Mar
04
Conor Oberst's "Outer South" Not So Good
Evan Rytlewski On MusicIf Conor Oberst must dedicate himself to a band that isn't Bright Eyes, couldn't he at least reunite Desaparecidos? This Mystic Valley Band that he's spent the last couple years with just isn't cutting it, yet Oberst doesn't seem to be getting the message
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Feb
07
Meet Kerli, the New Goth Starlet
Evan Rytlewski On MusicThe latest doll-sized singer being groomed for major-label stardom, Kerli presents herself as an irreverent, sassy Avril Lavigne-style mallpunk in her press photos, complete with pouty lips, a Hot Topic fashion sense and an affinity for black eyeliner. He
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May
08
Revisiting Now That's What I Call Music, Volume 1
Evan Rytlewski On MusicEach old Now That’s What I Call Music compilation is a time capsule, a one-disc summary of the state of popular music for a given month. Since its American debut 10 years ago, the compilation has released over 25 installments, but few tell a more vivid st
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Feb
26
Yet Another View: A New Velvet Underground Song
Evan Rytlewski On Music
It's the type of news that usually turns out to be a hoax. Late last week, an unreleased 1967 Velvet Underground bootleg with a never-before-heard song hit the Internet.
Even without the new cut, this would be a huge deal. While the Velvet Undergroun
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Apr
23
A Few Words on Tokyo Police Club and MGMT
Evan Rytlewski On Music
Tokyo Police Club? I’d read about their impending full-length earlier this year, but couldn’t quite pinpoint why they sounded familiar. Hmmmm. I raked my brain before recalling that I’d seen them a year ago at a curious little concert at the Rave with C
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Nov
06
WKTI 94.5 FM Changes Formats for the Worse
Evan Rytlewski On MusicHat tip to my friend Beth, who alerted me to the news in an e-mail titled "Wow ... Another Milwaukee Radio Station that Plays 'Whatever.'"
In a confounding move, one of the few Milwaukee radio stations that played contemporary-pop music, WKTI-FM
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Jan
08
Madison's Historic Smart Studios to Close
Evan Rytlewski On MusicWisconsin's most famous music studio, Smart Studios in Madison, will shut down this spring, the Shepherd Express has learned. An employee of the recording space confirmed the news. No final date has been set, though March 1 has been discussed. The reason
Posted at 04:41 PM
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Dec
31
Lil Wayne @ The V100.7 Holiday Jam
Evan Rytlewski On Music
The V100.7 Holiday Jam was probably the cruelest concert I have ever attended.
It began promisingly enough: V100.7 DJ Reggie Smooth, the evening's emcee, announced that scheduled opener Soulja Boy wouldn't be performing, since the day's snow storm trapped him in Cleveland. This elicited more cheers than boos
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Nov
18
R.I.P. Brian Barney
Evan Rytlewski On MusicIt's a sad day in the Milwaukee music scene as well as in the Shepherd Express office. Brian Barney, a longtime local-music writer for the Shepherd and Maximum Ink and a staple of the local scene who played in many bands, including The Buggs and Guido's R
Posted at 10:32 AM
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Oct
21
This is What Rap Music Sounds Like to Bill Cosby
Not good.
Evan Rytlewski On Music
News of Bill Cosby producing a rap album was greeted with understandable skepticism, what with, you know, Bill Cobsy infamous hatred of rap music. That the Cosby rap album, State of Emergency, spreads a positive message about youth living up to their
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Feb
05
Pump, pump, pump it up...
