Bo Diddley Dead at 79

Bob Dylan's Christmas album is just the latest in a long line

(NEWSER) - Bob Dylan’s decision to record a Christmas album is certainly ill-advised—“fans may have stuck by him throughout the musically self-destructive late '60s, the God-bothering late '70s, and the Grateful Dead-collaborating-Madonna-imitating mid '80s, but surely even Bob's fans have a limit,” writes John Matthew Hall for the Independent. But Dylan’s not alone; Hall offers up the worst disasters in rock and roll careers, from John Lennon to Michael Jackson: More»

No rock act can top Buddy Holly: Don McLean

(NEWSER) - Don McLean is forever linked to Buddy Holly because of his "American Pie" tribute, and he wouldn't have it any other way. Fifty years after Holly's untimely death, McLean calls his song about the "day the music died" the proudest accomplishment of his career. "Long before I decided how I would use music or what kind of artist I would be, Buddy was there," he tells CNN, hailing his hero's originality and raw electric guitar tunes. "Gershwin or Berlin would have marveled at his compositions." More»

Topselling jazz album helped redefine American music

(NEWSER) - Fifty years to the day since its debut, Miles Davis’ signature album Kind of Blue remains beautiful and inviting—"like meeting an old friend," Malcolm Jones writes in Newsweek. The record helped jazz earn its title as America’s classical music and remains the bestselling jazz album ever. "You won’t find recordings that boast more thoughtful compositions or performances of any higher caliber," Jones writes. "The music has no weak spots." More»

Catfish Haven and El Perro Del Mar in top 10

(NEWSER) - Catfish Haven's Devastator tops Spin's year-end list of overlooked albums. George Hunter's "old-soul blues exposes other rock'n'roll kings as pretenders to the crown." The top 10:

1. Catfish Haven, Devastator: Hunter's voice is "a husky amalgam of Joe Cocker's world-weary croon and Bill Medley's baritone bombast."
2. El Perro Del Mar, From the Valley to the Stars: "A challenging and introspective set," but you can also "dance, dance, dance."
3. Flowers Forever, Flowers Forever: Some songs "veer sharply into aggressive garage rock," while others are "part acid trip, part barroom blues."
4. The Gaslight Anthem, The '59 Sound: Jersey boy Brian Fallon's "heartfelt, punk-tinged tunes" make him possibly this decade's next best thing to the Boss.

Lucinda Williams hits high note after giving up 'bad boy' rockers

(NEWSER) - Having written more than 20 songs at the end of yet another troubled relationship, Lucinda Williams had doubts when she found love with a former music executive. She worried that her songwriting skills depended on ties to bad boys, but her new disc, Little Honey, proves that fear unfounded, writes Austin Scaggs in Rolling Stone. More»