Ben Kweller goes country with pedal steel for new album

His new record coming out early next year, "Changing Horses," is a collection of blue-collar country songs originating back in his home state of Texas, rather than in New York, where he had lived sin

L. Kent Wolgamott: Pickett still relishes making his own music

A rough-hewn mixture of '72-era Rolling Stones, a little Yardbirds, some Flamin' Groovies, a few heaps of old blues and downtown New York rock thrown into a sneering, guitar-driven Miami-based

Reviews of new releases: The Pretenders, Ray Lamontagne

Chrissie Hynde's new work is her best in years, while folk's Lamontagne delivers exactly what you want.

Reviews of new releases: From Dylan to Jolie Holland

Dylan set is full of underappreciated surprises, while Jolie Holland makes great music for a rainy day.

Players in sports and music have much in common

Musicians and athletes share everything from performance anxiety to injuries, rigorous training to celebrity.

Lincoln's Elvis tribute artist heading to Las Vegas

Joseph Hall didn’t win $1 million, but he will get a chance to perform in Las Vegas.

Record reviews: Semi Precious Weapons, Dion

Weapons are all hedonism and glam-rock, while Dion's release is a must-have for lovers of early rock 'n' roll.

Review: Orbison box set is beautiful compilation

The 107-song package is a great introduction to one of the greats of post-World War II popular music.

Record review: Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson, "Rattlin' Bones"

Australia's Kasey Chambers and her husband, Shane Nicholson, have made the alt. country record of the year with "Rattlin' Bones."

Record review: Jenny Lewis, "Acid Tongue"

Lewis, the lead singer of rock band Rilo Kiley, packs her second solo disc full of songs sweet, sincere and smarty-pants.

Record review: Cold War Kids, "Loyalty to Loyalty"

This follow-up to the band's stellar debut, "Robbers & Cowards," is OK.

Record review: Blitzen Trapper, "Furr"

The country rock band’s fourth album was recorded in a telegraph-building-turned-studio in Portland, and it feels like a long, freaky, warmly comforting walk in the woods.

Record review: Brian Wilson, "That Lucky Old Sun"

From the instant cascading harmonies that open "That Lucky Old Sun," it is clear that Brian Wilson has come up with something special in his follow-up to "SMiLE."

Record review: Brimstone Howl, "We Came in Peace"

A massive assault of garage punk honed to perfection by legendary Detroit producer Jim Diamond, the disc takes the propulsive, big-beat, big-hook, fuzzed-out Brimstone Howl sound to a new dimension, rarely

Record review: The Caesars, "Strawberry Weed"

The Caesars make power pop that knows where it comes from but is far from retro.

Record review: Eddie Floyd , "Eddie Loves You So"

His devastating rendition of "Consider Me," a pleading deep-soul ballad he cut in his previous Stax tenure, makes this once-obscure album cut sound like a should-have-been classic.

Record review: Paul Weller, "22 Dreams"

Paul Weller may not be the beloved father figure here that he is in England, but between the Jam’s mod-punk firebombs and the Style Council’s svelte soul, his place in rock history is secure.

Record review: Andre Williams & the New Orleans Hellhounds, "Can You Deal With It?"

Andre Williams is an R&B legend, the writer of "Shake a Tail Feather" and raunchy classics like "Bacon Fat" and the infamous "Jail Bait," a veteran of Motown and a collabo

Record review: Carla Bruni, "Comme Si De Rien N'Etait"

Former Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton dater and current French first lady Carla Bruni's third album can't help but underscore the impression that the French are somehow fundamentally different than us.

Record Review: Conor Oberst, "Conor Oberst"

Omaha’s indie crooner has made his first solo album in a dozen years. It's not only some of the finest music of Conor Oberst's career; it's a potent reminder why hordes of indie kids got behind this quavery-v

Record Review: Alejandro Escovedo, "Real Animal"

Alejandro Escovedo is the definitive cult artist, beloved by critics for decades and decidedly unknown among mainstream music fans. At 57, the Texan has been around and around and around, always on the hip-

Record review: The Faint, "Fasciinatiion"

The Faint doesn't depart too much from the electro-pop sound that has made the Omaha band a national indie rock sensation in "Fasciinatiion," its fifth album and first on its own label.

Record review: Buddy Guy, "Skin Deep"

At age 72, 50 years after he moved from Louisiana to Chicago, became a fixture on the city's blues scene and started recording at Chess Records, Buddy Guy has finally made a disc that’s comprised primarily of all hi

Record review: Jewel, "Perfectly Clear"

Jewel still has that annoying quavery voice.

Record review: Beck, "Modern Guilt"

After a few listens, I’m still not sure what to make of Beck’s “Modern Guilt,” except to say that rarely has the contrast between lyrics and the music in which the words are set been more stark.