The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts.
201 articles
List of articles in the library
The Beatles & Me: An Era Dribbles On...
Memoir by Michael Lydon, The Boston Globe, 9 July 1972
ELK, CALIF. — Letter in the mail: Globe editor hopes I'll fill his "bathtub of an idea," What Impact Did The Beatles Have On Your ...
The Clash, Sam and Dave, the Undertones: Orpheum Theater, Boston
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 22 September 1979
Clash makes the sparks fly. ...
Warren Zevon: How L.A.'s 'Excitable Boy' Won the Battle with the Bottle
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 10 April 1980
"L.A. rock's newest darling desperado, Warren Zevon, likes to start his day with a screwdriver, then clear his head with coffee and a side of ...
Lou Reed: Will The Real Lou Reed Please Speak Up?
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 22 May 1980
"I don't especially tell the truth most of the time, anyway." — Lou Reed Creem interview, July 1973 ...
Peter Gabriel: The Evolution Of Peter Gabriel – Why He Believes In Taking Risks With His Music
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 3 July 1980
IN RETROSPECT, Peter Gabriel is mildly amused. His third solo album, Peter Gabriel, is an unqualified success in his native England, hitting the No. 1 ...
Dave Davies of Kinks Tries Solo
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 24 July 1980
IN 1967 Kinks guitarist Dave Davies hit No. 3 on the British charts with 'Death of a Clown', a song he co-wrote with his brother ...
Van Halen: The Gospel of Rock According to Van Halen
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 24 July 1980
"WE'VE ENLARGED the band since you last saw us," says Van Halen lead singer David Lee Roth, poised to cue me in on a hot ...
Smokey Robinson: Berklee Performance Center, Boston
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 29 July 1980
CAROLE GARDINER first saw Smokey Robinson in 1965, when he and his group, the Miracles, went to London as part of a Motown Revue. Since ...
Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Rossington Collins Band: Rossington Collins Band: On The Road Again
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 21 August 1980
Four Lynyrd Skynyrd survivors plus three return to rock scene as Rossington Collins Band ...
Mickey Hart: The Primitive Pulse Of War: Mickey Hart
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 24 August 1980
MICKEY HART is realistic. The Grateful Dead percussionist knows he hasn'tgot a chartbusting hit on his hands and it doesn't concern him in the least. ...
Rick Danko: Paradise Theater, Boston
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 9 October 1980
"IS EVERYBODY getting enough to drink?" asked ex-Band bassist Rick Danko from the Paradise stage, concerned that, as the party's host, he might have neglected ...
The Stranglers: "We're kind of out of context here," admit Stranglers
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 16 October 1980
"WE'RE KIND OF out of context here," admits Stranglers' bassist Jean Jacques Burnel. "We write the things that we know and we don't really know ...
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 24 December 1980
A STILL SWEATING Joan Jett sits in a dressing room at the Channel after her Saturday gig and tugs on her black skintight pants. "This ...
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 6 March 1981
ROBERTA FLACK is best known for her gentle melodic love songs — the 1973 Grammy winner, 'First Time Ever I Saw Your Face', the 1974 ...
Fleetwood Mac: Tuning in to Digital Records
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 19 March 1981
IT'S NOT FOR ROCK-POP YET ...
The Plasmatics: Plasmatics Play It For Kicks
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 21 March 1981
A COUPLE OF years ago the Damned decided to poke a little fun at their own limited musicality and came up with the refrain, "Noise ...
Dead Kennedys: The Channel, Boston MA
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 13 April 1981
Exhilarating, disturbing... ...
John Cale: A Study in Contradiction
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 11 May 1981
ONSTAGE AND OFF, contradiction comes naturally to singer and songwriter John Cale. Within his music, forays into dissonance and contemplative mellifluousness have long been integral, ...
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 1 June 1981
Still Charging Hard On The Punk Rock Line ...
Visage: …And Their British Guru, Steve Strange
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 27 July 1981
SOMETIMES, confides Steve Strange, weeks go by when he doesn't buy any clothes. ...
Billy Squier: Stardom finds Billy Squier
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 18 August 1981
PROVIDENCE — Billy Squier, newly successful alumnus of Boston bands, the Sidewinders and Piper, is backstage sitting among equipment cases and guitars and sweating, minutes ...
Ray Davies, The Kinks: Ray Davies
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, September 1981
MINNEAPOLIS: "It's like death in here," Ray Davies says, inauspiciously welcoming me into Marquette Inn room 1453. The shades are drawn, no lights are on. ...
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 5 September 1981
THE LAST TIME I saw Levon Helm we were in Arlington. He and Sissy Spacek were on the movie screen at the Regent theater and ...
The Doors, Joy Division: The Doors and Joy Division: 2 Dead Bands Still Going Strong
Essay by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 6 September 1981
TWO OF the most intriguing rock 'n' roll bands of the '80s exist on the airwaves, on vinyl and in the consciousness of fans in ...
Johnny Thunders: Jonathan Swift's, Cambridge MA
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 10 September 1981
"SHUT UP!" Johnny Thunders yells, greeting the crowd at Jonathan Swift's about an hour after his set is scheduled to start. "You guys ready for ...
