Things are getting sparse, you guys. Oh I found some good songs, don’t get me wrong, but it wasn’t easy. This is Gordon Lightfoot‘s prime and Bowie and Queen had hits, after all. But a novelty disco hit made the honorable mentions so the drop-off is steep. Music shouldn’t have used…

Since 2006, rock musician Andrew W.K. has been a motivational speaker, owned a New York nightclub, hosted a national radio show, released an improvised solo piano album, hosted a children’s show, written an advice column, released a cover album of songs from the Gundam anime franchise, toured as a…

Photos: Tune-Yards and Thao and the Get Down Stay Down: Jon Bauer. Sudan Archives: Steve Carlson OAKLAND — We live in the future. Sure, people focus on the fact that we don’t have flying cars, and that our hoverboards neither hover nor are boards, but if someone from the…

Photos: Paige K. Parsons SAN FRANCISCO — With some artists, what you hear on the album is what you hear in concert. It’s either because their songs are written to be played live or because it just works for both; there’s little difference between the two. Others, however, rearrange…

Courtesy: Dan Monick Mister Heavenly has quite the indie rock pedigree; it was founded by Honus Honus (Ryan Kattner) of Man Man, Nick Thorburn of The Unicorns, and drummer Joe Plummer of Cold War Kids and Modest Mouse. The band got its start when Plummer’s Modest Mouse and Kattner’s…

I’m gonna be honest: In a vacuum, the songs I picked aren’t my top five. Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground,” Led Zeppelin’s “Dancing Days” and Alice Cooper’s “No More Mr. Nice Guy” would be on the list if I wasn’t doing every year. But I had Alice Cooper in the top five in 1971,…

Ha Ha Tonka performs at The Fillmore in San Francisco on March 24, 2017. Photo: Alessio Neri Brian Roberts is lead singer of Ha Ha Tonka, a southern rock-infused band from the Ozarks named after a state park in Missouri. One would assume, based on stereotypes, that between tours…

The bad news for music lovers is that the quality of songs is starting to decline from the 1970 peak.  The good news for me is that the quality of songs is starting to decline so I don’t have 20-plus song shortlists anymore. Don’t get me wrong, the songs are still…

After last week’s expansion to 10 songs from 1970, we’re back to the traditional five. Not because there aren’t as many choices–the shortlist was 19 songs–but because I don’t trust myself to have any future restraint if I don’t. So you’re welcome, because otherwise you’re staring down the barrel of…

SAN FRANCISCO — During the first of two Epic Rap Battles of History‘s shows at the Great America Music Hall, the first SF Sketchfest shows ever held at the venue, series creators and stars Nice Peter and EpicLLOYD held an improvised rap battle in the middle of the crowd. Based on…