Kate Sullivan

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The Five Stages of South by Southwest

Kate Sullivan
THE FIRST STAGE: DENIAL When you first arrive at SXSW, you are invincible, impervious to such forces as bad luck, bad vibes, laws pertaining to room capacity, and scheduled set times. You think: I will see every show. I will get in to every show. I do not need to......
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Crumbelievable!

Kate Sullivan
Everyone out there groovin’ on those AT&T ads with the Oasis song? You know, the one where Liam turns “word” into a three-syllable commitment? All around the world, gotta spread the wor-uh-herd, AT&T is bloomin’ gear . . .  As sellouts go, this one’s a failure, mostly because these ads flaunt a......
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Bang Bang Rock & Roll

Kate Sullivan
I’ve been wanting to write something about Art Brut since I first heard the first song on their first record (which happened several months back). Seriously. Mid–first song, I was like, O-kay! That’s what I’m talkin’ about! Art Brut’s music is simple, like their name. (Which is no doubt why......
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I Come to Your Emo-tional Rescue

Kate Sullivan
Unlike certain great, eternal rock mysteries (“What is glam?” or “Who invented the cowbell?”), the question “What is emo?” is destined for a Trivial Pursuit afterlife at best. That’s because the term “emo” denotes a murky feeling-tone more than a musical genre — and the music it does represent is,......
The Strokes!

The Strokes

Kate Sullivan
The Strokes The Troubadour, January 6 I like the new Strokes album as much as I could possibly like a Strokes album, for the very reasons the rest of the world may shrug at it. The world wants one thing from the Strokes: trousers. But this album, with its time......
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Christmas Music for People Who Like Music

Kate Sullivan
Four years ago, I was a cynic about Christmas music. It just seemed so full of shit. I was especially averse to the pop/rock stuff — with the exception, of course, of Joan Jett’s glam-rock “Little Drummer Boy,” which was clearly done for love, not money. It took living alone,......
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Kitty Litter

Kate Sullivan
Photo by Kevin ScanlonMakeup by Amy Chasefor Solo ArtistsWithout really knowing the girl — except through the aching emotional realm of her music — I feel safe in saying Annie Hardy is very socially awkward. When she talks, her delivery is a wobbly, weirdly defensive, yet completely hilarious pseudotough-girl deadpan......
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The Prix

Kate Sullivan
Photo by Andrea LabargeWHAT: Brit-styled yet distinctly American classic mod-rock. Name rhymes with “free.”SECRET WEAPONS: Gang vocals, hand claps, hooks, Hammond, Wurlitzer.ODE TO JOY: “It’s All in the Way That You Trip” (hear it on their Myspace page) is the most joyfully danceable rock & roll song we’ve heard in......