Most Popular
-
An ancient Apollo statue landed in Cleveland and touched off an international outcry
-
Joe Cimperman hopes to tear down his former hero, Dennis Kucinich
-
Beat Down
Cleveland teachers swap stories of school violence.
-
Everybody Hates Mike
The peril of coaching an icon.
-
Secret Valentines Notes from C-Town Celebs
Our I-Team uncovered the private love letters of Cleveland's biggest names. You'll be shocked by what we discovered.
-
$100 Bounty on That Kid (19)
Copley-Fairlawn finds a way to keep the impostors out.
-
At Indie-Rock Singles Night in Cleveland, an event for hipsters lacks one key ingredient: Hipsters (14)
-
Dennis Kucinich’s brave talk about working and fighting — from the safety of the officer’s tent (10)
-
Beat Down (3)
Cleveland teachers swap stories of school violence.
-
Sour Notes (434)
Underneath its glossy exterior, the Cleveland Orchestra has a dark side. His name is William Preucil.
-
Crazy Talk
Miranda Lambert is a lot like any other girl with a soft spot for guns and setting exes on fire.
-
The Bravery's New World
New-wave revivalists discover the power of three-chord guitar rock.
-
Beer, BBQ, industry schmoozing: Rounding up SXSW 2008’s local delegates
-
Keep on Truckin'
Jason Isbell finds life after the Drive-By Truckers.
-
It took them 10 years, but the Sadies finally craft a country-rock classic
-
Carl Monday’s back, and he’s not better than ever, which makes us sad
08:14AM 03/10/08 -
A gentle proposal to Cleveland sports fans: Quit bitching and enjoy it
07:29AM 03/10/08 -
In Minnesota, smoking ban no match for local thespians. Why didn’t we think of that?!
07:01AM 03/10/08 -
Joyce Banjac may be Myers University's best hope
05:29AM 03/10/08 -
Akron mom embezzles $12,000 from PTA
05:21AM 03/10/08
What we are writing about
- Black Sabbath
- Bob Dylan
- classic rock
- Cleveland art
- Cleveland dining hotspots
- Cleveland theater
- family films
- foodie media
- Get religion!
- great video games
- hip-hop
- indie pop
- indie rock
- jazz
- legal eagles
- Metal
- murder & mayhem
- must-see movies
- Neil Young
- Ohio City
- political clap-trap
- Punk
- R&B
- racism
- read your music
- Singer-Songwriter
- sporting life
- urban crime
- weird theater
- white-collar baddies
Recent Articles By Michael Roberts
-
Black-Hole Son
Chris Cornell rises from the ashes of two classic bands.
-
Common
Finding Forever (Geffen)
-
Artist Interrupted
More than a year after Katrina, an American music legend still can't get home.
-
Badly Drawn Boy
Born in the U.K. (Astralwerks)
-
Arctic Monkeys
Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (Domino)
National Features
-
Houston Press
"It Was Like an Armageddon Movie"
For days after Hurricane Rita, a Texas prison was hell on earth.
By Chris Vogel -
SF Weekly
The Candidate
Our columnist knows Ralph Nader's running mate all too well.
By Matt Smith -
The Pitch
How Not To Be a Rap Star
First of all, lay off the Ecstasy.
By Nadia Pflaum -
Village Voice
Project Runaway
What becomes a gossip columnist most?
By Michael Musto
Black Mountain
With Roué and Mi Octopi. Wednesday, August 10, at the Grog Shop.
By Michael Roberts
Published: August 3, 2005Jagjaguwar wants to make damn sure that Black Mountain's latest is heard by as many people as possible. The imprint released the band's self-titled debut in January, but plans to launch it again this month -- and the extra effort is more than justified. Black Mountain, Stephen McBean's idiosyncratic Vancouver-based collective, is dark, heavy, and loud enough to deserve spins south of the border. "Modern Music" is an example of the album's cheeky gamesmanship. Its sonic elements aren't strikingly contemporary, but thanks to a sardonic arrangement and lyrics that encompass everything from hit records to maimed horses, the track actually attains a certain modernity. "Druganaut," "No Hits," and several other cuts toy with metal, folk, psychedelia, and even skronk, courtesy of cameos from saxophonist Masa Anzai. The moods shift, and so do the vocalists; McBean shares the chore with Amber Webber, who's either funny or plaintive, depending on the terrain before her. The two get higher together than they ever could alone. In other words, Black Mountain is well worth scaling.
