Dr. Rock struggles, but he picks year's best CDs

12/29/10 If you managed to get off Facebook and stop tweeting for a minute, excellent music abounded in 2010. This was a terrific year with recharged veterans (Old 97s, Devo), exciting new bands (Sleigh Bells, Broken Bells) and promises fulfilled by cult favorites (Vampire Weekend, Arcade Fire).

+

-

 

Watch: Members of Vampire Weekend and the Black Keys Goof Off on "The Colbert Report"

01/12/11 In case you didn't know, Stephen Colbert won a Grammy last year for "Best Comedy Album". That means he's eligible to vote in this year's Grammys, and on last night's episode of " The Colbert Report ", he brought on Vampire Weekend 's Ezra Koenig and the Black Keys (yes, both of them) to clash over who should get his vote for Best Alternative Album. Since "nobody pays for music anymore," the two ...

+

-

 

Ezra Koenig, Matt Berninger, Sam Beam Immortalized in Oil Paintings

02/23/11 Artist Joe Simpson is working on a series of detailed paintings of his favorite musicians' faces. So far, he has completed portraits of indie royalty like Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig (above), the National's Matt Berninger , Iron & Wine's Sam Beam , and more. Each of the paintings is 60 centimeters by 60 centimeters, in oil on canvas. To create the paintings, Simpson meets the artist and takes ...

+

-