Email Author Martin Johnson

1997 Stories by Martin Johnson

• Words + Guitar (+ Beats + Skronk)

  published December 31, 1997

  Jeff Stark's Top 10 Records Released in 1997 1) (tie) Spiritualized, Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space The Perfect Prescription,... More >>

• Reviews

  published December 24, 1997

  Various Artists TV Terror (Re-Constriction/Cargo) Among the panoply of youth subcultures, goths are amusing because they use... More >>

• Reviews

  published December 3, 1997

  Gravediggaz The Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel (Gee Street) The plan was simple: Ally two talented but unsigned hip-hop... More >>

• Reviews

  published November 26, 1997

  Various Artists Audio Alchemy 2 (Ubiquity) DJ compilations promising new experiments in beats and sampling are about as rare as... More >>

• Reviews

  published November 12, 1997

  EPMD Back in Business (Def Jam) L.L. Cool J Phenomenon (Def Jam) Most rappers drop one good album before they... More >>

• Reviews

  published October 22, 1997

  Zen Guerrilla, Cash Money Bottom of the Hill Wednesday, Oct. 15 Even though they dropped out of Philadelphia three years ago,... More >>

• Reviews

  published October 15, 1997

  Mecca Normal Who Shot Elvis? (Matador) Mecca Normal don't mess around with introductions. The opening sounds of "Medieval Man,"... More >>

• Reviews

  published October 8, 1997

  Stereolab Dots and Loops (Elektra) You could compare the lyrics and music on Stereolab's new Dots and Loops with 1992's Switched... More >>

• Apocrypha

  published October 8, 1997

  Miles Davis Black Beauty: Live at the Fillmore West Miles Davis at Fillmore: Live at the Fillmore East Live-Evil ... More >>

• Reviews

  published September 24, 1997

  Various Artists Wild Style Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Rhino) Back in 1982, artist/director Charlie Ahearn made a... More >>

• Reviews

  published September 3, 1997

  Omar Sosa Free Roots Release Party Saturday, Aug. 23 Great American Music Hall Some danced during Omar Sosa's show two... More >>

• Reviews

  published August 20, 1997

  Old 97's, Blueland Great American Music Hall Thursday, Aug. 7 Aside from being the most visually satisfying place to see bands... More >>

• Reviews

  published August 6, 1997

  Radiohead Warfield Sunday, July 27 If a band wants to have an audience in the years ABB (After Buzz Bin), it is important for... More >>

• Recordings

  published July 23, 1997

  KRS-One I Got Next (Jive) Only the fools who maintain a willful ignorance of hip hop's influence on pop culture would deny... More >>

• Recordings

  published July 16, 1997

  Dr. Octagon Dr. Octagonecologyst Instrumentalyst (Dreamworks) Dr. Octagon, aka Kool Keith, is one of the great paradoxes... More >>

• Recordings

  published June 11, 1997

  Guided by Voices Mag Earwhig! (Matador) For 15 albums or so, Robert Pollard has been the honcho behind the thirtysomething,... More >>

• Recordings

  published June 4, 1997

  Verbena Souls for Sale (Merge) Here's some advice for a record exec working at an entertainment conglomerate (and worrying a... More >>

• Recordings

  published May 28, 1997

  Cheap Trick (Cheap Trick/Red Ant Entertainment) Before we bog ourselves down in the bubble gum, let's get the disclaimer out of the... More >>

• Recordings

  published May 14, 1997

  Radar Bros. (Restless) Whether or not you'll want to pick up the Radar Bros. self-titled debut depends on how you feel about those... More >>

• Recordings

  published May 7, 1997

  Karp Self Titled LP (K) There are those who would say this country is in dire need of a presidential address on the State of... More >>

• Recordings

  published April 30, 1997

  Skeleton Key Fantastic Spikes Through Balloon (Capitol) Back in my college days of yore (the late '80s, at New York University),... More >>

• Recordings

  published April 16, 1997

  Frank Zappa Have I Offended Someone? (Rykodisc) Have I Offended Someone? probably won't offend anyone. In fact, it is hard to... More >>

• Recordings

  published April 9, 1997

  Tarnation Mirador (Reprise) Local western crooner (and archaeologist) Paula Frazer has taken her pet "project" Tarnation to some... More >>

• Recordings

  published March 26, 1997

  Ednaswap Wacko Magneto (Island) Here're some Ednaswap "factoids" to help you come to a purchase decision: 1) The name comes... More >>

• Recordings

  published March 12, 1997

  Starfish Frustrated (Trance Syndicate) Frustrated, by Austin hardcore/post-punk/ditty-pop range finders Starfish, offers a... More >>