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A-Sides With Jon Chattman: Board the Gary Clark, Jr. Train

Photo by Rich Tarantino Sometimes hype is just that… hype. Too many times, artists packaged as the “next big thing” fail to live up to the premature “it” factor when their albums drop. I could name...

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A-Sides With Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings: Some Funk and Soul Food for Your Ears

Aretha Franklin is the Queen of Soul, and always will be. Ditto for Michael Jackson and his King of Pop distinction. Sharon Jones made that abundantly clear in a recent “A-Sides” interview. Having said...

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A-Sides With Jon Chattman: Portugal. The Man & This Is The Now

We travel from Alaska to Brooklyn for this edition of A-Sides, but not literally. That said, it’d be cool if I could somehow transport people via a blog post. Get on that, Google. All John Baldwin...

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A-Sides With Jon Chattman: They Might Be Front Bottoms and Black Taxi Rides

They might be the next They Might Be Giants or perhaps they’ll follow punk icons like Blink 182, and yes I hate calling that latter band “icons.” Their best bet, however, may be becoming the first ever...

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A-Sides With Electric Touch: Never Looking Back

In 1989, Debbie Gibson released her second album Electric Youth, and it blew up mainstream radio charts. The sophomore effort by the teen queen included the mega-hit “Lost in Your Eyes,” the catchy...

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Candlebox Is Never “Far Behind” (A-Sides)

For the better part of the 1990s, plaid shirts and Seattle grunge rock were king. I’m not saying Biggie Smalls and Jewel weren’t top stars of the decade, but for me, I was all about that lethal...

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A-Sides With Jon Chattman: A Silent Film Continues Leaving Their Mark

Jean Dujardin and The Artist danced their way to an Oscar a few months ago, but it could be a different “silent film” that could actually have more staying power. The Oxford-based band known as A...

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A-Sides with Jon Chattman: “Fear” and “Fire” With Alcoholic Faith Mission and...

Who doesn’t like to start their morning off with a Danish quintet? I’m referring to a band that plays exceptionally well versus a plate full of pastries by the way — although both options are quite...

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A-Sides With Jon Chattman: Watch Eric Hutchinson “Watch Him”

He’s been a VH1 “You Oughta Know” artist, has played just about every late night show on the planet, and has had a bunch of hit songs since the release of his 2007 debut Sounds Like This. The one thing...

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A-Sides With Jon Chattman: Ahead of the Curve With Jake Miller, Logan...

I remember when I was in college, I was the first of my friends to buy the cassette tape (damn, I’m oldish) of Liz Phair and a bunch of other talented artists. When the 1990s edgy singer/songwriter...

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A-Sides With Jon Chattman: “Into the Wild” With Breakout Star LP

Some artists you just know are going to completely break out. It can be their style, their impeccable vocal range, or what everyone and their mother refer to as the “it factor.” All of these...

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A-Sides With Jon Chattman: Letting Civil Twilight’s “River” Run; Duran Duran...

Civil Twilight get compared to other bands quite often — notably Coldplay. It’s probably because it has four members like that internationally-celebrated UK group, and because its front man is known to...

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A-Sides Music: Top 52 Songs of 2012 (Call Me Maybe…Not)

“Look at the birds up in the tree.” “We’re not birds, we’re a jug band.” - Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas That immortal exchange between a bear puppet and a band of otters (one at least) from the...

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A-Sides Music: Tegan of Tegan & Sara Talks ‘Heartthrobs’ and Covering The...

Pop music was just so much better in the 1980s. The cheesy songs worked because they made you want to dance and you were just oblivious to the fact that the whole era was a big pound of Pizza the Hut....

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A-Sides with Jon Chattman: Justin Tranter Discusses Semi Precious Weapons’...

Photo/ Blake Wood Having toured the world with pop goddess Lady Gaga for over a year (following their debut “You Love You,”) it would have been so easy for Semi Precious Weapons to just sell out for...

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A-Sides with Jon Chattman: No ‘Mistaking’ The Secret State or Milo Greene

With over 54 million views on YouTube for their debut song “The Biggest Mistake,” The Secret State are anything but a secret these days. See what I did there? Yes, that success has propelled the band...

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A-Sides “Aside”: A Very Awesome Holiday with Gabba Gabba, Aye?

The Suburbs is probably in my top three favorite albums of all-time. But, I’ve been floored with all of Arcade Fire’s albums. I deeply felt all of the cuts on the dark Neon Bible, and caught on early...

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A ‘Super’ Laurie Berkner Kicks of Lowercase A-Sides!

Laurie Berkner has been called “the queen of children’s music.” I challenge any parent of a toddler to challenge that proverbial crown. For some 20 years, the best-selling children’s recording artist...

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Decades Later, Jim Breuer Lives Out His “Rock n Roll Dreams”

Keanu Reeves and Dogstar. Google it if that’s a non-sequitur to you. Or don’t bother. The bottomline is pop culture stars who thrive in one area often want to live out another dream. It’s why Johnny...

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‘Death’ Gives Rise to My Jerusalem; Victor Cruz “Inspires” in NYC

Buddy the Elf is a fan of revolving doors, and for a while, so was Jeff Klein. While his project My Jerusalem was making music with a rotating group of musicians, the frontman longed to make it a...

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