Among South Beach’s heavyweight, brand-name hip-hop jocks, Tom Laroc is probably the most underrated. His cutting skills are as nimble as LS One’s, and, like DJ Khaled, he brings a formidable collection of white labels to each set. At least celebrities recognize: Laroc is known for spinning at private and…
Danny Dominguez loves to talk. As we have drinks at the Tides Hotel, the man behind Counterflow Recordings is chatting freely about his latest project, Plant Life. Since the L.A.-based group released its debut twelve-inch single “The Last Song,” it has created a huge buzz in Europe and begun to…
Bebel Gilberto bursts through the door of her suite at the Trump International Sonesta Beach Resort on Sunny Isles Beach. For a moment, her petite frame commands a larger-than-life presence, then recedes into the foyer like a wave gliding back to sea, welcoming a visitor who lightly tapped on the…
Robert Smith shuffled to the distant left of the stage at the Sound Advice Amphitheatre, pulling at a cuff on his long-sleeved black shirt and widening his egg-white eyes at the well-mannered West Palm Beach audience. For virgins to the Cure’s live spectacle, the 44-year-old Smith’s perfected miming of euphoric…
Every Thursday night, the Factory, that bastion of all things spandex and neon, hosts a Rock en Español showcase. Not quite sure what the revolución is all about? Take some metal, punk, or good ol’ rock and roll, then add some Latin flavors such as salsa, merengue, and rumba. Mix…
Those who know Colombian band Aterciopelados will understand that singer Andrea Echeverri’s solo project is also part of their evolution. The ten-year-old pop-rock band that emerged in the mid-Nineties as one of MTV Latin America’s favorite acts with pan-regional appeal is now on hiatus, and most of the members’ energy…
Is the real hip-hop over here? The combination of the legendary KRS-One, the chameleonic rap musician Cex, and staunch indie-rockers Make Believe would seem to make for an irreverent night of fireworks and awkward glances. Alas, one of the greatest rappers of all time will be appearing at an early…
Every summer, a handful of events emerges to capture the (fleeting) hearts of downtown hipsters and Kendall kids. Last year it was Vice and P.E.; this year it looks like Ladyballs may be the queen of the prom. A self-described “chick’s night” for women of all orientations and their male…
In 1995, Timothy McVeigh blew up an Oklahoma City federal building; umpteen thousands were slaughtered in Bosnia and Rwanda; O.J. Simpson was acquitted of double murder; Forrest Gump beat out Pulp Fiction for the best picture Oscar; and Mickey Mantle died. But there was a tiny bright spot amid all…
If there is one sound that unites young South Floridians, it is Eighties dance music. Indeed, if you talk to a native twentysomething about music, you will likely hear zealous preaching about the great legacies freestyle, Miami bass, and electro have bestowed upon youth culture. Robert Guertin, who produces electro…
“Why did Bush knock down the towers?” asks Jadakiss on “Why?” Currently at number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100, it’s probably the first Top 40 song in history to directly accuse the President of the United States of launching a terrorist attack on his own country. Perhaps Chuck D.’s…
On their first five albums, the Old 97’s explored the different sides of their multifaceted muse. Starting out with hard-bitten rockabilly twang, the group transitioned to power pop on its 1997 major-label debut, Too Far to Care, then recycled Brit-rock references on 2001’s Satellite Rides. But on Drag It Up,…
The French group Phoenix’s second full-length, Alphabetical, is the followup to its 2000 debut, United. That album cemented its place as one of the cooler bands, the kind whose music is used in thoughtful, arty films and for trendy designers’ fashion shows. But with Alphabetical, Phoenix has arrived at an…
Two years ago, the campy New York-based quintet Scissor Sisters took Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” to the dance floor, shoved the prog rock chestnut in a box, and sent it express bound for Bee Gees country. Though fans of the group lumped them into the electroclash scene, they wisely avoided…
Tadd Mullinix (sometimes known as Dabrye, here referred to as Cotton, and never to be confused with the similarly named blues guitarist) knows that retro electronics are becoming passé. It’s not enough to rehash, so on his first album as Cotton, The Dancing Box, he rearranges history instead. The delirious…
On French duo M83’s debut album, Dead Cities, Red Seas, and Lost Ghosts, twelve sharply defined, high-energy instrumentals are in full bloom, and absolutely euphoric. “Run Into Flowers” rushes over you and freezes your brain with synthesizer arpeggios and orchestral string samples coordinated into a reach toward the heavens. Meanwhile…
M. Ward’s spooky blend of parched, hollow-eyed American Gothic, insurgent noise, and ambient atmospherics has garnered him increasing attention of late, thanks in large part to the seductive lure and haunting melancholia offered up in his third and most recent album, last year’s exceptional Transfiguration of Vincent. Although the sound…
Freestyle, that much-maligned stepchild of Latin pop, has always generated polarized reactions in people. At one end of the spectrum is the Cover Girls, whose kinetic “Inside Outside” still garners spins at local bass and electro nights. Then there’s K7, whose “Come Baby Come” is one of the more obnoxious…
Soca music hasn’t had a lot of luck finding its way to the rarefied realm of MTV’s Total Request Live, but Jamaican-born singer Kevin Lyttle’s jam “Turn Me On” just cracked the Top Ten, beating out Jessica Simpson’s stomach-churning single “Angels.” The dance-ready single from his self-titled debut is just…
Break out your videotape of Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo (the one you stole from Q Records in 1989), because according to Grand Buffet’s Website, www.grandbuffet.com, the Pittsburgh-based rap duo is going to be doing a lot of smashing this year; in the South, in Canada, and in their “second favorite…
On first examination, one may have to double-check the front of F’s @#S! to be sure it doesn’t say Spinal Tap II: The Punk Rock Years. With song titles like “I Wanna Kill,” “Life Sucks,” and “We Are the Hate,” it’s interesting to note that punk’s nihilistic attitude, which was…
Running a club on South Beach is not easy. Ask anybody who has worked at Nerve Lounge. Since its inception last March, Nerve has grown into a venerable hangout, a place where the dress code is lax and getting in is hassle-free. It’s a intimate place that has bred successful…
