Whitney Mann's rural roots inspire country songs Small-town sounds Rich Albertoni on Friday 11/13/2009, (24) Recommendations Whitney Mann grew up the daughter of a grain farmer in tiny Camden, Mich., a town with a population of 500 lodged between the Saint Joseph River and the Indiana state line. In Camden, one school building houses all students, kindergarten through high school. The post office and the community park are the sum of all local landmarks. >MoreMadison Pop Explosion: The '00s were a revolution in Madison music Rich Albertoni on Friday 11/06/2009, (3) Comments, (3) Recommendations The music of Madison was transformed this decade in ways that mirrored broader changes in the identity of the city itself. >More
Hank Williams III brings a metal album to Madison Hell-bound honky-tonk Jessica Steinhoff on Friday 11/13/2009, (2) Comments, (5) Recommendations Like his granddad, Hank III has struggled with alcoholism and marital strife, as well as the suits who call the shots in the recording industry. He's also made a name for himself as a honky-tonk artist, just as Hank Sr. did, but his up-yours attitude isn't just genetic. He got his start banging drums and bucking authority in punk bands, and he never exchanged his hardcore roots for cowboy boots. He manages to have both. >More
MadTracks: 'Dark Surf' by Helliphant Jessica Steinhoff on Tuesday 11/10/2009 1:00 pm, (2) Comments, (4) Recommendations Madison metal-rockers Helliphant aren't shy about their love affair with Glenn Danzig. Their song "Dark Surf," the third track on their new disc Powdered Tusk, dives into the guts of the best stuff by the musician's legendary metal band and finds a bit of shrapnel from the Misfits as well. >MoreMadTracks: 'That's That' by Mad Trucker Gone Mad Jessica Steinhoff on Wednesday 10/28/2009 12:00 pm, (6) Recommendations Mad Trucker Gone Mad's name might sound redundant, but it's a fitting description for music that starts out one shade of crazy and morphs into white-hot insanity. This is especially true of their latest love song, "That's That," the third track on their new album, Born To Be a Trucker. >More
Alison Margaret links jazz improvisation with activism Rich Albertoni on Friday 10/30/2009, (1) Recommendation Alison Margaret's arms are adorned with as many tattoos as the punk and metal musicians who play at venues like the Annex or the Frequency. But Margaret leads a jazz quartet backed by a soothing vibraphone and a stately upright bass. She gigs at places where wine and fine dining are in vogue, the Brink Lounge and Restaurant Magnus. >MoreMadison Symphony Orchestra is relentless with violin soloist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg John W. Barker on Saturday 10/24/2009 10:13 am, (2) Comments, (2) Recommendations Friday night in Overture Hall, the Madison Symphony Orchestra opened its second concert program with the ebullient overture to Glinka's opera Ruslan and Ludmilla. The well-drilled string players brought off their fiendishly fast parts triumphantly. >More
Julian Casablancas: Phrazes for the Young (RCA) Rich Albertoni on Friday 11/13/2009, (1) Recommendation Here's the best thing about mp3s: They've reestablished the song as the preeminent musical form. Pop music began its slow decline soon after CDs killed the 45. There was no way to buy a song, no way for three minutes of music to stand on their own anymore. And it took the implosion of the recording industry to change all that. >MoreWeezer: Raditude (DGC/Interscope) Rich Albertoni on Friday 11/13/2009 The problem with Weezer has always been: What is there to love after the novelty wears off? On Raditude, Rivers Cuomo and company embrace the angst of geek love right away. >More