The Raybeats: Raybeats rock with a twist
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 16 October 1981
INSTRUMENTAL ROCK 'n' roll? ...
Gladys Knight and the Pips: Gladys Knight & the Pips: Berklee Performance Center, Boston MA
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 3 November 1981
A pleasant Knight-time ...
Grace Jones: Orpheum Theater, Boston MA
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 24 November 1981
Smiling along with Grace Jones ...
Liquid Liquid, V: Streets, Boston MA
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 4 December 1981
Liquid Liquid runs wild in Boston debut ...
Clarence Clemons, Bruce Springsteen: Clarence Clemons: Born To Rock
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 14 January 1982
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN," announces a raspy-voiced Bruce Springsteen from the stage of the Capitol Theater in Passaic, N. J. It's the 75th performance of the ...
James Blood Ulmer: Streets, Boston MA
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 19 January 1982
Ulmer builds a pressure cooker ...
The Monkees: Peter Tork Takes A Joyride Down Memory Lane
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 21 January 1982
"Hey, hey we're the Monkees/Kids say we monkey around/But we're too busy singing/To put anybody down." — The Monkees' theme song, 1966 ...
Walter "Shakey" Horton: The Blues, for Walter Horton
Report by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 25 February 1982
WHILE MAGIC Dick of the J. Geils Band was blowing a mean harmonica for 15,000 people at Boston Garden Monday night, Sugar Ray Norcia was ...
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 2 March 1982
MARSHALL CRENSHAW is a believer. A guitarist and singer who draws from the classic, lean rock 'n' roll of the late-'50s and mid-'60s, he believes ...
The Cars, Nick Lowe and the Chaps: Boston Garden
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 17 March 1982
A 75-minute 'Car' trip in Boston ...
Sheena Easton: Through Sheena's Eyes Only
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 22 April 1982
POP SINGER DOESN'T USE LYRICS TO DELIVER ANY MESSAGES ...
Kim Wilde begins a love affair with America
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 13 May 1982
KIM WILDE the English singer of the massive European hit single 'Kids in America', had been in America two days. "You've got it terribly easy ...
James Chance & the Contortions, The Dictators, New York Dolls: Cassette rock comes on with a "Roar"
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 27 May 1982
IN THE competitive record business, how can a company that releases dated rock 'n' roll and aims well below the top of the pops prosper? ...
Jesse Winchester: The quiet and low-key Jesse Winchester
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 12 July 1982
THE SPOTLIGHT of the news media shone brightest on Jesse Winchester in 1977. Jesse Winchester squirmed. ...
Jerry Lee Lewis: A comeback story
Profile and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 27 July 1982
"Jerry Lee Lewis is a sinner, lost an' undone, without God or His Son" — Jerry Lee Lewis as quoted by Nick Tosches in his ...
Blondie: Striving To Be Different
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 12 August 1982
MAINSTREAM HITS HAVE NOT ALTERED BANDS GOALS, SAYS CHRIS STEIN ...
Richard Hell: Rock poet Richard Hell finds some solace
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 6 November 1982
ELVIS PRESLEY, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis defined the classic rock 'n' roll position — stake a claim for living life outside society's mainstream, ...
Jon Hassell: In Search of Future Music
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 2 December 1982
JON HASSELL creates music that falls not so much between, but outside, traditional categories of classical, pop or jazz. Yet, the 45-year-old trumpeter, synthesizer player ...
The Del Fuegos, Rank and File: Rank And File/Del Fuegos: Inn-Square Bar, Boston
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 15 December 1982
COUNTRY ROCK HAS been one of the most popular musical hybrids of the past decade; it's also been one of the most disappointing. ...
Mission of Burma: Top Band Forced To Quit
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 14 January 1983
MISSION OF BURMA, one of Boston's most progressive and popular rock 'n' roll bands, recently released their excellent debut album, vs. One of the few ...
Cream, Mountain: Pappalardi blazed new rock trail
Obituary by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 21 April 1983
FELIX PAPPALARDI, 43-year-old rock producer and musician, died from a gunshot wound in the neck early Sunday morning. He was allegedly shot by his wife, ...
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 21 April 1983
Fall: Provocative, and wordy ...
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 29 April 1983
FLIPPER SUCCEEDS WITH EXCESS; WITH WILD STARES AND PANIXQUAD AT THE CHANNEL; WEDNESDAY NIGHT. ...
The Call: The Paradise Theater, Boston
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 21 May 1983
THE CALL CONQUERS DESPAIR WITH BUST-LOOSE ROCK ...
David Gilmour, Pink Floyd: David Gilmour: Life After Pink Floyd
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 24 May 1984
PINK FLOYD is one of the most popular bands in the history of rock 'n' roll. Pink Floyd is also one of rock 'n' roll's ...
Jocelyn Brown, O'Jays: The O'Jays, Jocelyn Brown: Berklee Performance Center, Boston MA
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 23 July 1984
Camaraderie at the Berklee ...
