The Virgins' self-titled debut, a virtually surefire blockbuster that has major label honchos and bloggers panting, is fashioned from trendy, tasteless yet entertaining pop-rock fodder—a method that is often attempted but seldom successful in the long haul. The potentially precarious move may solidify the inordinate hype across the blogosphere. But at what cost? more ›

Jerry Wexler, 91, who is known for coining the genre, "rhythm and blues," and producing albums for Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin has died in his Sarasota, Florida home. The Atlantic Records part-owner and executive was known for being "feisty," but also man in tune with music and had respect towards artists in the recording studio. more ›

This is the story the record labels have always feared. Canadian rocker Matthew Good had been recording professionally in North America for the past 12 years. When his U.S. record deal with Atlantic Records expired, he had some choices to make: try to find a new label that would distribute his music in the States, try to get a new deal with Atlantic, try something totally different, or completely give up on getting his... more ›

A Word or 4 dozen : Somehow I totally missed posting that the Shield was on last night and again it was good. I think one would be hard-pressed to find more raw and compelling performances on any other show available on the networks or basic cable. Being a former SF resident, I haven't been able to get enough of Conan's broadcast from the Orpheum theater on Market Street- too bad that's still bum-junkie... more ›

The July 18th release of California Poppy marks a creative milestone for the group OPM and an inspired evolution in indie hip hop. The album marks the groups’ third album, but only their second release on Suburban Noize Records. The switch to the label allowed OPM to escape from their former major label musical “enslavements” of Atlantic Records, giving the group the creative freedom they needed to go back to their humble roots and develop what is possibly their best album to date. more ›