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RICHARD BECK

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Review: Calexico relaxes audience into near-coma

Calexico at the Somerville Theatre, November 16, 2008
The members of Calexico look like dads. They play a little like dads too.

By: RICHARD BECK | November 18, 2008

Dyson analyzes what Obama means

Michael Eric Dyson changes the subject at Harvard
Nobody knows exactly what Obama means yet, but Dyson is having a great time figuring it out.

By: RICHARD BECK | November 14, 2008

Rare finds in Wild Combination

A somewhat revelatory documentary
There’s no explaining Arthur Russell. It’s best just to listen to his music. I hope Wolf’s documentary will encourage people to do precisely that.

By: RICHARD BECK | October 25, 2008

Arthur Russell revived in new documentary

Belated props to Arthur Russell
You would not guess, listening to his music, that Arthur Russell grew up in Oskaloosa, Iowa. In fact you might not guess that he came from anywhere.

By: RICHARD BECK | October 25, 2008

Tricky | Knowle West Boy

Domino (2008)
Who is not glad to have Tricky around?

By: RICHARD BECK | October 08, 2008

Positively Phil

Roth goes back to college
We all know Philip Roth’s preoccupations.

By: RICHARD BECK | September 16, 2008

13 shots to the dome

The 10 hours and 29 minutes of LL Cool J’s career
What to do with LL Cool J?

By: RICHARD BECK | September 03, 2008

Okkervil River

The Stand Ins | Jagjaguwar
The real problem with taste here is that Sheff doesn’t have any.

By: RICHARD BECK | September 02, 2008

Nothing Is Precious Enough For Us | Sub Pop
My only criticism of Death Vessel’s second LP is their trouble with slow songs. Otherwise, it's an astonishing forward leap for this Brooklyn-based folk group.

By: RICHARD BECK | August 19, 2008

The play’s the thing

The audial oddities of Blevin Blectum
“I like rhythmic structure,” Bevin Kelley says on the phone from Providence, where she lives.

By: RICHARD BECK | June 30, 2008

Silver Jews

Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea | Drag City
Wry, witty, and weird, this not-quite-coherent set of songs is a more freewheeling tour of lead singer David Berman’s increasingly playful lyrical sensibilities.

By: RICHARD BECK | June 24, 2008

Diminishing returns

The Hold Steady make it hard to Stay Positive
For a while, Hold Steady lead singer Craig Finn wrote terrific stories.

By: RICHARD BECK | July 09, 2008

Iri-decent

Kanye West and Rihanna at Tweeter Center, May 15, 2008
Kanye’s music more than lived up to his visual and conceptual audacity.

By: RICHARD BECK | May 29, 2008

Bangers + Mush

Dizzee Rascal and El P at the Middle East Downstairs, May 11, 2008
About five years ago, when grime came crashing through the gates, many thought that England had finally found a homegrown answer to American hip-hop.

By: RICHARD BECK | May 21, 2008

The Roots | Rising Down

Def Jam

By: RICHARD BECK | May 12, 2008

Here's the beef

MIT's Steer Roast at Senior Haus at MIT, May 2-3, 2008
Standing underneath a leaky tarp, I looked across the courtyard and saw a guy pushing mud around with a stick. That was kind of a low point.

By: RICHARD BECK | May 06, 2008

Pimp and circumstance

Wu-Tang Clan at Harvard University "Yardfest," April 18, 2008
Some 45 minutes into the Wu-Tang Clan’s afternoon performance in Harvard Yard, Raekwon took a moment to describe his audience.

By: RICHARD BECK | April 22, 2008

Rings

Black Habit | Paw Tracks
The members of the Brooklyn-based trio Rings — Nina Mehta, Abby Portner, and Kate Rosko — are hippies with focus.

By: RICHARD BECK | March 05, 2008

The low end

The bassline house invasion
The British rave revolution of the late ’80s/early ’90s is accurately viewed as the source of the ever increasing number of dance genres in the UK.

By: RICHARD BECK | February 26, 2008

Freeway

Free at Last | Roc-a-Fella
The Philly native isn’t the popster they hoped he would be.

By: RICHARD BECK | February 05, 2008

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