Blog Posts by Craig Rosen

The concept of a supergroup is often a dodgy proposition. Sure in the mid-to-late '60s, when the term was first coined, there was Cream, Blind Faith, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. But since then, a supergroup is rarely greater than the sum of its parts.

Remember the Firm (both the mid-'80s Paul Rodgers-Jimmy Page combo and the late-'90s hip-hop posse featuring Nas and Foxy Brown)? Didn't think so. How about the Babys-meet-Journey outfit Bad English or the spawn of the Meat Puppets, Nirvana, and Sublime known as Eyes Adrift?

Sure there are better super groupings, including the Raconteurs, but then there is a long-list of the ill fated, such as Rage Against Soundgarden, also known as Audioslave, and the STP-greased Guns N' Roses refugees in Velvet Revolver.

All this supergroup introspection was inspired by the announcement last week that Hanson's Taylor Hanson, former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha, Fountains Of Wayne and Ivy mainstay Adam Schlesinger, and Cheap Trick drummer

For those not in the know, shoegaze is a sub-genre of alternative rock marked by slow, hypnotic, psychedelic music, featuring droning guitars and vocals, played by blokes who looked as if they are gazing at their shoes. Although these blokes were most likely looking at their distortion pedals, not their shoes, distortion-pedal gazers didn't quite have a ring to it, so shoegazers it was. The initial movement, which began in the late '80s in the U.K., included such acts as My Bloody Valentine, Lush, Ride, and Slowdive.

While some of those bands enjoyed moderate success, shoegaze was generally thought to be nothing more than a cult movement. Yet it never quite went away and has seemingly grown in influence and importance over the years as evidence of the buzz surrounding My Bloody Valentine's reunion last year and its forthcoming appearance at Coachella.

Yet shoegaze isn't just a retro thing. There are plenty of relatively new bands experimenting with the sound, including Los Angeles' Run

Politics and pop music often make strange bedfellows. For some, there is no better way to get a message than hearing it over some power chords or hot beats. Others, however, prefer their entertainment to be pure escapism and resent when real-world realities creep into their musical cocoon.

K'naan is a Somalian-born rapper poised to break big when his second album, Troubadour, drops on Feb. 24. His politically charged lyrics may put some off and that's unfortunate, since he brings memorable tunes along with the social consciousness.

The accompanying video clips for two tracks from Troubadour show two different sides of K'naan. "ABC's," which features a guest spot by Chubb Rock, drops some social commentary, but does so in a manner that turns the tune into a literal party anthem. Like M.I.A.'s ubiquitous "Paper Planes," "ABC's" manages to turn urban struggle into a badge of honor with the defiant chorus, "All we got is life on the streets." Check it out below.

"The Great Depression" is

College has an important place in popular music... and it's not just because loads of freshman have been illegally downloading files on the PCs in the university library. Back in the '80s, it spawned a genre of music known as college rock, which eventually morphed into what is known today as indie rock.

Again, way back in the '80s, what was then known as college rock ran head on into hip-hop, thanks to a trio white boys called the Beastie Boys. These one-time punks started rapping and sampling AC/DC and in the process they introduced college radio DJs to hip-hop and acts such as LL Cool J, Run DMC, and Public Enemy.

More than two decades later, another white boy is celebrating the joys of college in a laid-back little hip-hop jam called "I Love College." His name is Asher Roth. He grew up in the suburbs of Morrisville, near Philadelphia where he preferred the smooth sounds of popular jam bands to hip-hop. "The first CD I ever bought was Dave Matthews Band's Crash," Roth once told

Sometimes you hear a song and it immediately grabs you. Such was the case when I first heard "Money, It's Pure Evil" by Bigelf on the late, great terrestrial version of Indie 103.1 Los Angeles.

The Beatle-riffic tune reminded me of some other fab Fab Four-inspired acts, most notably early Lenny Kravitz, back when he was singing about letting love rule, and Jellyfish, a groovy quartet from approximately the same era (circa 1989-1990), known for its sweet melodies and rather large hats.

Bigelf, too, favor big hats, or at least frontman Damon Fox does. But the Elf's vision is considerably darker than that of effervescent 'fish. Not only do Fox and the three other hirsute fellows in the Elf favor dark clothing, their album and song titles are a dead giveaway. Their latest album, Cheat The Gallows, features the aforementioned track--as good an anthem as any I can think of at this very moment for these tough economic times--as well as "The Evils Of Rock & Roll," "No Parachute," and "Gravest

Every once in a great while a song comes along that seems like the perfect anthem for a holiday. The celebration I write of is not in honor of our great Presidents, silly, but Valentine's Day, a time when lovers share their love with one another and the brokenhearted wallow in self-pity and depression. The song I write of is not only good for Valentine's Day, but for your everyday listening pleasure 365 days a year. It's called "Bitch, I Love You," by a wonderful combo called Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears.

Lost Highway, the label that is home to such heartbreakers as Ryan Adams, Morrissey, and Lucinda Williams, is promoting Lewis and company by offering a handy-dandy little "B****, I Love You e-card you can send to you lovers, friends and/or enemies. It's dang cute, but I wouldn't waste my time writing about it if there wasn't something worthy in the grooves.

On "Bitch, I Love You," Lewis sounds as if he's James Brown reincarnated. I know that's physically impossible considering

I have to admit, when I first heard the name Chester French I immediately thought of Family Affair, not the Sly & The Family Stone classic hit, but the '60s sitcom featuring a butler named Mr. French. As I recall, on the show Mr. French was always addressed as "Mr. French," but if the bearded British gentleman portrayed by Sebastian Cabot indeed had a first name, Chester would be appropriate. Yet my Internet research revealed that my hunch was wrong. On Family Affair, Mr. French did indeed have a first name and it wasn't Chester, but the equally stylish Giles. What's all this inconsequential TV trivia doing in a blog about new music, you ask? Bear with me, there is a music connection coming, but before we get into Chester French, may I point out that Tim Curry, none other than Mr. "Sweet Transvestite" from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, played Mr. French in the Family Affair revival, which aired from 2002-2003 on the WB. Pretty impressive, huh?

Even more impressive is the freakish

I'm not a big fan of liars, although I did enjoy an opening set by New York-based experimentalists Liars at Radiohead's Hollywood Bowl gig last summer. As for White Lies, when my editor first mentioned the band, I searched my iTunes library and the only thing that turned up was "White Lies" by '80s country-punks Jason & The (Nashville) Scorchers. As much as I loved that band, the White Lies I write of now have nothing to do with country or Nashville, but they do owe a huge debt to the '80s.

White Lies are a London-based trio consisting of singer/guitarist Harry McVeigh, bassist Charles Cave, and drummer Jack Lawrence Brown, which actually began its musical life as a band called Fear Of Flying (not to be confused with the Saratoga, New York-based band of the same name). Under that moniker the trio released a pair of Brit pop-influenced singles manned by of Smiths/Blur producer Stephen Street in 2006. While most bands would be happy to gain a foothold, our lads weren't. In October 2007,