Blog Posts by Craig Rosen

Gossip may be on their way to becoming huge. Beth Ditto, the trio's rather large front woman, already is. I don't mean that as an insult, but as a matter of fact. Ditto is five-foot tall and weighs in at more than 200 pounds. Yet she's comfortable in her own skin. In fact, a few years ago, Ditto let it all hang out--and I do mean all--on the cover of British music magazine NME.

Until now, Gossip's success was largely overseas in the U.K. and Australia, but now the Portland, Oregon-based trio is starting to garner a buzz stateside thanks to the band's recently released, Rick Rubin-produced, fourth full-length effort, Music For Men, and the album's first single, "Heavy Cross." The track, which mixes a Giorgio Moroder-style rhythm track with punk attitude, has cracked the European Hot 100 Singles chart overseas. In the U.S., its garnering airplay on alt-rock radio stations, including the influential KROQ Los Angeles. Check out the video for the song below.

Aside from her figure, Ditto

Some of you may recall our blog about the Dear/Deer bands last month. If you don't, feel free to click on this link and take a look. In that same spirit I bring you the Battle Of The "& the" Bands. As was the case with the Dear/Deer bands, I've noticed a lot of acts with the words "& the" in their names. This usually means the band is fronted by a guy or gal who has a little more star power than the rest of the bunch, like classic rockers Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. But don't let that rule of thumb fool you. The "Echo" in the name of veteran modern rockers Echo & the Bunnymen referred to a drum machine that was replaced by a real live human, and I won't even get started with Hootie & the Blowfish. Instead, let's take a look at the relatively new crop "& the" bands.

Elizabeth & the Catapult -- A groovy retro-pop combo whose debut album, Taller Children, was recently released on the Verve Forecast label. The band sells out New York club dates, is adored by the NPR set, and was

Some individuals are so talented that recording and performing with one band isn't enough. Sometimes their muse pulls them in a direction that they find isn't quite appropriate for their main gig, hence what is known as a side project. The Traditionist is such a project and Joey Barro is one such individual.

Not only did Barro graduate with a degree in economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara, but he also performed in the Santa Barbara-based band Budge, until they broke up and three-fifths of the band regrouped as the Antiques. Together with bassist Ben Donaldson, drummer Chris Good and later, keyboardist Jason Vivrette and guitarist Josh Hertz, the Antiques issued two EPs--Acoustic EP and At The X--as well as the 2006 full-length effort, Nicknames And Natives.

Yet a funny thing happened when Barro began writing songs for what he thought was going to be the next Antiques' album. He realized it didn't quite fit the mold of that band, so he decided to create a spin-off

Sometimes after a new artist releases a critically acclaimed debut, they have trouble coming up with a follow-up album that's as compelling. After all, the artist's entire life has prepared them for the debut, but after it's released, they likely hit the road promoting the album and feel the pressure to follow-up while the iron is hot and end up rushing their second effort. The end result is album number two usually isn't as good as the first. This phenomenon is known as the sophomore slump and has occurred countless times over the history of recorded music.

I'm happy to report that in baseball terminology Bat For Lashes is still batting 1.000, meaning the recently released Two Suns is just as stunning as Bat's 2007 debut album, Fur And Gold. In other words, there's no sophomore slump here. Check out Bat For Lashes' exquisite exclusive performance of "Daniel," one of several fine tracks from Two Suns.

For the uninitiated, Bat For Lashes isn't so much a

If you're planning to see No Doubt on their reunion tour this summer, make sure you get there early enough to catch the opening acts. Sure,  it'll be good to see Paramore as they further evolve following the Twilight hit "Decode," but the act I'm really excited about seeing is sweet Swedes the Sounds. The band recently released its third album, Crossing The Rubicon. Check out the video for the album's opening track and lead single "No One Sleeps When I'm Awake," which was produced by Tinted Windows' James Iha and Adam Schlesinger of Smashing Pumpkins and Fountains Of Wayne fame, respectively.

 Not to be confused with the '80s British band and Dave DiMartino fav the Sound, the Sounds came together in the late '90s in Helsingborn, Sweden, after high school chums guitarist Felix Rodriguez and bassist Johan Bengtsson drafted drummer Fredrik Nilsson and singer Maja Ivarsson to fill out the combo. Despite its title, Living In America, the band's 2002 debut, was recorded in Sweden at various

In this day and age in which everyone and their brother has an opinion and a blog, music critics are often ignored. That's too bad, because often those guys (and gals) know what they're writing about. One such act hailed by critic types is the Felice Brothers, who came to my attention via an email from the  The New Now's executive producer, who at one point in his life dabbled in that thing we call "music journalism."

Actually, I already had a few tracks by the group in my digitally library that I ripped from compilations that are often packaged with British music magazines. One such track, "Wonderful Life," is from Uncut magazine's Best Of 2008 compilation, so you know that if nothing else, the Felice Brothers are critically acclaimed. Check out this fan-shot clip of the band performing that song below.

Formed in 2006 in the Hudson River Valley in upstate New York, the Felice Brothers play a mix of rootsy folk, country and rock that some might call Americana. True to their name, at

If you're a hip-hop head and a fan of M.I.A., chances are you've already heard of Rye Rye. I suspect it won't be long before the rest of the world gets hip to the rising teenage female MC from Baltimore, Maryland. Born Ryeisha Berrain, Rye Rye has already appeared on DJ Blaqstarr's "Shake It To The Ground," Diplo's "Wassup Wassup" and "Blow Your Head," and M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" remix.

Now Rye Rye is making a name for herself with the cut "Bang," which she performed with M.I.A. at Coachella in April. The track was officially released--with M.I.A. returning the favor in the guest spot role--on the Fast And Furious soundtrack earlier this year and was recently issued as an EP with a number of remixes. Check these two remixes of Rye Rye's "Bang," featuring M.I.A., below, as well as a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the music video for the track.

Bang Featuring M.I.A. (Buraka Carnival Remix By Buraka Som Sistema)

Bang Featuring M.I.A. (DJ Sega's Philly Club Remix)

M.I.A. and

Throughout the history of this business called music some executives have been referred to as bean counters due to their seemingly singular focus on their company's bottom line and lack of sympathy for the artists signed to their label. Camilo Lara, who is the chairman of EMI Mexico, isn't likely to be called a bean counter, but you could call him a beat counter. Aside from his day job as the head of EMI's Mexican wing, Lara is a DJ, producer and the mastermind of Mexican Institute Of Sound. The combo recently issued Soy Sauce, its third album, which features "Sinfonia Agridulce," a drunken Mariachi version of the Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony." Check it out.

Sinfonia Agridulce

When I wrote "drunken Mariachi version" I wasn't kidding. Lara recently shared the story of how M.I.S.'s cover of the song originated. "I was at the studio recording mariachis and these guys, mariachis, always drink tequila when they are playing. So we started really early doing some recording and after like