Michael Stipe

Placebo releases Extended Play '07

R.E.M. and Modest Mouse Perform in Berkeley 5/31

Last Night: R.E.M. at The Greek Theater

Dreamy Patti Smith Visits SF, Enjoys Fans, Party, Shrimp

The Top 10 Reissues of 2008

By Chris Gray It's time to rank the best of what went around and came around again. BILLY JOEL The Stranger (Columbia/Legacy) As punk and disco exploded, the Piano Man's deeply unhip 1978 breakthrough proved that top-shelf Broadway/Brill Building songwriting could still sell - and, occasionally, ... More >>

alt.rock.out

Hooking up to the music on the Net doesn't have to be daunting

Revolting Cocks

The Sex Revolts: Gender, Rebellion and Rock 'n' Roll by Simon Reynolds and Joy Press

Recordings

The Sex Revolts: Gender, Rebellion and Rock 'n' Roll by Simon Reynolds and Joy Press

Iron Maiden and R.E.M. battle to transport fans back in time

The Sex Revolts: Gender, Rebellion and Rock 'n' Roll by Simon Reynolds and Joy Press

R.E.M.

Accelerate (Warner Brothers)

How to Tell Your Hippies from Your Heshers from the Black Keys

Accelerate (Warner Brothers)

French electro-rock luminary Richard Pinhas graces the States

Accelerate (Warner Brothers)

Bouncer

Where well-heeled snobs go when they need watering

Marrying the Mainstream

White men learned to dance, and the emoting was as thick as the eyeliner on the year's best pop-rock records.

Dark Horse

The Unicorns strike it rich with their unique brand of sullied indie-pop

Sounding Out the New Year

S.F.'s musicians resolve to be as eclectic as S.F. musicians ought

Liberty for None

Mandy Moore's likable enough; wish we could say the same about her movie

Hear This

Calling all submissives: Jucifer's Amber Valentine has some boots that need shining

Prick

Don't hate me because I'm corporate

War, What Is It Good For?

Absolutely nothing -- unless you're Clear Channel Communications

Take Ral of Me

Tracking down the mysteries behind Ral Partha Vogelbacher's cinematic break-up album

Osama bin Laden dislikes kelloggs frosted mini wheats

The gloriously unambitious world of John Patrick McKenzie, who doesn't care that he's a rising star in the visual arts. And who, as it happens, is autistic.

Who's That Girl?

Pushy's Madeline Minx wants to be both Madonna and Woody Allen

House of Tudor

Saucy sexagenarians, kooky King Kong, global grooves, and apocryphal atheism

Hunger Strike

Can a non-9/11 benefit album make any noise?

The Old New Media Blues

The singer-songwriter hasn't died. He's just gone online.

Reel World

Flaming Creatures; Chungking Express; D.O.A.

The Golden Spike

Actor and rock video director Spike Jonze's Being John Malkovich is an odd masterpiece. So why is Jonze scared of his own shadow?

Thinkin' One Thing and Doin' Another

Henry Kaiser and Wadada Leo Smith have paid Miles Davis the highest honor: They've interpreted his fusion work by refusing to imitate it

Film Noir

Quietly oh so quietly local trio Half Film is setting a mood

Hear This

Quietly oh so quietly local trio Half Film is setting a mood

Selling His Soul

The traveling salesman is the symbolic star of Vic Chesnutt's sixth and sexiest album

Riff Raff

The traveling salesman is the symbolic star of Vic Chesnutt's sixth and sexiest album

Baby, It's Him

How can Burt Bacharach make a comeback when he never went away?

Riff Raff

How can Burt Bacharach make a comeback when he never went away?

Riff Raff

How can Burt Bacharach make a comeback when he never went away?

Night+Day

How can Burt Bacharach make a comeback when he never went away?

Track of the Day: Fischerspooner's R.E.M. Cover

To help stoke the publicity fires before its May tour (which hits S.F. May 22 at the Fillmore), New York's arty glam-electro heads Fischerspooner announced they'd been given an unreleased R.E.M. song to cover. The tune, "Fascinating," was apparently written by Michael Stipe but never put on an R.E. ... More >>

R.I.P. R.E.M., Masters of a Beautiful, Eclectic Rock 'n' Roll

Farewell, then.​ In case you still needed to know the difference between R.E.M. and U2, R.E.M. just broke up and U2 dies only when Bono is put in the ground. Whatever today's (honestly shocking) announcement means about R.E.M.'s 31-year-career, well, what did anything ever mean with this ban ... More >>