Cave’s career has not aged gracefully. Sure, The Birthday Party feels like another life, but with each album released in the past two decades, Cave has successfully moved towards filling the gap Leonard Cohen’s death would leave. Wild God (Play it Again Sam) continues to uphold his legacy while carrying the hopeful shimmer of a life not met with the kind of tragedy Cave has known. After the death of his son, he is moving past the kind of grief that haunted some of his more recent work. Even at 66 years old, Nick’s vocals have held up, even if the title track is more spoken than sung.Continue reading
Tag Archives: Bob Dylan
ALBUM REVIEW: The Black Crowes – Happiness Bastards
Rock ‘N’ Roll might be a young man’s game, but it is not stopping the Robinson Brothers from again coming together on Happiness Bastards (Silver Arrow Records) to prove they still have it. If Amorica was the last album you picked up by these guys, then things have changed dramatically. If you are one of their more avid followers then you have heard their transition away from merely being a Led Zeppelin/Rolling Stones hybrid, so this album makes perfect sense.
ALBUM REVIEW: Chris Shiflett – Lost At Sea
Much-admired, rightly and properly-acclaimed Foo Fighters guitarist/songwriter Chris Shiflett delivers his latest solo album, Lost At Sea (Snakefarm Records), and proves yet again, experience can count for so, so much.
The Band’s Robbie Robertson Dies at Age 80
Blues Rock guitar hero Robbie Robertson, who rose to fame as a member of The Band, has died. He was 80. Best known for his work with The Band, first as Bob Dylan’s backing band in the late 1960s and then cemented into history by Martin Scorsese’s film The Last Waltz. The news was broken by published reports and no cause of death has been revealed so far. He died today, August 8th, 2023, in Los Angeles surrounded by family, according to his manager. “In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to the Six Nations of the Grand River to support the building of their new cultural center.” In addition to the band, Robertson produced other bands and did further soundtrack work for Scorsese, including the acclaimed soundtrack to The Irishman. RIP.
REVIEWS ROUND-UP: ft. Luke Elliot – The Intersphere – Oceanlord – Godsticks
There’s something romantic and cinematic about adopted New Jersey (via Norway) songwriter Luke Elliot’s third album, Let ‘em All Talk (Icons Creating Evil Art) over and above the wistful storytelling. ‘I (Who Have Nothing)’, all film-noir meets spaghetti western vibes with its orchestral flecks, feels torn from an as-yet-unwritten Tarrantino follow-up to Django Unchained, or perhaps the lead single to the debuting next James Bond, while ‘William Tell’ could have been one of the musical interludes from Black Mariah’s club in Luke Cage (Netflix version).
Bob Dylan Sued for Alleged Sexual Abuse of 12-Year-Old Girl in 1965
According to a published report by Billboard, a lawsuit has been brought against Bob Dylan alleging sexual abuse of a twelve-yearold girl in 1965. The complaint was brought under New York’s Child Victims Act, a 2019 law which temporarily suspended the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse claims. The lawsuit was filed in New York State Supreme Court on Friday (Aug. 13). Identified only by the initials “J.C.,” the woman alleges that over a six-week period in April and May 1965, Dylan abused her, provided her with drugs and alcohol and threatened physical violence, “leaving her emotionally scarred and psychologically damaged to this day.” She says Dylan facilitated the abuse by establishing an “emotional connection” and grooming her using his status as a hugely-famous musician. The complaint includes few specifics of the alleged abuse. We will continue to track this story as it develops.
STAFF PICKS: Mat Davies – Top 20 Albums of the Year 2020
Ghost Cult stalwart, mainstay, and truly valued senior writer Mat Davies blesses us with his top twenty albums of the year, plus some thoughts on the year that has been, and that which is still to come… Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Protest the Hero – Palimpsest
It appears that Protest the Hero have got some thoughts on today’s, let us say shit, political climate. When your opening track is called ‘The Migrant Mother’ it’s a bit of a tell that Palimpsest (Spinefarm Records) has some issues it wants to address. I mean, regardless of subject matter I’d still be all for Palimpsest. Come on, it’s Protest the Hero, I could listen to songs about cooking bacon as long as it’s a new album.
ALBUM REVIEW: Six Organs of Admittance Comp- anion Rises
As well as being a mainstay of Psych-Noise stalwarts Comets On Fire, and frequent collaborator with such Experimental artists as Current 93, Ben Chasny is frighteningly prolific in the guise of his solo Folk / Americana project Six Organs of Admittance. Latest album Companion Rises (Drag City) is a shimmering trip through the stars which enriches the soul.Continue reading
Zombieland: Double Tap Features Metallica, Lynryd Skynyrd, and Bob Dylan
Zombieland Double Tap, the sequel to the 2009 film Zombieland is a fun popcorn flick with guns, zombies and lots of laughs. Directed by Ruben Fleischer, the film again opens as the original did with a Metallica tune set to the “zombie apocalypse”. This time instead of ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’, we get the equally rad ‘Master of Puppets’. The film also features classic rock songs like Lynryd Skynyrd’s ‘Freebird’ and Bob Dylan’s “’Like a Rolling Stone’, Van Halen, Blue Oyster Cult ,a pretty rad soundtrack and some Elvis, as well. Continue reading