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 6 September 1984
IN 1970, Neil Young went to Nashville during a break in his solo tour and recorded the song 'Are You Ready For The Country?'. He ...
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 20 February 1985
From the man who created the Sex Pistols, an odyssey into electro-pop opera ...
Pete Townshend: A Charter Member Of The Who Deals With The Paradoxes In His Life
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 26 November 1985
THE SUBJECT IS drug abuse — heroin, cocaine and alcohol — and the speaker is Pete Townshend, former lead guitarist of The Who. Townshend, 40, ...
Trouble Funk, Skin: Paradise Theater, Boston
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 23 April 1986
Trouble Funk's go-go too much of the same ...
Stevie Wonder: Pop Music Or Politics, He Sings Out And Speaks Up For His Beliefs
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 14 August 1986
P.W. BOTHA was on television Tuesday afternoon and Stevie Wonder was steamed Tuesday night. Wonder had been listening to the South African president on a ...
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 27 October 1986
GUITAR HEROES have been a part of rock 'n' roll since the late 1960s. but the punk rock revolution of the late '70s redefined the ...
The Ramones, The Sex Pistols, Sid Vicious: "Poor Sid — You were a good guy, but..."
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 7 November 1986
SID AND Nancy, Alex Cox's film about the life and death of the Sex Pistols' bassist, Sid Vicious, and his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, is a ...
Madhouse: 8 (Warner Bros/Paisley Park)
Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 5 March 1987
OK ROCK SLEUTHS. It's time to hunt for those context clues. Madhouse's debut album, 8, comes our way courtesy of Paisley Park, the custom label ...
Prince: Sign o' the Times (Warner Bros./Paisley Park)
Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 29 March 1987
Here's Prince for all seasons ...
The Beastie Boys: Crude, Rude and No. 1
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 3 April 1987
CLEVELAND — Mike D. and MCA, two-thirds of the Beastie Boys, are sitting in MCA's hotel room after the group's concert. MCA is picking out ...
Ian Hunter: With its new $15m museum, Cleveland will rock
Report by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 17 April 1987
CLEVELAND — A city couldn't have a more enthusiastic rock 'n' roll anthem than Ian Hunter's 'Cleveland Rocks'. In the song, Hunter incessantly proclaims a ...
The Psychedelic Furs: Acceptable Weirdness From Furs
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, June 1987
JOHN ASHTON, guitarist for the Psychedelic Furs, addresses the key issue head on: "What's selling out? What's being a pop band? You can accuse Eurythmics ...
Stevie Ray Vaughan Overcomes Double Trouble: Alcohol and Drugs
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 25 June 1987
NEXT WEDNESDAY, Stevie Ray Vaughan plays Great Woods Center for the Performing Arts, a concert co-sponsored by Miller Genuine Draft. That's about as close to ...
Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam: Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam: Club Casino, Hampton Beach NH
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 3 July 1987
Lisa Lisa is just boring boring ...
The Pogues: Importing the Pogues' brand of rowdy Irish rock
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 22 September 1987
U2 MAY BE the most popular band in the world, but the group that knocked them off the top of Ireland's pop charts recently was ...
Guns N' Roses: Paradise Theater, Boston
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 29 October 1987
New band that's special ...
Profile by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 23 November 1987
ENNUI AND nostalgia can become frequent traveling companions for veteran club-crawlers of the Boston rock scene, those folks searching for a new kind of kick, ...
Tower Records: The Power of Tower
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 29 November 1987
IT WASN'T ENOUGH FOR TOWER RECORDS TO OPEN A SHOP IN BOSTON: IT HAD TO BE THE WORLD'S LARGEST — AND MOST LAVISH — RECORD ...
Steve Earle: Sweet success for one of country's new voices
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 17 December 1987
DEPENDING ON your point of view, country-rocker Steve Earle is an overnight sensation or a guy who fought the good fight for more than a ...
The Fugs: Nightstage, Cambridge, Mass.
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 2 May 1988
THE FUGS – prime satirists of the hippie era, a band resurrected sporadically for live dates in this decade – are on stage, about to ...
Hüsker Dü, Bob Mould: Bob Mould's Quiet Life After Husker Du
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 19 August 1988
FOR THE BETTER part of the 1980s, Husker Du was the leading light of the American rock 'n' roll underground. The Minneapolis-based trio came crashing ...
Profile and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 27 August 1988
DETROIT – "I'm still shaky from this," says Patti Smith, who's been driven by her husband, Fred Smith, through a hellish rainstorm and rush-hour traffic ...
Pere Ubu: The Long, Strange Trip Of Pere Ubu
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 16 September 1988
DAVID THOMAS, lead singer-lyricist of Pere Ubu, on his group's long, strange trip: "The original Pere Ubu had been very much like piling in a ...
Midnight Oil Burns With Activist Fervor
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 6 October 1988
PETER GARRETT, outspoken singer of Midnight Oil, is on the phone, ticking off things the Australian rock 'n' roll group is not. ...
