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Shins Review: ‘Port of Morrow’ Bogs Down in Studio Splendor
The first Shins album in 5 years ditches the group’s former propulsion for luscious, listless production. It’s not a terrible tradeoff, but what would Natalie Portman say?
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Esperanza Spalding Review: ‘Radio’ Heralds Jazz’s First Music-Video Star
New album establishes Spalding as that rarest of things, a jazz singer capable of crossing over with self-penned tunes
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‘Hunger Games’ Album Review: NPR-ish Teen Angst From Taylor Swift, Maroon 5, Arcade Fire
T Bone Burnett’s quietly wily companion album for the movie eschews pulse-pounding tension for acoustic angst
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‘Once’ Review: Cast Album Not the Real Swell Season, But An Incredible Simulation
The bitter edge of Glen Hansard’s voice is missing in otherwise lovely Broadway cast covers of tunes from the indie film hit “Once”
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Magnetic Fields Review: Anything Comedic Goes on Hilarious ‘Love at the Bottom of the Sea’
If you love both Stephen Sondheim and Soft Cell, you’re the target audience for Stephen Merrit’s latest marriage of ’80s-style synth-pop and arch, theatrical wit-eracy
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Brad Pitt, George Clooney in All-Star Gay Marriage Play ‘8’ (Video)
As a pro-gay-rights lawyer, Martin Sheen was the effortlessly passionate standout in a streamed reading of "8" that also featured Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Kevin Bacon, John C. Reilly, and Jane Lynch
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Davy Jones Appreciation: ‘Monkees’ Star Wore the Mantle of Teen Idol Effortlessly
Davy Jones’ death leaves the 16 Magazine generation crying at the loss of a teen idol that never chafed at the restraints placed upon him
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Carve Out Some ‘Wall’ Space for Pink Floyd’s Brick of a 7-Disc Box
Two discs of previously unreleased demos show how Roger Waters’ opus of alienation became rock’s own “Catcher in the Rye”
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Lyle Lovett Makes Writer’s Block Work for Him, Again, in ‘Release Me’
Review: It’s hard to complain about Lovett’s spate of mostly-covers albums when he resurrects such juicy blues, country, and Texas-music obscurities
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Chieftains Get the T Bone Burnett Treatment on Guest-Filled Anniversary Album
Fresh from the Grammys, Bon Iver and the Civil Wars are among the drop-ins deferring to the Chieftains’ traditional style on a 50th anniversary album
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Sleigh Bells Go With Death Knells On ‘Reign of Terror’
A spoonful of sugary pop, along with a new penchant for heavy metal, make the morbidity go down on Sleigh Bells’ mortality-themed new album “Reign of Terror”
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Sinead O’Connor Rips Up Pope Again — And Bono — On New Album
It’s not just the provocation that’s a return to form for O’Connor on ‘How About I Be Me (And You Be You)’
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The Oscar-Nominated Sound Mixers: Gary Rydstrom of ‘War Horse’
The veteran sound designer already has seven Oscars, and could pick up a couple more for his second trip to the battlefield with Steven Spielberg
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Punch Brothers’ ‘Who’s Feeling Young’: Bluegrass for People Afraid of Bluegrass
Ex-Nickel Creek mandolinist Chris Thile continues to lead acoustic string-band music into the 21st century with his witty songwriting and eight-string shredding
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The Oscar-Nominated Sound Mixers: Deb Adair of ‘Moneyball’
Who needs action and special effects to get an Oscar nod for sound mixing? Not ‘Moneyball,’ which impressed the Academy with its blasts of silence as well as cracking bats