The end all be all of music reference sites.  This site is my go to for any specifics that I need when it comes to any genre of music.

Using Allmusic.com you have the option to search for information on albums, artists or songs; as well as deep resources on specific genres and styles.  This site is a great resource if you want album recommendations, song recommendations, or even if you want to find similar artists. Within the info they provide on specific artists you will find long lists of similar artists, bands that share members, the bands they were influenced by, and the bands that they influenced.  The artists bios and album reviews can be a little off at times but I think you would be challenged to find a more definitive guide to popular music.

Among some of the newer features to be brought to the site in recent years are the Allmusic blog and the album of the day.

Although I find many positive and useful things about this site, there are a few negative aspects as well.  Among those is that the site is missing quite a bit of info on some of your more obscure artists and I find the site extremely slow at times.  Then again look at what they are working with here… a shit ton of information and probably a fairly small staff.  One thing I do quite enjoy is that you have the option if you find there is some inaccurate or incomplete information you can fill out a quick web form alerting them to it.

Another must read that I stumbled on in the past year.  This book chronicles a choice selection of underground music from 1978 to 1984, deemed Post Punk by the author and the music press of the time.

I always found the term hard to classify as most designations of rock music are.  In recent times it has been an oft used term; thrown around to describe a ton of newer bands influences.  Alway a cool tag word but never really explained, much like Punk itself and Proto-punk.  Simply put Post Punk is the underground music that sprung up after Punk met an early end and imploded in its original true form with the Sex Pistols rise and fall.  Post Punk would carry on that legacy along with all the off shoots of straight ahead punk rock including British Punk, West Coast Punk, Hardcore, and Oi.  This new music would shed all that was overwrought about the music that they grew up on, expand sonically and turn image and politics inside out.

Reynolds splits the book into two parts, sectioning off the early heavily punk influenced stuff in the first part and then tackling the more pop and guitar band driven music in the second part.  He breaks it up into easily digestible chunks that focus on a geographical or ideological scene (or covers whatever bands he feels are strongly related sonically together, which may or may not be in the same area).  Each chapter is full of his own insights into what made the band what it was and why the music sounded as it did.

He fills out the landscape by explaining what was going on in the world in each respective area at that time.  Included in this landscape was of course the bands but also a rich drama including fledgling record labels, record label heads, managers, Svengalis, producers, fans, and groupies.  A huge number of bands are included, some of them might be a little surprising at first because of their status as 80′s pop music, one hit wonders or their seemingly non-relation to Punk Rock or Rock N’ Roll.  Below is the long list of band/labels that are covered in the book (please note some of the bands only get a few paragraphs).

Playlist:  Post Punk Part One

Playlist:  Post Punk Part Two – New Pop & New Rock

www.simonreynolds.net

There is an actual CD compiled by Mr. Reynolds which was only released in the UK and is rather rare. Rip It Up And Start Again companion CD compiled by Simon Reynolds

Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley

I hate to say it but the newest Jenny Lewis record Acid Tongue fell a little flat for me. Maybe my expectations were a little too high after hearing her critically acclaimed solo debut Rabbit Fur Coat recorded with the help of The Watson Twins and some production by M. Ward.  Her first record had a consistent feel running throughout,  the new record just feels like a pastiche of different tracks.  Although I didn’t  get into it overall and wouldn’t rate it very highly, there are a few standout tracks.

A slower tune.  She definitely gets the emotion across.

	Jenny Lewis – Pretty Bird
	Found at skreemr.com

I was very surprised to find out that this swaggering tune and my favorite on the album is not a Jenny Lewis composition.  It was written by her current boyfriend and collaborator Damien Rice.  Note the help of the honorable Elvis Costello on Guitar and some vocals.

By all means… check out Jenny’s debut solo record and her work with the band Rilo Kiley.  Notable records from the Rilo Kiley catalog would be The Execution Of All Things and More Adventurous.  Jenny also sings background vocals on most of the songs on Elvis Costello’s newest record with the Imposters, Momofuku.

If you have any interest at all in American underground music this is a must read.  Being the book is taken from interviews with the actual people on the scene it is an extremely visceral and interesting read.  The coverage is chronological starting in the late sixties covering the Velvet Underground and the other bands that are considered to be Proto-Punk.  The main players in that scene included the Velvets, Iggy and The Stooges, The MC5 &  The New York Dolls.  The story continues covering the bands that originally became known as Punk in the mid 70s.  The tag line originally referred to the bands that made a name for themselves at the now famous NY club CBGBs.  Included are The Patti Smith Group, Ramones, The Dead Boys, & Television.  The book covers through the involvement of The Sex Pistols & Malcolm McClaren and the controversy that followed… plus interviews about what happened to some of the major players like Johnny Thunders and Dee Dee Ramone.  For me the book covered a time period in Rock N Roll that I had not previously explored and introduced to me some  great bands that I wouldn’t have delved into normally.  BTW:  the title of the book is something Richard Hell put on a T-shirt in the early days of Television.