The Call, Harry Dean Stanton: Harry Dean Stanton/Michael Been: Nightstage, Boston
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 26 October 1988
CAMBRIDGE – Harry Dean Stanton – full-time fringe actor (Repo Man; Paris, Texas; The Last Temptation of Christ) and part-time singer-guitarist-harmonica player – has gotten ...
Metallica Moves to Center Stage
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 5 March 1989
LAKELAND, Fl. — Just as Metallica helped change the face of the Grammys — it was one of five acts nominated for the first-ever hard-rock/metal ...
The Ramones: Dee Dee Ramone's Rap'n'Roll
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 17 April 1989
DEE DEE RAMONE, bassist of the Ramones, pops up in concert or on record every so often to sing a hardcore punk song like 'Warthog'. ...
De La Soul: Venus de Milo, Boston MA
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, May 1989
De La Soul's humor fizzles out in concert ...
Prince: Batman: Motion Picture Soundtrack (Warner Bros.)
Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 23 June 1989
A funky soundtrack by Prince ...
Samantha Fox: From topless model to top pop singer
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 1 August 1989
HYANNIS — "I'm not really bothered about being taken seriously, because at the moment I don't want to be serious," says pop singer and former ...
The B-52s: The B-52's Come Back From Tragedy
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 10 August 1989
THE B-52'S are, perhaps, the ultimate summertime, party-time band of the '80s — the upbeat, whacked-out, wigged-out chroniclers of kitsch, the guys and gals who ...
The The: Paradise Theater, Boston
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 21 August 1989
A MAJOR BAND WAITING TO HAPPEN ...
Making It: Heavy Metal in Hollywood
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, November 1989
LOS ANGELES – It's 2:20 a.m., a Sunday, just after the rock clubs on Sunset Boulevard have rousted the last rowdies and kicked out the ...
Warren Zevon: The low-key life of a rock star
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 4 November 1989
LOS ANGELES — These days, it seems every movie and rock star has a charity to tout or a special cause to promote. Singer-songwriter Warren ...
Terence Trent D'Arby: Citi Club, Boston MA
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 20 December 1989
Terence Trent D Arby, pretender to the throne ...
Comment by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 31 December 1989
MYRIAD GENRES and subgenres make up the world of pop music, some complementary, some clashing. Look around, and you'll find heavy metal, hard rock, post-modern, ...
Peter Jenner Journeys Through The Minefields Of The Rock World
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 9 January 1990
IN HIS 46 YEARS, Peter Jenner has seen a lot of rock 'n' roll, and a lot of rock 'n' rollers, come and go. He's ...
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 9 January 1990
IN HIS 46 years, Peter Jenner has seen a lot of rock 'n' roll, and a lot of rock 'n' rollers, come and go. He's ...
Suicide: Ground Zero, Cambridge, MA
Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 18 June 1990
Suicide's Minimalistic Songs Have A Sexy, Dangerous Sound ...
Sinead O'Connor: Great Woods Center for the Performing Arts
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 15 August 1990
MANSFIELD – The last time Sinead O'Connor hit town, in May at the Orpheum, her star was rapidly ascending, and she took the stage with ...
Bob Geldof Shifts Gears, Returns To Irish Roots
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 3 September 1990
HE'S BEST KNOWN AS the driving force behind 1985's Live Aid project, and he still serves on the foundation's board of trustees. ...
Crazy Horse, Neil Young: Neil Young: Rockin' in the Neil world
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 9 September 1990
"HOW MANY guitar solos can you play? I've had it!" declared Neil Young. ...
Cocteau Twins, Mazzy Star: Cocteau Twins/Mazzy Star: Orpheum Theater, Boston
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 19 November 1990
Impassioned Vagueness Of Cocteau Twins ...
The Pixies: Are Pixies Ready For Stardom?
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 23 November 1990
THEY HEADLINED the three-day Reading festival in England earlier this year, getting paid $65,000 to play their off-kilter rock 'n' roll to 50,000 fans. ...
Hawkwind: Space Rock with Humor
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 23 November 1990
CULT BANDS tend to suffer the slings and arrows of the non-believers, and Hawkwind, perhaps England's quintessential cult band, knows it better than most. They've ...
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 13 December 1990
FOR WARREN Zevon, the past year has not been the best of times. It has been rough and it has been weird. To start with, ...
The Ramones: Radio Tracks: DJ Joey Ramone
Report by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 28 December 1990
HOW MANY OF you, if given the shot, would like to host your own radio show? ...
KC & the Sunshine Band: Disco's KC seeks the sunshine once again
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 12 January 1991
KC AND THE Sunshine Band was one of the most successful disco acts of the '70s. They were nominated for nine Grammies, won one, and ...
Crazy Horse, Neil Young: Still riding on Crazy Horse
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 2 February 1991
NO MATTER what his touring format — with high-tech synthesizers and video screens; in a down-home, fiddle-based country band; as part of a horn-led R ...
Slayer, Testament: Orpheum Theater, Boston
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 11 February 1991
Slayer's deafening metal exhilarates, numbs ...
The Replacements: One more time for the Replacements
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 21 February 1991
WHEN WE LAST left the Replacements – autumn 1990 – the band was at a crossroads. Paul Westerberg, the singer-songwriter-guitarist, was proud of a sharp ...
