Although Stephen Stills sometimes seems overshadowed by his frequent collaborator, Neil Young, the new four-disc career retrospective offers ample reminders that Stills, a gifted and often imaginative songwriter, was integral

 Soft Machine Legacy reads like a dubious proposition: a band with neither original members nor anyone from even the second or third lineups. But they sound great on Burden on Proof, carrying on the trajectory of the psychedelic

 While he may not go out of his way to make the claim, Clancy Carroll has been a key player in the local alternative scene since its beginnings. In a sense, this CD documents Carroll’s personal history. Guitarists Carroll and Gerard

 If there’s a bellwether to determining a buzz band’s future, it lies in the sophomore record. Poor responses to follow-up albums have sunk many promising careers (look at Clap Your Hands Say Yeah or Tapes ’n Tapes)

If the eyes are the windows to the soul, The Residents in their most famous visual incarnation provided some of the strangest, most soulful music of the last half-century. The band’s striking visual presence

It’s often hard to like amazingly talented bands. Talent can breed pretentiousness, and pretentiousness can breed assholes. That’s why bands like Appleton-based Tenement are so noteworthy: They put out great...

The '80s and '90s were special for Milwaukee music—an era when bands grounded in classic pop-rock songwriting (and often with an Americana accent) thrived on the city's East Side alt scene. One of the best, Sugarfoot, is returning to the stage...

If the Tiny Mix Tapes report is to be believed�and Lord, I hope it is�Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks will be returning to Milwaukee for the first time since that semi-infamous 2003 concert when they played an entire chronological set of Pavement songs*. The rumored Jicks show will take place on March 20 at the Pabst Theater. That should give fans ample time to acquaint themselves with the...

A phenomenally talented teenage songwriter and singer from Racine (who recently moved to northern Illinois), Nina Ferraro brings quirky instrumentation together with pop production, setting articulate lyrics to memorable melodies on The Promise...

Oakfield native Nicole Kottke earned her country-music credentials by being raised on a farm, and she has plenty of the exuberance that comes with a happy youth. That combination works to her favor on her debut CD, I'll Meet You There...