8.30.2011

In 1993, Robert Earl Keen recorded a song called “Paint the Town Beige” for his third studio album, A Bigger Piece of Sky. It’s a clear-eyed rumination about a man trading “the fast lane for the...

Paste recently caught up with Jonny Corndawg from the National Mall in Washington D.C. Paste: So what museums were you checking out? JC: Oh Man, I was just at The Native American museum, which was...

Birthing a film has too often been compared to birthing a baby, but Vera Farmiga just did both. “Yes, this has been twice the intensity that either would have been on its own,” she says. “It’s a close...

The skinny-jeans-wearing rock band whose smash hits include “Use Somebody” and “Sex on Fire” might not seem the most natural choice to have a thoughtful documentary made about them. But Kings of Leon...

I’ve always been fascinated by the intersection of faith and arts. In fact, I tend to get most excited about each when it wanders into the realm of the other. When I went from an agnostic who sneered...

For the past couple of days, my eldest daughter has held up one of her utensils, in the middle of finishing off a meal, and said something like, “Daddy, there’s a tiny spider on my spoon,”...

How The Rolling Stones Got Me Through Puberty Mick Jagger doesn’t know it, but he changed my life. That’s not hyperbole, just a fact: If it wasn’t for a man four decades and an ocean away that I’ve...

Zach Condon’s Beirut is in a funny position. He’s cut his teeth on staunchly outsider Balkan folk, but he’s also one of the premier indie-Billboard crossover successes. His band spans 11 members, but...

If any old photo is worth a thousand words, the promo shots accompanying Jacuzzi Boys’ sophomore album, Glazin’, are worth double. One depicts the Miami trio— drummer Diego Monasterios in a ball-cap,...

John Doe’s punk days might be long behind him, but there’s only so much mellowing out that he’s capable of. He might not be mired in drugs and desperation like he was when he sang for L.A. punks X,...

Tom Morello has always been defined by social consciousness, but when he rasps, “I’ll whisper words of freedom, I’ll swing hard as I can/ Save the hammer for the man,” his conviction sizzles. Joined...

It was only a matter of time. John Frusciante—arguably the most versatile, talented guitarist in “mainstream” rock ‘n’ roll—left the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2009 after 15 on-and-off years and five...

Somewhere in the gulf between Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, Rodney Crowell and Lyle Lovett and next wave Lone Stars Pat Green, Jack Ingram, Stoney LaRue, Randy Rogers and Hayes Carll, Robert Earl Keen...

Tinariwen are revolutionaries in both senses of the word. The band members are former soldiers who during the early 1990s fought in the Tuareg uprisings in Niger and Mali. Even during that time, they...

Blending bell-bottoms and Bibles can be dangerous. But for a fleeting moment in the 1970s, “Jesus Rock” wasn’t a joke. It was a genuine movement fueled by ringing guitars and fervent faith. Who would...

Our Idiot Brother has this much going for it: No one can accuse the filmmakers of false advertising. The title character powers through a triathlon of stupidity, brought about at its best by good...

Brighton Rock is a slow-burning dramatic thriller about misguided love and passionate hate. Taken from Graham Greene’s classic 1938 novel of the same name, the film is set on the shores of 1960s...

There’s something particularly grating about a quirky indie comedy that doesn’t work, because the line between a failure and a success can be difficult to see. From a couple of brief précis it’s...

As gimmick records go, the 2000 album Gizmodgery by Matt Mahaffey’s band Self is one of the best. Every song was recorded exclusively with toy instruments, such as you’d find on the shelves of your...

Just last week I was writing about the way “The Tip of the Zoidberg” was the only episode this season (well, half-season) to feature real heart, and here we are again this week with another heartfelt...

“How close were you to him?” “Closer than me and you right now,” replies Jesse after being pressed by Walt. A lot of this season of Breaking Bad has been about the relationship between Walt and...

As they prepare to play the Hopscotch Music Festival in Raleigh, N.C. this upcoming month, New Orleans-based indie rockers Empress Hotel hope to recapture some of the magic that they had back inside...

On the heels of her second full-length record Once I Was A Bird, Lauren Shera stopped by the Paste offices to perform several of her laidback folk numbers. Watch the Californian singer-songwriter...

Watch familial Texas rockers Eisley perform at Paste‘s Party in Austin during this past March’s SXSW Music...

Soon after the 13-piece Portland ensemble Typhoon crammed into our room inside Fort Adams, Ian Felice of the Felice Brothers quietly followed up with a single solo acoustic track. Watch Felice perform...

Watch The Sex Pistols play “God Save The Queen” at the Winterland in San Francisco, Calif. on January 14,...