Music - March 30, 2009
Unburied treasures: talkbackers share their faves
Love `em or hate `em, CDs have changed a music fan's life. Thousands of records long out of print started to become available again once CDs took hold in the mid-1980s. Listening to a reissue of Elvis Costello's "King of America" reminded me of how my life has improved thanks to having heard some of its secret songs. So, I decided to ask some regular OnMilwaukee.com talkbackers who love music to weigh in with their faves.
Tags: Elvis Costello, Bob Dylan, The Clash, Beach Boys, London Calling, Biograph, Pet Sounds, Sandstorm, Dusty Bottoms, Cooler King, King of America

Music - March 3, 2009
"Heroes" request musical devotion from disciples
It's hard to believe that it's nearly 15 years since War Child assembled the "Help" compilation, which had some brilliant moments. War Child -- an organization that aids kids affected by war -- now dishes up an, arguably, even better record in "Heroes" (Astralwerks), which takes a bass-ackward approach to the covers album.
Tags: War Child, Heroes, The Help Album, Lily Allen, Hot Chip, Elbow, TV on the Radio, The Hold Steady, The Kooks, The Kinks, Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jones, The Clash, Astralwerks, Franz Ferdinand, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Rufus Wainwright, Scissor Sisters, Hot Chip, B

Music - Aug. 21, 2008
The sophomore effort reconsidered
To paraphrase a common adage, a band has a lifetime to write a debut disc and six months to write the second one. While that may be less true these days when it's not unsual for artists to spend two or more years on a new record, traditionally sophomore albums haven't always gotten the respect they deserve.
Tags: U2, The Jam, Stereophonics, The Kooks, The Clash, Jimi Hendrix, The Police, Elvis Costello, The Attractions, Oasis

Sports - March 5, 2008
Favre and Weller and going out on top
Perhaps this is one of the wilder connections that will be made during the overcoverage of Brett Favre's retirement, but bear with me because it really is relevant.
Tags: Paul Weller, The Jam, Brett Favre, The Clash, Packers

Music - Oct. 22, 2007
A punk pic a day keeps the hippies away
Holly George-Warren's book, "Punk 365" -- published in an unusually shaped hardcover by Abrams -- proves that punk really did happen and that for the brief period in which it truly burned before flickering, it was red-hot.
Tags: Punk 365, Holly George-Warren, Bob Gruen, Ebet Roberts, Roberta Bayley, Jill Furmanovsky, The Jam, Tom Snyder, Dead Kennedys, Bond's, The Clash, The Ramones and Sex Pistols, there are the power poppy Flamin' Groovies, Velvets, Cyndi Lauper and Blue Angel