Email Author John Payne

2004 Stories by John Payne

• Negative Utopia

  published November 18, 2004

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• Child Is Father of the Man

  published November 11, 2004

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• He’s Not Trying To Break Your Heart

  published October 14, 2004

  The late Elliott Smith’s From a Basement on the Hill is a very great album by — why not? — a very great man. A textbook exam... More >>

• Electronic World

  published September 23, 2004

  Photo by Rosa Barba Sometimes a thing isn’t really what it seems. That is, sometimes music that attempts to pass for pop is onl... More >>

• Idiots in Love

  published September 16, 2004

  Photo by Marina Chavez Rock stars growing up in the public eye is an ancient tale: the choppy travels and travails of fervent young... More >>

• Articulate Snarls

  published September 2, 2004

  Photo by Michael Wilson I’ve been playing with this uncomfortable notion of making wisecracks about the onslaught of politicall... More >>

• Summer Songs

  published August 12, 2004

  Photo by Thron Ullberg BRIAN WILSON, Gettin’ In Over My Head (Rhino) Though various highly professional... More >>

• Changing Channels

  published July 29, 2004

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• Dare To Be Square

  published July 15, 2004

  Chuck Berry photo courtesy Chess archives I always write record reviews without the benefit of the heaps of press materials that come with the... More >>

• Two Women

  published July 1, 2004

  Photos by Austin Young (top) and Kate Garner I was thinking the other day that, like most of us, I feel I’m... More >>

• A Night at LAWMA 2004

  published July 1, 2004

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• New Stuff We Like

  published June 17, 2004

  OCTAVIUS Audio Noir (Mush) This man and his trip have been called “experimental hip-hop,” and sure it’s hip-hop, beca... More >>

• LAWMA 2004

  published May 27, 2004

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• Sail Away

  published May 27, 2004

  SONIC YOUTH, Nurse (Geffen) Fresh load of briskly bristly thrashing suffocation from a rather recharged post-post-9/11 Sonic... More >>

• Get Real Juiced

  published May 13, 2004

  Well, I know one thing, and that is, this being America, any time some weirdo dares suggest that just maybe perhaps we ought to try and think... More >>

• Music in the Air

  published May 6, 2004

  Photo by U-She Today, Holger Czukay is a busy man, running back and forth as he packs things up for the big move back to the old Can... More >>

• They Will Drink It All

  published April 22, 2004

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• Boppadoppadoppadoppadang!

  published April 8, 2004

  Photos by Michael Ochs Archives (top) and Debra DiPaolo I’m hanging out by the pool at Hal Blaine’s Palm Springs pad, and he’s regaling... More >>

• Paradise Perverted

  published April 1, 2004

  Photo by Noah Georgeson It’s like this: You’re stumbling home from the pub late at night, and your tam-o’-shanter falls off as you hop a ... More >>

• Chaos at the Greasy Spoon

  published March 25, 2004

  I’d decided to make my semi-semi-annual visit down to Austin, Texas, to witness for myself the overcast days and muggy nights of th... More >>

• Vita Violenta

  published March 18, 2004

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• Sparkle Up

  published March 4, 2004

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• The View from the Devil’s Sidewalk

  published February 26, 2004

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• Laptop Love

  published February 19, 2004

  Photo by Kevin Westenberg I’d had years of resisting MTV, had seen a sufficient number of kooky rock kids hanging upside down lik... More >>

• The Deepest Cut

  published February 5, 2004

  Herewith, and forsooth, is a semiweekly column bringing you news and biased views on special music of note —... More >>