Pop Culture Press

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75059202876497585692012-01-11T14:43:49.178-06:00Pop Culture PressLuke Tornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07405185114637785708noreply@blogger.comBlogger111100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7505920287649758569.post-59435059299466726982010-02-23T12:21:00.013-06:002010-02-23T14:17:16.691-06:00PCP's First Listen: Steve Forbert

The Pop Culture Press FIRST LISTEN By Luke TornSTEVE FORBERTDown in FlamesROLLING TIDE RECORDS****Song-by-song through Steve Forbert's crucial reclamation of history . . .As 1978's Alive On Arrival continues to dazzle three decades down the line, anyone familiar with Steve Forbert's story knows that his career was seriously derailed in 1983, in some of the most peculiar record company shenanigans

Luke Tornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07405185114637785708noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7505920287649758569.post-71102453496231691942010-02-03T13:29:00.004-06:002010-02-03T13:37:04.413-06:00Journey Through the Vanishing South, Jim White style

Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus****Retail DVD (Plexi; http://www.plexi.co.uk/)Review and Interview by LUKE TORNSpectral visions of the American South spar with religious grandiosity and hellbent Saturday nights; singer songwriter Jim White is your guideIt's not often a set of album liner notes evolves into a feature-length film, but that's exactly what happened in the case of Jim White's 1997

Luke Tornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07405185114637785708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7505920287649758569.post-42291992115071765172010-01-21T09:33:00.000-06:002010-01-21T11:24:01.496-06:00

NONE OTHER: GENE CLARK & the Rise of Country RockBy Luke Torn The scene is LA International Airport, 1965. The Byrds, riding a wave of scrumptious hit singles that have redefined rock 'n' roll, and having just recorded their sizzling psychedelic masterpiece "Eight Miles High," are headed to New York City, for a promotional photo shoot and a TV special hosted by Murray the K. Gene Clark, though,

Luke Tornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07405185114637785708noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7505920287649758569.post-66927707204637930592009-12-14T14:02:00.005-06:002009-12-14T14:12:49.279-06:00

Undeservedly obscure: Louie and the Lovers pose for a promo photo circa 1970 LOUIE AND THE LOVERSThe Complete RecordingsBEAR FAMILYThere's a roiling, "Proud Mary" bite to the choppy guitars on "Rise," the title track of Louie and the Lovers' lone album, released in 1970. The Creedence Clearwater anthem had been a massive hit the year before, a generation-defining smash, and that, combined with

Luke Tornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07405185114637785708noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7505920287649758569.post-62019939488553512042009-11-04T13:55:00.007-06:002009-11-04T14:02:18.763-06:00Pop Culture Press: The Reincarnation

SALVO from Pop Culture PressGreetings pop enthusiasts, rock and rollers, loyal readers, friends and colleagues, maybe a stray dog or two--It's your old friend Pop Culture Press, with a long overdue update. Thanks to some crazy hard work by far too many people to name, PCP published for 20-plus years in the print realm. In magazine years, that's like, um, 280, or something. It was work from the

Luke Tornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07405185114637785708noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7505920287649758569.post-24301236149862239192009-11-03T15:51:00.002-06:002009-11-03T15:56:50.749-06:00

EUPHORIAEuphoriaHERITAGE RECORDS (1969)**There may be some memorable songs lurking beneath the surface of this late '60s curio--the melancholy "Tucson" hits a nice, grey-day-on-the-American-road vein--but the sweetening machine, swathing the tracks with strings and Sgt. Pepper horns, shrill shopping mall harmonies, and arrangements from the Mamas and the Papas school of chart supremacy, work to

Luke Tornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07405185114637785708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7505920287649758569.post-60026949775420045262009-11-03T15:50:00.001-06:002009-11-03T15:51:31.243-06:00

DRIVE-BY TRUCKERSDECORATION DAY (NEW WEST)*****By Luke TornRock ‘n’ roll was born in the American south. It may be true that the corporatization and cable-ization of America, the Internet, and all the rest, has flattened our sense of place, sucked out the character inherent in a sense of place that used to fuel the kinds of cultural explosions of which rock ‘n’ roll was a part. We’ve got a great

Luke Tornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07405185114637785708noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7505920287649758569.post-33472342399575248142009-11-03T14:46:00.004-06:002009-11-03T14:58:51.604-06:00

PAUL SIMONTHE STUDIO RECORDINGS 1972-2000 [released 2004](Warner Brothers)By Luke TornA nearly faithful accounting of Simon's post-Artie studio work, luminously remastered; available individually, or as a nine-disc boxIt's an odd time to evaluate Paul Simon's solo career, in light of his successful 2004 reunion tour with Art Garfunkel. But maybe all that boomer nostalgia needs a little levity,

Luke Tornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07405185114637785708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7505920287649758569.post-63366664895248097302009-10-26T09:46:00.004-05:002009-10-26T09:54:33.197-05:00

Warren ZevonMr. Bad ExampleRhino Encore****Disappointed by the commercial lethargy demonstrated by his late-80s run at Virgin Records, Zevon circa early 1990s made one last heartfelt stab at the pop mainstream. Rounding up trusted studio aces from his Excitable Boy days, including guitarist/producer Waddy Wachtel, Zevon wrote yet another batch of exceptional songs--from the madcap greed-gone-wild

Luke Tornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07405185114637785708noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7505920287649758569.post-32158704707173116692009-10-23T15:03:00.003-05:002009-10-23T15:06:23.145-05:00

SIDETRIPSJohnny Cash's Tower of SongJohnny CashUnearthed(American Recordings, 2003)*****By Luke TornJohnny Cash is one of those giants, like Dylan or Miles Davis, about whom it’s daunting to even contemplate writing about him. What can be said that hasn’t been said before? What can be said that isn’t right there in the grooves of the music, in his case half a century's worth? However, in response

Luke Tornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07405185114637785708noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7505920287649758569.post-14513006182658666182008-10-26T13:46:00.001-05:002008-10-26T13:46:35.529-05:00Fwd: test

test e-mail a post to blog.

Luke Tornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07405185114637785708noreply@blogger.com0