Sisters Of Mercy: Be Advised – They're No Angels
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 29 March 1991
BACK IN THE early '80s Tony James, former bassist of Generation X, was plotting his next assault on the pop world: a controversial sex-drugs-and-outrage spectacle ...
Pet Shop Boys: Orpheum Theater, Boston MA
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 13 April 1991
Bright and bold Pet Shop Boys ...
Come, Dinosaur Jr.: Dinosaur Jr., Come: Citi, Boston MA
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 20 May 1991
Dinosaur Jr. fails to live up to its thunder ...
Bob Dylan: Great Woods Center for the Performing Arts
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 6 July 1991
MANSFIELD – What about Bob? Long before the hit movie came along this summer people have been asking that question about the Bob that is ...
Wayne Newton: South Shore Music Circus, Cohasset
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 30 August 1991
COHASSET – I was on the phone with one of rock's grandest entertainers yesterday and I just had to ask him about one of Las ...
Cannibal Corpse, Guns N' Roses, Ice Cube: Pop's new voices of rage
Comment by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 22 December 1991
THERE WAS a time, not so long ago, when rebellious rockers took on the establishment. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young railed against Richard Nixon's America ...
Comment by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 9 January 1992
IT'S TIME TO re-evaluate that good ol' time rock 'n' roll. Or, as you may discover, not so good ol' time rock 'n' roll. ...
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 23 February 1992
THESE DAYS, rock 'n' roll has become a contact sport. Not all rock 'n' roll, of course. You won't see slam dancing at a Moody ...
Body Count, Ice-T: Ice-T and Body Count: The Paradise, Boston
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 24 February 1992
Ice-T proves street-smart — and stupid ...
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 10 April 1992
A night of body contact with Pearl Jam ...
XTC: On Pop's High Road with XTC
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 12 June 1992
IT'S FAIR TO assume that some people hate their names. But what about rock bands? You can practically hear XTC's Andy Partridge groan over the ...
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 18 June 1992
L7 — on the go, but in gray zone ...
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 17 July 1992
SINGER ALAN VEGA has been explaining how the moniker of his progressive synth-rock duo, Suicide, was never intended to have a negative or personal connotation. ...
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 20 July 1992
Suicide casts a deep, dark spell ...
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: The Nick Cave View: It's Dark Inside
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 31 July 1992
NICK CAVE, the lanky singer-songwriter of the Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, is not one to mince words, even — or especially — if ...
Guns N' Roses, Metallica: Guns N' Roses roll in to Foxboro
Report by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 10 September 1992
"THE TRAIN," says a confident-sounding Wendy Laister, "is absolutely back on the tracks." ...
Guns N' Roses, Metallica: Foxboro Stadium, Foxboro MA
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 13 September 1992
Guns N' Roses vs. Metallica: They're a high-scoring draw ...
Lyle Lovett and his Large Band: The Orpheum Theater, Boston MA
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 19 October 1992
Lovett serves up a sassy mix of country, blues and rock ...
Warren Zevon Flinches at Life Without Humor
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 1993
LAST SUMMER, as he was in the early stages of playing concerts being taped for a live album, Warren Zevon decided the album would be ...
David Bowie: Angie Bowie cuts into the spotlight
Retrospective and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 20 January 1993
WE WERE AT Turner Fisheries – Angela Bowie, David Bowie's famous ex, and I. I nursed two drinks. She ate half a seafood dinner, sent ...
EMF, Tom Jones: Tom Jones' unusual comeback
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 19 February 1993
THE SCRUFFY-LOOKING band on stage is churning out a hard, propulsive groove, a sample of Andrew Dice Clay's voice is bellowing out "Oh!" to punctuate ...
Bon Jovi: The Worcester Centrum
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 20 February 1993
WORCESTER – During the mid-part of the decade just past, Bon Jovi set the standard for American arena rock: middlebrow, confection-like, pop /hard rock with ...
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 27 February 1993
Pompous and pretentious Asia ...
George Clinton: Fresh funk keeps George Clinton cooking
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 5 March 1993
IF FRANK SINATRA was, by some chance, watching the Grammy telecast last week, he'd have likely poured himself another drink and muttered darkly into his ...
Pink Floyd Still Rides Its Dark Side
Retrospective and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 26 March 1993
MOST ROCK RECORDS, even hit records, have a relatively short shelf life. And when most rock stars meet the press, they want to chat up ...
Lindsey Buckingham: Paradise, Boston
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 29 March 1993
LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM was always the least meek of the Mac, Fleetwood Mac, that is, and he was always the guy who put the spice in ...
Wall Of Voodoo: Paradise Theater, Boston
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 30 March 1993
STANARD RIDGWAY, Wall of Voodoo's main singer and songwriter, leads his characters into a lot of sticky predicaments and he doesn't often lead them out. ...
The Auteurs: Auteurs make a big splash before a small crowd
Review and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 14 April 1993
CAMBRIDGE – Hype is a constant factor in the music biz – an irritant and an enticement – but only occasionally can you actually buy ...
