Andy Gill of Gang of Four performs at The Chapel in San Francisco on Feb. 9, 2019. Gary Chancer/Staff. Influential punk band Gang of Four announced the death of the band’s iconic guitarist, Andy Gill, on social media on Saturday. A band spokesman told the New York Times that Gill died…

Best known for her 2014 anthem to ampleness, “All About That Bass,” which currently has over 2 billion views on YouTube, Massachusetts singer-songwriter Meghan Trainor added futuristic synthesizers along with a roster of big name collaborators to her latest album, Treat Myself. Treat Myself Meghan Trainor Epic Records, Jan. 31 Trainor…

In January of 1977 Devo’s guitarist, Bob Casale, came up with a riff. By the end of the afternoon the band had morphed it into their version of the Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” They weren’t covering the song, they were, in their words, “correcting it.” David…

In the classic 1980 film “The Blues Brothers,” musician Elwood Blues inquires of a bartender, “What kind of music do you usually have here?” and the bartender responds, “Oh, we got both kinds. We got country and Western.” Of course there are lots of other kinds of music, and…

Pet Shop Boys sounded futuristic when they broke onto the music scene in 1984 with their first single, “West End Girls.” The London duo used a relatively simple synthesizer, a Korg MS-10, to craft lush and sophisticated soundscapes, which singer Neil Tennant populated with the silky razor blade of…

SAN JOSE — Nearly 5,000 people, many in colorful, fluffy costumes, filled the San Jose Convention Center during last weekend’s Further Confusion, a two-day convention catering to the Furry subculture, a group of people who have an affinity for anthropomorphic animals. The convention featured panel discussions, dance competitions, a…

Ty Segall performs at Starline Social Club in Oakland on Jan. 14, 2020. Photos: Karen Goldman. OAKLAND — Loud distortion on an electric guitar can blur away imperfections in a performance, hiding mistakes and in some cases lack of ability. Ty Segall, known for his extensive use of guitar…

It’s almost 2020. We’re living in an era when many of science fiction’s classics are supposed to take place. As a science fiction writer and a scholar who studies the genre, I’m acutely aware that we are not yet living in the stainless steel techno-utopia we were promised. Where’s…

“Watermelon Sugar,” the second song on Harry Styles’ latest album, begins with the former One Direction heartthrob singing, “Tastes like strawberries on a summer evening/ And it sounds like a song/ I want more berries/ And that summer feeling/ It’s so wonderful and warm.”  Fine Line Harry Styles Columbia,…

Battles perform at The Independent in San Francisco on Dec. 3, 2019. Sean Liming/Staff. SAN FRANCISCO — One of the most basic oppositions in our lives is the one between chaos and control. New York duo Battles, comprised of guitarist-keyboardist Ian Williams of the influential instrumental group Don Caballero, and John…