By Annie ZaleskiPop music often gets a bad rap for being disposable or vapid, and in many cases that's true. (Katy Perry, Danity Kane and the Pussycat Dolls, step right up!) But every year, a few irresistible bits of innovative ear candy rocket up the charts and seep into our subconscious. The following ten singles saturated the Top 40 -- or what passes for hit-oriented radio in this topsy-turvy musical climate -- while proving that accessibility doesn't necessarily preclude creativity.
CHRIS
If you've cruised along Upper Market lately, you might've noticed a cool little dance club opened recently right off Octavia, directly across the street from Martuni's. The bar's called the Triple Crown, and it's a cozy, classy spot to soak up your beverages 'n' beats. Adding to Triple's cred is the local history of its owner, a man who has spent the past decade-plus working in the music industry as a booker, record store owner, and DJ, among other hats (an accessory, by the way, it seems the d
I'm Neil Young, biatch!
10. His middle name is Percival. (This actually explains his often anguished, tortured voice).
9. Before joining Buffalo Springfield, Young was in the Mynah Birds, a band fronted by future funkster Rick James. It's unclear whether he ever told James, "I'm Neil Young, biatch!"
8. His pre-fame pals included Joni Mitchell and Randy Bachman of BTO.
7. He has several aliases, including Bernard Shakey, director of "Journey Through the Past," "Rust Never Sleeps," and the up
The Punk Funk Mob's PR describes their sound as "the Ramones meets
Funkadelic with Betty Davis on vocals." If they come close to attaining even a tenth of that in their debut Yoshi's performance June 15, it will be all gravy, baby. Featuring soulstress Femi on vocals and synth, along with Quincy Ramone on guitar, Mozelle Dixon on bass, and Dante McClinton on drums, the Punk Funk Mob draws inspiration from Rick James (who coined the term punk funk). After a quick listen to raucous but groovy so
Chali 2na, Gift of Gab, & Mr. Lif, hosted by Lyrics Born
November 7, 2009
The Independent
Better Than: This year's VH1 Hip-Hop Honors
Indie hip-hop icons still pack them in up in the Bay
Area. On Saturday night, the Independent was dominated by indie artists who
have spent more than 15 years building their audiences and fanbases, and thus
know how to give the people what they want. As a result, the sold out
capacity-crowd of 500, who showed up and early and cheered often, left happy
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