Years of bad albums and sagging sales have eroded R.E.M.’s standing in the rock world from alternative-rock giants to rock star has-beens. The group’s new album, “Accelerate,” kicks into high gear the effort to reverse this trend, but then it grinds to a screeching halt. Continue reading
With 40-year-old soccer moms and bohemian punk-rock lifers moshing together at the front of the stage, Los Angeles punk legends X returned to Madison on Friday night for what might have produced a snide snicker in their late ’70s scene: a reunion tour. Continue reading
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, we examine how an unexpected Oscar win last month by two Ireland-based artists should spur interest in them and their erstwhile bandmates’ musical output. Continue reading
More than two decades after the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted its first artists, the organization now appears like it’s scraping the bottom of the barrel for its latest class. Read our preview of Monday night’s ceremony. Continue reading
More than 15 years after their closest sideswipes with fame, ex-frontmen from a pair of alternative rock’s biggest couldabeens have joined forces and cut a new duet album. This time, the duo is hoping their combined efforts will allow them to finally grab that brass ring. Continue reading
Soundbytes Music Column 