Bryan Ferry Follows His Muse To Make The R&B Taxi
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 14 May 1993
BRYAN FERRY spent Sunday afternoon, a splendid sunny day, strolling the Boston Common and being impressed all over again as to how fine Boston looked ...
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 5 June 1993
Hip, retro Suede: the no-grunge alternative ...
PJ Harvey: Less is More for PJ Harvey
Profile and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 25 June 1993
MOST BAND leaders dream of taking it to the top, of packing arenas worldwide. Not Polly Jean Harvey. At least not yet. ...
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, July 1993
LEONARD COHEN does not mind taking extreme positions in his songs. In 1966, he kissed off the memory of a tryst with Janis Joplin in ...
Stone Temple Pilots/Butthole Surfers/Flaming Lips: Polish-American Beach Club, Gardner, MA.
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 2 August 1993
STONE TEMPLE PILOTS singer Scott Weiland had warned the young, aggressively moshing, object-throwing crowd Saturday on the grounds of the Polish-American Beach Club. "We want ...
The Fall: The Crankiest Band From The UK
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 6 August 1993
MARK E. SMITH, leader of the long-running English post-punk band The Fall, says these sorts of things invariably happen to him. ...
Stone Temple Pilots: Moshing Mayhem: STP fan says band beat him in Gardner
Report by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 13 August 1993
ROCK 'N' ROLL can be a rough-and-tumble game, increasingly so in these days of moshing, a highly aggressive dance-cum-contact sport that often takes place in ...
Radiohead: 'Creep' stumbles onto fame
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 8 October 1993
IT'S BARELY NOON, but Radiohead's Thom Yorke has been awake for a very un-rock 'n' roll-like four hours. This certainly can't be one of the ...
Kirsty MacColl: Singer Kirsty MacColl: Wry with a Twist of Laughter
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 12 November 1993
DEPRESSION AND despair have their place in pop music, especially in English pop. In recent years, it's come through most tellingly in the shimmering sadness ...
The Raincoats: Raincoats prove that there's life after punk
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 5 April 1994
CAMBRIDGE – Backstage before their first American gig in 12 years – hey, only their fourth gig period in that time – Raincoats bassist/guitarist/singer Gina ...
Kurt Cobain: Cobain carried his demons on ride to the top
Obituary by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 10 April 1994
HIS CUTTING-EDGE band brought punk rock ideals and alternative music to the American mainstream. He was a millionaire and a provocateur. He should have been ...
Richard Thompson: The Many Moods of Richard Thompson
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 15 April 1994
RICHARD THOMPSON, godfather of grunge? "Well, I think so," the droll singer-guitarist says, on the phone from Columbus, Ohio, during a tour stop. "I was ...
Stone Temple Pilots: Community service ordered for Stone Temple Pilots
Report by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 22 April 1994
IT LOOKS LIKE the Stone Temple Pilots, or at least two members of the popular alternative-rock quartet from San Diego, will be rocking Gardner High ...
Stone Temple Pilots: Band members sued after concert violence
Report by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 26 May 1994
A LEOMINSTER MAN who was assaulted last July at an outdoor concert in Gardner by two members of the Stone Temple Pilots rock band has ...
Kirsty MacColl: Paradise, Boston
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 21 March 1995
Kirsty MacColl Breaks Boundaries ...
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 30 April 1995
As years go by, Faithfull sings haunting songs of A Secret Life ...
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 6 May 1995
IF YOU KNOW one thing about Nancy Sinatra, it's her signature song — and may we suggest it's one of The Signature Songs of All ...
PJ Harvey: Harvey's New Hooks, Persona
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 26 May 1995
POLLY JEAN HARVEY has become, of late, a very public face. Last month's cover of Spin, a recent Tower Pulse, the current issue of Request. ...
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 5 August 1995
IT'S BEEN THREE years since he last toured, and about 15 years since he burst onto the post-punk, avant-garde rock scene: an outré Australian singer-songwriter ...
James Chance & the Contortions: James Chance: Middle East, Cambridge
Review and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 15 September 1995
CAMBRIDGE – James Chance, Milwaukee born 'n' bred, as well as musically educated, tried to fit in when he moved to New York City in ...
Anti-Nowhere League: Mama Kin, Boston
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 26 September 1995
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, for your listening and slam-dancing pleasure: Anti-Nowhere League, a scurrilous pack of London-based louts who began Sunday's show at Mama Kin with ...
k.d. lang: No more ingenue: The Constant Craving of k.d. lang
Profile and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 8 October 1995
NEW YORK – Curled up on a couch in a hotel suite, dressed in baggy black athletic garb, k.d. lang ponders the nature of the ...
Bruce Springsteen: Orpheum Theatre, Boston
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 16 December 1995
BOZO THE FAN yelled to Bruce Springsteen during a silent moment, early in the two-hour set, last night: "Welcome back, Boss!" ...
The Ramones' Last Tour: Rocket To Retirement
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 10 February 1996
"I THINK we're leaving an historical legacy," says Joey Ramone. "We really changed rock 'n' roll. When we came out in '74, rock 'n' roll ...
