Email Author Rachel Devitt

2005 Stories by Rachel Devitt

• The Passion of the Pile-Up

  published August 31, 2005

  "I was going for honesty more than anything else. ... It's oddly satisfying to get onstage and sing lyrics that are really blunt and sometimes... More >>

• Alias & Ehren

  published August 31, 2005

  Lillian is like a halfway house for geeky high school band instruments. Beat-maker Alias (Brendon Whitney) and his brother,... More >>

• Afro-Beefs

  published August 24, 2005

  Afrobeat has its origins in conflict. Using his thrilling musical hybrid of American soul, James Brown-style big-band funk, jazz, and the... More >>

• All Mixed Up

  published August 24, 2005

  Founded by Bay Area Filipino-American musicians Jessie and Ogie Gonzales to highlight the grossly overlooked talents of Asian-American bands, the... More >>

• The Eyes Have It

  published August 10, 2005

  A handful of my friends and acquaintances have a fascination with all things trashy. The fetish includes the obvious, like those scummy... More >>

• Misc. Reviews

  published July 27, 2005

  Indie Rock Cribs can and should be viewed at www.pernicebrothers.com/av.php. The... More >>

• Schoolyard Heroes

  published July 27, 2005

  Schoolyard Heroes aren't really a rock band -- they are Gothic operettists. Fantastic Wounds, the second album from this young Seattle... More >>

• Last of the Blacksmiths

  published July 20, 2005

  This self-titled debut album from San Francisco band Last of the Blacksmiths has all the makings of a serious altcountry-substance abuse problem.... More >>

• Go! With the Spirit

  published July 13, 2005

  The other day I happened, to my great surprise, to walk by a cheerleading camp, a small army of kids with words like "TIGERS" emblazoned across... More >>

• Kinski

  published July 13, 2005

  With unprecedented candor for a music critic, I'm going to admit that I don't know much about the kind of music Kinski plays. Those of you well... More >>

• Missy Elliott

  published July 13, 2005

  Up until 2003's lackluster This Is Not a Test, Missy Elliott was like the student body president of hip hop, getting her yearbook signed by... More >>

• Lizard Kings

  published June 22, 2005

  Top Six Things Jason Hill Said to Me With a Straight Face More >>

• Sarah Dougher

  published June 22, 2005

  Harper's Arrow, which was originally conceived as a rumination on Homer's Odyssey, is an exploration of complicated, multiple... More >>

• Cloud Cult|Say Hi to Your Mom

  published June 15, 2005

  If Dr. Phil made an album, it might sound something like Advice From the Happy Hippopotamus. Cloud Cult rocks like a motivational speaker ... More >>

• Into the Woods

  published June 1, 2005

  "One trend that I just really kind of can't stand," Sleater-Kinney guitarist/vocalist Carrie Brownstein tells me on the phone from her Portland... More >>

• Colleen

  published June 1, 2005

  I was getting ready to play the new Colleen album for my friend and blathering on about how delicate and breathtaking her first album,... More >>

• Epoxies

  published May 25, 2005

  The Epoxies sound like the high school band formed by a gaggle of rough-and-tumble misfits with hearts of gold in a John Hughes movie. Stop the... More >>

• Martha Wainwright

  published May 4, 2005

  I saw Martha Wainwright perform while she was singing backup for her brother Rufus. Working the stage like a wannabe starlet gunning for her first... More >>

• Hear This

  published May 4, 2005

  It's easy to love the quasi-folk duo Two Gallants . They're superyoung -- barely of legal drinking age -- but in their own words "ain't... More >>

• Regina Spektor

  published April 13, 2005

  Regina Spektor is so precious I want to fucking bite her. This is not supposed to be the point. As part of the East Coast's anti-folk movement,... More >>

• Fannypack

  published March 30, 2005

  Call off the truant officer, because the school of lo-fi sass is back in session. To kick things off, Brooklyn's Fannypack throws itself a raunchy... More >>

• I, Shit

  published March 23, 2005

  Critics are full of shit, and we know it. It's actually part of our job description: "Must be able to turn own waste into prettily phrased... More >>

• Jennifer Lopez

  published March 16, 2005

  Jennifer Lopez has finally made an album that is as hot as she is. "Cherry Pie" is as lyrically inane as anything she's ever written ("Dear Ben,"... More >>

• The United Colors of M.I.A.

  published March 9, 2005

  Dangling off the edge of a note, Maya Arulpragasam -- aka M.I.A. -- offers a seemingly innocent salutation on "Amazon," a track from her... More >>

• Tori Amos

  published February 23, 2005

  Five steps toward becoming Tori Amos: Step 1: Be the kid of a preacher man and drop out of music school. Step 2: Release two... More >>