Evan Rytlewski On MusicAfter 98.3's Basement Crew played this track a couple weeks back—damn the "embedding disabled by request" option on YouTube—I finally broke down and got Joe Budden's 2003 debut album. I'm glad I waited until the price dropped to about a dollar o
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Aug
28
The Game's Descent into Obsolescence
Evan Rytlewski On MusicDespite his modest talents, I've long had a soft-spot for The Game and his stubborn adherence to the increasingly antiquated conventions of '90s gangsta rap. At a time when even 50 Cent, once viewed as the possible savior of West Coast gangsta rap, has fo
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Nov
24
Aesop Rock Does a Great Job Ruining the New Felt Album
Evan Rytlewski On MusicRealizing that Aesop Rock produced the latest album by Felt, the sporadic side project from rappers Slug and Murs, is an awful lot like looking forward to a long-planned night out on town with two of your favorite friends only to learn at the last minute
Posted at 09:24 PM
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Feb
13
The (semi) Official Barack Obama Mixtape
Evan Rytlewski On MusicI ducked out of the office for a couple of hours today to catch Barack
Obama’s afternoon town hall appearance in Waukesha. The candidate was
running a bit late—apparently an auto factory tour in Janesville went
long—so I had plenty of time to take in t
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Jan
31
Planting the Seeds of a N.E.R.D. Comeback
Evan Rytlewski On MusicAlthough their days of being guaranteed hitmakers may be behind them, the Neptunes production team has had a surprisingly long run. A decade after their beats cracked the charts, they continue to work with just about every big-name rapper and pop star in
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Dec
16
The Best Pop Songs of 2008
Evan Rytlewski On Music1. Leona Lewis - "Bleeding Love"
For an expensive, industry-produced ballad, "Bleeding Love" sure is violent. With Pussycat Doll looks and Mariah Carey's voice, reality TV winner Leona Lewis sings of scars and severed veins.
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Sep
09
Hanson's Surprising Durability
Evan Rytlewski On MusicI've long admired Hanson for their sheer tenacity. Unlike most one-hit wonders, especially kiddie one-hit wonders, they've refused to go away, fighting tooth and nail to remain in the spotlight. Adept at turning proverbial lemons into lemonade, the Hanson
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Feb
10
103.7 Kiss FM Drops Chris Brown
Evan Rytlewski On MusicFirst Wrigley gum dropped Chris Brown's promotional campaign yesterday, now the Milk Campaign has pulled Brown's "Got Milk" ads. But more troubling for the R&B singer: Radio stations have stopped playing his music, too.
I called
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Dec
01
George Strait to Headline 2009 Summerfest Date
Evan Rytlewski On Music
For most, the timing is more noteworthy than the announcement: Summerfest announced its first headlining act for 2009: George Strait, who will play the Marcus Amphitheater on Monday, June 29. The announcement of Summerfest's first 2009 act seems to have
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May
27
Hard-rock on 102.1: Radio Promotion or Identity Crisis?
Evan Rytlewski On MusicWhen Milwaukee’s alternative-rock station FM 102.1 re-branded itself two years ago, it created buzz by briefly calling itself “Quick 102.1,” and playing only short, familiar passages from popular songs. It was a funny stunt, and it worked. It had people t
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Nov
06
Wow, the New Danny Gokey Song Is... Just, Wow
Gokster praises Jesus, takes veiled swipe at the stimulus package
Evan Rytlewski On Music
Milwaukee's country station, FM 106.1, this morning debuted Danny Gokey's first single, "It's Only," and it's a country song alright, a weepy, string-swept ballad with ample twang and an inspiration message that reminds us no matter how bad the
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Oct
26
Weezer's Raditude: Another Curveball from Rivers Cuomo
Weezer's Patrón-popping, well-meaning new album
Evan Rytlewski On Music“Can’t Stop Partying,” Weezer’s collaboration with Jermaine Dupri, is essentially a litmus test for the entire new Weezer album, Raditude. With its flossy, Top 40 synths, Lil Wayne guest rap and Rivers Cuomo shout-outs to Patr&oacu
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Sep
18
Ruminations on Sadness: Dead Confederate and Ne-Yo
Evan Rytlewski On MusicLike the murder ballad or songs about cars, sad songs will always have a special place in the American songbook. This week is a great one for sad music, seeing the release of two wonderfully downtrodden albums from wildly different genres:
Dead Con
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May
08
Wilco (The Album) Shows Mader's (The Restaurant)
Evan Rytlewski On MusicH/T to Ryan at the Pabst for this: Wilco just debuted the so-bad-it's-good cover art for their upcoming Wilco (The Album), which was shot during the band's recent stay in Milwaukee and very clearly shows Mader's restaurant in the background—and a camel in
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Feb
24
An Open Letter to Summerfest
A few concerns about the upcoming alternative festival
Evan Rytlewski On MusicTo the good people at Summerfest-
I was thrilled last month when you announced plans for a new alternative music festival this June. The lakefront Summerfest grounds are one of the city’s defining resources, and it’s encouraging to se
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Today in Milwaukee
Says You
Matt Mattingly:Hey Russ. Thanks for all the great comments. You are ...
Robin Marohn:Bingo. Good piece.
anonymous:iwas in the march to madison