Steve Earle & the Dukes: Paradise, Boston
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 21 March 1996
Earle returns with country-rock kick ...
The Gun Club: After erratic career, Gun Club's Pierce dies
Report by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 5 April 1996
JEFFREY LEE PIERCE, leader of the band the Gun Club, died Sunday after surgery to treat a blood clot in his brain. He was 37. ...
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, July 1996
RICHARD HELL had an idea earlier this year. ...
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 5 July 1996
ROCK 'N' ROLL often has a lot to do with public image – a preening Mick Jagger, a prancing Tina Turner, a spitting Johnny Rotten, ...
Butthole Surfers: The Butthole Surfers Ride A New Wave Of Popularity
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 19 July 1996
HAS THE WORLD gone mad? Gibby Haynes, lead singer-songwriter of the Butthole Surfers, thinks it's a distinct possibility — and he spoke with us several ...
The Sex Pistols: Never Mind Their Principles, Here's The Sex Pistols
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 9 August 1996
FAIRFAX, Va. — Johnny Rotten is up to his old tricks. He's baiting the crowd — calling those seated in the loge "sissies" — and ...
The Needle And The Damage Done
Report by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 10 August 1996
"I've seen the needle and the damage done / A little part of it in everyone / But every junkie's like a setting sun" — ...
Bob Mould wants to kill off his Frankenstein monster
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 20 September 1996
IF ALTERNATIVE ROCK is Frankenstein's monster, Bob Mould is Dr. Frankenstein. One of 'em, anyway. Or so he feels – although he's far less guilt-ridden ...
Evan Dando, The Lemonheads: Evan Dando: Reckless Idol Through The Lens Darkly
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 20 September 1996
GAY HEAD — It's nearing summer's end on Martha's Vineyard, and Evan Dando, the 29-year-old guiding voice and vision of the Lemonheads, is chilling on ...
David Bowie: Bowie's Birthday Blastoff: Madison Square Garden, NYC
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 11 January 1997
NEW YORK – "It's not much of a tribute, in a way," said David Bowie before the 50th-birthday celebratory show he and a bunch of ...
Jerry Lee Lewis: Hot Tin Roof, Martha's Vineyard
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 26 May 1997
WEST TISBURY – If you'd made a bet that Jerry Lee Lewis would make it through his entire life without playing the Hot Tin Roof ...
Brian Eno Before And After Pop
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 13 July 1997
BRIAN ENO has a theory. Actually, Eno has lots of theories — the 48-year-old, English-born musician probably leads the rock 'n' roll league in this ...
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, August 1997
THEY ARE NOT the next big band from Britain and they could not care less. If one of their albums sold millions of copies, well, ...
Beck Picks Up The Slack And His Last Name
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 8 August 1997
YOU KNOW he's not a loser. It haunted him three years ago, but by now Beck figures most people have come to terms with the ...
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 8 August 1997
The former Talking Head gets comfortable with his outsider status ...
The Cramps: Back from Badsville: The Cramps keep on with their psychobilly
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, November 1997
IF IT AIN'T broke, don't fix it. In a nutshell-of-a-cliché, this is the Cramps' most polite response to skeptics and naysayers who might suggest that ...
The Cure: Robert Smith Gets Happy
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 10 November 1997
After 18 years, The Cure's leader discovers fun ...
Robert Wyatt: The Quiet Dream of Robert Wyatt
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 16 January 1998
A radical thinker composes for the imaginative mind ...
Ryuichi Sakamoto Goes Avant-Classical
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 8 February 1998
THE LAST TIME I saw Ryuichi Sakamoto he was jumping about on the stage of the Paradise, tweaking and twiddling synthesizer knobs, wearing a Devo-esque, ...
Morcheeba cherishes songs, not sounds
Profile and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 29 April 1998
IT WASN'T LONG ago that the London-based brothers Ross and Paul Godfrey were making music in obscurity, eking out what Ross Godfrey calls "a poor ...
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 1 May 1998
Still fast and loud, the proto-punks play it straighter and harder ...
The Brian Jonestown Massacre: Free To Be Brian Jonestown Massacre
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 29 May 1998
THE BRIAN Jonestown Massacre, a West Coast psychedelic pop band, has been making terrific music for eight years — indie label CDs like Methodrone, Their ...
The B-52s: The B-52's Latest Wave
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 29 May 1998
IS IT TIME YET? Cindy Wilson, one of the B-52's three singers-front folks, waves a figurative finger in the wind. "I think," she says, "it ...
Depeche Mode's sonic revival: The godfathers of techno tour again
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, October 1998
IT'S ABOUT A month ago, and Depeche Mode -- Martin Gore, David Gahan, and Andy Fletcher -- are in England, on the eve of a ...
The Kinks: Preservation is packed with power
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 5 October 1998
IT HAS BEEN Boston Rock Opera's mission, since its 1993 inception, to dust off, kick up, give respect to, and sometimes tweak the rock operas ...
