Various Artists

Album reviews

All Tomorrow's Parties 1.1
Touch & Go (2002)
Aside some issues with the song sequence, All Tomorrow's Parties 1.1 is a great compilation.

Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts From The British Empire And Beyond (Recommended)
Rhino (2001)
Freakbeat, mod-pop, psych pop, Merseybeat, art rock: whatever you call it, there was a brilliant period in the mid-to-late sixties in which countless groups sprung up over the world, recording sides that fused the catchy, youth-oriented beat of rock and roll with strong pop sensibilities and a dash of experimentalism.

Flying Side Kick: Home Alive II
Broken Rekids (2001)
Flying Sidekick is the second in the series of Home Alive compilations, benefitting the Seattle-based anti-violence organization ofthe same name, which offers self-defense classes (hence the title), publiceducation, and more.<

Colonel Jeffery Pumpernickel: A Concept Album
Off (2001)
When is a concept album not a concept album? Can an album get lost within a concept? Or, better yet, can a concept album work if the listeners and the performers don't understand the concept? Maybe.

Fire And Skill: The Songs Of The Jam
Epic (1999)
'70s mod-punk legends The Jam called it quits before they grew up, leaving a six-album legacy based on youth, vitality, and great songs. Eighteen years on, Fire & Skill: The Songs Of The Jam is an attempt to revisit the essence of the band with a collection of covers by a motley assemblage of today's musical youth.

Goth Oddity: A Tribute To David Bowie
Cleopatra (1999)
First confession: If I had to take with me to a desert island the works of one contemporary artist, it would be the catalog of David Bowie.

Reich Remixed
Nonesuch (1999)
The New York Times recently called the music of American composer Steve Reich "a sturdy musical bridge to the twenty-first century," a testament to a career spent freeing music from any number of structural constraints.

bloomington . electronic . music . compilation
ISOTT (1998)
As project coordinator Josh Moline told the Indiana Daily Student, "the idea of the CD was just so people would know this type of music exists here in Bloomington." In this goal, BEMC has succeeded fabulously.

'X-Files: Fight The Future' soundtrack
Warner Bros. (1998)
Gone are the days when movie soundtracks gave listeners the chance to discover a brilliant song from a not-so-mainstream band. Now, soundtracks seem more like a dumping ground for previously unused material than a showcase for truly meaningful songs.

The Bridge School Concerts: Volume One
Reprise (1997)
The Bridge School conjures up two thoughts for most music fans.

Just Say Noel
Geffen (1997)
Just Say Noel certainly isn't a must-have, but as compilation albums go, it's one of the more solid of its type to be released in the '90s.

Kicks Joy Darkness: A Tribute To Jack Kerouac
Rykodisc (1997)
Kicks Joy Darkness is a tribute to the most well-known "beat" writer: Jack Kerouac.

'Dead Man Walking' soundtrack
Columbia (1996)
Despite a few minor let-downs, the "Dead Man Walking" soundtrack succeeds in accomplishing the Robbins' goal of keeping the music true to the spiritual and secular life of a nun.

Home Alive: The Art Of Self-Defense
Epic (1996)
Oh, how the mighty have fallen!

Music For Our Mother Ocean
Interscope (1996)
No Alternative, Sweet Relief and Home Alive: The road to alternative compilations is paved with good intentions.

Red Hot + Rio
Verve (1996)
The "Red Hot" series has resurfaced like clockwork every other year or so with a theme record that donates its proceeds to benefit AIDS research.

Concert reviews

June 7, 2003
Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.
It was not impossible to have a good time at Field Day. But it was damn hard, especially when one forgot to put on appropriate footwear. NATN Co-director Ben French reports from the front lines.

April 26, 2003
Empire Polo Fields, Indio, California
In an era where musicians are increasingly honored for writing crap music and blackballed for expressing anti-war sentiments, the Coachella festival is a much-needed refresher.