No celebration of queer rock is complete — nay, valid — without a nod to Sleater-Kinney. As far as I’m concerned, they’re the heartbeat of riot grrl.   Part of that is because they’re the first riot grrl band I…

Howdy, readers! In case you haven’t noticed, it’s June. And June is Pride Month. For our first Pride Month entry I’m re-posting my review of High Dive. Why? The long and the short of it is that even though things…

Something happened in the ’90s. I guess as a reaction to grunge, slacker-rock bands like the Refreshments made bank. The songs should have been sad — they were about alcoholism, service economy-induced unemployment, and dysfunctional relationships. But things were going…

I know it’s hard sometimes, but remember how pop music is supposed to be good? Like, the whole point is that it’s inoffensive and catchy. These days, the lyrical vapidity is what offends me most about pop music. (Though I…

As I wrote back in February, this is a serious Southern rock album. I believe the words were “blistering declaration of intent.” I’m going to go as far as calling it a Southern rock manifesto. I will go even further…