The Church, “The Hypnogugue.” In the United States, Australian band The Church is best known for 1988 single “Under the Milky Way,” a dreamy acoustic ballad which topped out at No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was the soundtrack for a generation of goth teens applying excessive…

Yo La Tengo, “This Stupid World.” An appreciation for Yo La Tengo operates much like a secret handshake, indicating to other ultra-hip music aficionados that you see beyond the flashes in the pan to appreciate music made as its own reward rather than to dominate the record charts. The…

Tom Verlaine of Television performs at the Hammersmith Odeon in London on April 16, 1978. Photo by Gus Stewart/Redferns. Tom Verlaine, singer, guitarist and founding member of hugely influential post-rock band Television, has died at 73. Verlaine, born Thomas Miller in New Jersey, was a fixture in the scene…

Fred Armisen performs during SF Sketchfest at Great American Music Hall in San Francisco on Jan. 27, 2023. Photos by Jakub Mosur. SAN FRANCISCO — Musician and comedian Fred Armisen performed a mix of music and standup comedy for the first of three sold-out dates with his show Comedy…

The C.I.A. (Denée Segall, Ty Segall, Emmett Kelly), “Surgery Channel.” Surgery Channel, the new record from The C.I.A. — a musical collaboration between Ty Segall, his wife Denée and longtime collaborator Emmett Kelly — is the rare album that will either create turbo-charged mayhem on the party dance floor, or…

John Cale, “Mercy.” John Cale‘s musical life has divided itself between rock and roll and the avant-garde. The Velvet Underground founder and droner-in-chief’s latest album, Mercy, feels more like the minimalist compositions of La Monte Young than VU’s rollicking and raucous “Sweet Jane.” But at 80, that’s probably to…

Weezer, “SZNZ: Winter.” Chapter three, verse one of Ecclesiastes tells us, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” For Weezer that meant composing, recording and producing one EP per season in 2022. SZNZ: Winter Weezer Crush Music, Dec. 21 7/10 Buy…

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “Live at the Fillmore 1997.” It’s 1997 and you’re inside The Fillmore theater in San Francisco. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are onstage—at the peak of their prowess. Petty tells the audience, “We’re live on the internet tonight; whatever that is.” You’re seeing one…

The Cult performs at The Warfield in San Francisco on Nov. 17, 2022. Nate McKinley/STAFF. SAN FRANCISCO — As Ian Astbury, the iconic lead vocalist of the classic English rock band The Cult, left the stage at The Warfield Thursday night, he told the crowd “I want to do…

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, “Changes.” King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard seem determined that their fans should have very little free time. Who knows how long it will take to fully absorb and process the five albums the six-member Melbourne psych-rock outfit has released this year alone?…