The Selfish Gene grabs Isthmus Band to Band Combat 2009 title Kenneth Burns on Friday 11/20/2009 12:04 pm, (1) Recommendation Sleek, solemn rock trio The Selfish Gene prevailed last night at the Frequency in the final round of Isthmus Band to Band Combat, the local-music contest staged by your favorite Madison alternative newsweekly. The runner-up was The Midwest Beat, the quartet whose brisk pop songs are drenched in Mersey Sound jangle. The winner was chosen by club patrons, who cast votes. >MoreMadTracks: 'Hold On' by Former Ghosts Bob Koch on Thursday 11/19/2009 12:00 pm, (1) Recommendation Madison's Nika Roza Danilova has been very busy with music the past couple years. She has released solo recordings as Zola Jesus, and another album featuring Danilova appeared in October on London's Upset the Rhythm label: Fleurs by Former Ghosts. >MoreMadison Music Scene and Heard: Daniel and the Lion, Funk Out Cancer!, Ironworks Cafe Bob Koch on Monday 11/16/2009 12:00 pm Folk-rockers Daniel and the Lion have built a local following in less than a year, and they will offer an opportunity for fans to put their audience skills to use at a live DVD filming at the High Noon Saloon on Tuesday, Nov. 24. >MoreSir James Galway goes for laughs with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra John W. Barker on Sunday 11/15/2009 9:43 am, (1) Comment For its 50th anniversary concert, Saturday night in Overture Center's Capitol Theater, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra presented three works of the twentieth century, and one not. >MoreVinyl Cave: The Spoils by Zola Jesus Bob Koch on Saturday 11/14/2009 6:00 pm, (2) Recommendations Nika Roza Danilova is creating quite a buzz in the music blogosphere with her musical alias/one-woman band, Zola Jesus, including a stack of "best of 2008" lists and a recent mention by comics writer/king of all media Warren Ellis. >MoreThe Midwest Beat and The Selfish Gene are your Band to Band Combat finalists Jason Joyce on Thursday 11/12/2009 12:44 pm, (3) Recommendations After four rounds of online balloting from over 1,400 voters, The Midwest Beat and The Selfish Gene have emerged as the 2009 Band to Band Combat finalists. That means they'll perform in front of a live audience at The Frequency on Thursday, November 19 for a bushel of prizes including studio time, gift certificates and CD dubbing services. >More
Bleak on paper, the Mountain Goats are earnestly comic at the High Noon Saloon Andy Moore on Saturday 11/07/2009 12:24 pm, (2) Recommendations The Mountain Goats clamored onto the High Noon stage Friday night like four lovable brothers-in-law arriving late for Thanksgiving dinner. >MoreSufjan Stevens, Osso and DM Stith explore wild things and concrete jungles at Project Lodge Halloween eve gathering topped off with screening of The BQE Jessica Steinhoff on Saturday 10/31/2009 10:51 am, (8) Recommendations People often joke that the Midwest is a few years behind the coasts when it comes to adopting the newest cultural trends, overlooking that many of these innovations stem from the Midwest in the first place. A fine example is the work of Sufjan Stevens, who visited the Project Lodge Friday night to share his film about the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. >More
Vinyl Cave: Where does all this stuff come from, anyway? Bob Koch on Thursday 11/05/2009 5:00 pm, (5) Recommendations In Madison, we're lucky to still have a wide variety of places where those who want to browse for music can do so the old fashioned way, in person. Occasionally, there's even special events that draw hordes of serious and casual collectors, such as St. Vincent de Paul's annual collectible record sale, which started Thursday and runs through Saturday. >More
Madison Pop Explosion: The 10 most influential Madison acts of the 2000s Rich Albertoni on Friday 11/06/2009 Carl Johns brought all the sensibilities of indie rock to Madison music, first through NoahJohn, then through Charlemagne. His impressionistic pop-rock meandered from acoustic folk to psychedelic rock, and national music websites like Pitchfork took notice. >MoreMadison Pop Explosion: The 10 people who most influenced the direction of Madison music in the 2000s Rich Albertoni on Friday 11/06/2009, (11) Recommendations After O'Cayz Corral burned on Jan. 1, 2001, Cathy Dethmers spent more than three years planning a replacement. When she opened the High Noon Saloon in 2004, the venue instantly defined the Madison club scene. The large, well-appointed room became a haven for indie-rock touring bands, and Dethmers kept her commitment to booking local shows, too. >More
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