Kiss and Tell: The Ultimate Show Band Talk about Music, Makeup, and More
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 6 November 1998
TAKE A LOOK at the picture of KISS accompanying this story. You may now stop reading, if you wish, or so says KISS bassist-singer Gene ...
Alice Cooper Box Set Keeps The Horror Alive
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 7 May 1999
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT may be a divisive issue in America, but it has been very good to Alice Cooper. ...
Hole, Courtney Love: The Lesson Of Love: Courtney's Got The Hole World In Her Hands
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 14 May 1999
IT IS A STILL-SLEEPY Courtney Love whose familiar voice comes over the phone line early one morning from Cincinnati. It's the first day of her ...
Cher: The Beat Goes On: For the Fourth Decade in a Row, Cher Hits a High Note
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 16 July 1999
CHER KNOWS WHAT it means to ride rock and roll's wild roller coaster. Over the years, she has zoomed to the top and plummeted to ...
Nashville Pussy: Nashville Breaks Out: Sex, Jokes and Rock 'N' Roll Help An Indie Band On The Rise
Profile and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 30 July 1999
"WE ARE,'' says guitarist Ruyter Suys (pronounced "Rider Sighs''), of the band Nashville Pussy, "aiming for the more basic enthusiasms of life, just having a ...
John Lydon, Public Image Ltd: No Future? At Least Lydon Isn't Hung Up On The Past
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 22 August 1999
JOHN LYDON – once (and probably forever) known as Johnny Rotten – does not stomp around the world in a bad mood, contrary to popular ...
Puff Daddy's New CD, Forever, Means A Chance For Promotion
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 24 August 1999
THE SWITCH is flipped and the thin figure dressed in white, wearing a cap and dark glasses, sporting thousands of dollars' worth of jewelry and ...
Tom Waits: The Long Waits: Return Of An Ageless Artist
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 19 September 1999
THERE ARE artists — like, say, Cher — who manage to appear forever young. And then there is Tom Waits, who always seemed old before ...
George Clinton: Keeping It Crazy: George Clinton Stirs Up the Funk
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 8 October 1999
WHEN THE NEXT millennium beckons, George Clinton — ageless funkateer, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, the Atomic Dog himself — will be in Fiji, ...
Report and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 17 October 1999
NEW YORK – Annie Lennox and David Stewart – former lovers, forever the best of friends, and once again musical collaborators – share a couch ...
The The's True Self Founder Matt Johnson Continues To Break New Ground
Profile and Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 28 April 2000
MATT JOHNSON – singer-songwriter-guitarist and all-around main man of the band The The – left school at 15, embarked on a solo recording career, and ...
Roxy Music: Out Of The Blue, Roxy Music Is Back
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 15 July 2001
AFTER BLAZING a dazzling art-rock trail during the early 1970s, after establishing themselves as the epitome of pop elegance through the early 1980s, and after ...
ABBA: Mamma Mia! ABBA's Music Is Bjorn Again
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 19 August 2001
ABBA: the band whose biographical entry begins every pop music encyclopedia; the Swedish quartet composed of two couples — Agnetha Fältskog and Björn Ulvaeus and ...
Neil Innes: Innes's Humor Doesn't Compromise His Rock
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 9 October 2001
CAMBRIDGE – Neil Innes, a bald man sporting a gray, Beatles-like wig, took the stage at the House of Blues Sunday night. The members of ...
Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros: The Palladium, Boston
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 15 October 2001
STRUMMER MELLOWS WITHOUT LOSING HIS EDGE ...
Tom Waits: With Morbidity On His Mind, Tom Waits Makes A Double Play
Interview by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, May 2002
Tom Waits — the raspy-voiced singer-songwriter and occasional actor and playwright — has released 14 albums in nearly 30 years. But he has a habit ...
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 13 November 2002
A BRYAN FERRY show is not quite like a Roxy Music show, even if the singer is the same and the current 11-piece band includes ...
Death Cab for Cutie: Paradise, Boston
Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 7 June 2011
IT HAD TO BE Death Cab for Cutie at the Paradise Sunday. The $35 tickets sold out in a flash when they went on sale ...
Kanye West: Kanye West: TD Garden, Boston
Live Review by Maura Johnston, The Boston Globe, 4 September 2016
"IT'S A GOOD YEAR to be a Kanye West fan," Kanye West said near the end of his show at TD Garden on Saturday night. ...
Live Review by Maura Johnston, The Boston Globe, 15 September 2016
THE CURRENT TREND of downcast pop – minor keys, lyrics drenched with bitterness, an overwhelming sense of despair – can be at least partially traced ...
Against Me!: Shape Shift With Me
Review by Maura Johnston, The Boston Globe, 15 September 2016
THE FLORIDA-BORN Against Me! has been one of the standard-bearers of politicized nth-generation punk since their debut in 1998, thanks to the strangled voice and ...
Lizzo: The Year of Lizzo took its time getting here
Preview by Maura Johnston, The Boston Globe, 8 September 2019
IT'S SAFE TO say that Lizzo is one of 2019's defining pop artists. Her album Cuz I Love You is entrenched in the Billboard 200 ...
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