Nicholas Pell

If you’re looking for a unifying theme for this column, here it is: It’s dedicated to exploring what one of my oldest and dearest friends calls “the uncanny valley of music.” I’ve mentioned it here before. For anyone who missed it, here’s how it works: Take a band like The......

Tom DeLonge is many things: co-frontman of Blink-182 and chief purveyor of their trademark toilet humor. The entrepreneur behind Modlife, a digital platform designed to give artists more control over their music. Founder of the clothing companies Atticus and Macbeth Footwear. And the mastermind of Angels & Airwaves, the neo–prog-rock......

When producer Todd Rundgren first heard Bat Out of Hell, he thought it was a parody of Bruce Springsteen. In fact, many years later, he remarked, “I can’t believe the world took it seriously.” Indeed, the world did take Bat Out of Hell seriously, in all its faux-Wagnerian glory. It......

I wouldn’t call myself a Juggalo, but I love Insane Clown Posse and I appreciate the Juggalo subculture. It’s not just that I think they’re responsible for innovative, interesting and hilarious rap. It’s hard to ignore the fact that they’ve created one of the only vibrant and original subcultures in......

“I like everything but rap and country.” So says every 13-year-old just peeking over the fence into the wider world of music. And good on them. Of course, most of us grow up and realize that dad was right. Country music is boss. It’s not the most controversial opinion in......

I’ve been wanting to say this for a while. I fucking hate Pantera with the burning fury of 10,000 white-hot suns. No, it has nothing to do with Phil Anselmo’s frequent outbursts of racism. I’m not easily offended and I can’t think of much I care less about than what......

I was 13 years old when The Dead Milkmen came to Providence to play the Living Room — not quite old enough to attend night-time shows in the big (ha!) city, so there was no showdown with my parents over whether or not I could go. We had to drive......

When it comes to the Amoeba Music dollar bin, there are a lot of deals to be had. Last time, I talked about my love of Gordon Lightfoot, but there’s another gem I want to discuss today. I’m talking about Huey Lewis and that hard-rocking unit he calls “The News.”......

It recently came to my attention that I’m supposed to be ashamed of my deep love for Gordon Lightfoot. If loving Gordon Lightfoot is wrong, I don’t wanna be right. But loving Gordon Lightfoot isn’t wrong, not by a damn sight. In fact, a deep and abiding love for the......

It’s the new year and that means, depending on whether you date its origins to 1966 or 1976, punk rock is now either 40 or 50 years old. Punk is now old enough to be the guy at the bar complaining about how easy it is to be punk rock......