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Iman Lababedi

Iman Lababedi

Iman Lababedi was a freelance rock critic in the 1980s, took a break of 20 years, and has been writing and editing the music blog rocknyc.live since 2009. He considers this to be in many ways a golden age for pop music and hopes you are enjoying it too.

Rock NYC

64 articles

List of articles in the library

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The Clash: Heart & Mind: The Paul Simonon Interview

Interview by Iman Lababedi, Creem, May 1981

WHATEVER YOU think of the Clash — and I haven't much cared for them since 'White Man In Hammersmith Palais' — a couple of things ...

Pearl Harbour & The Explosions: Everbody's Boring but Pearl Harbour!

Interview by Iman Lababedi, Creem, July 1981

AT THE END of a nine-week American tour, on Easter Sunday 1980 in San Francisco, Pearl Harbour and the Explosions, er, exploded. Due to musical ...

Romeo Void: It's A Condition (415 Records)

Review by Iman Lababedi, Creem, August 1981

IF YOU TORE Romeo Void's debut LP down to its essence, what you'd get wouldn't be a million miles away from a collection or torch ...

Spandau Ballet Want You To Dance. That's All.

Report and Interview by Iman Lababedi, Creem, August 1981

ON THE DAY that Bobby Sands finally starved himself to death and two hours after Spandau Ballet's first ever press conference I'm in the coffee ...

Echo & The Bunnymen: Heaven Up Here (Sire/Warner Bros.)

Review by Iman Lababedi, Creem, October 1981

AT FIRST, I had Echo and the Bunnymen pigeon-holed as doomy Doorsy dumbos. But then, slowly, cautiously, Crocodiles slithered up my leg. It began harmlessly ...

The Cure: Three Imaginary Cures

Interview by Iman Lababedi, Creem, December 1981

NEW YORK — In C.S. Lewis's children's book The Last Battle, he describes heaven as a place where all the good things last forever, and ...

Ultravox: Rage In Eden (Chrysalis)

Review by Iman Lababedi, Creem, January 1982

HEIL! HEIL! WE'RE THE VOXIES ...

Madness: 7 (Stiff America)

Review by Iman Lababedi, Creem, February 1982

I SUPPOSE that the proof that Madness have handled the precarious business of being a teeny-bopper band with a measurable degree of humor, aplomb and ...

Au Pairs: Equal Shares For The Au Pairs

Interview by Iman Lababedi, Creem, May 1982

"He works the car, she the sink She's not here to think Sits with the paper, discuss the news She doesn't have political views" 'Diet' ...

Olivia Newton-John: Olivia Newton John: Physical (MCA)

Review by Iman Lababedi, Creem, May 1982

I CAME TO Physical with an open mind. I thought the single was her best since the Travolta duet and I enjoyed about a quarter ...

Joan Jett Is A Very Nice Girl

Interview by Iman Lababedi, Creem, June 1982

The Public's Vindication of an Ex-Runaway ...

The Bongos: Banging The Bongos

Profile and Interview by Iman Lababedi, Creem, August 1982

NEW YORK — "Baby psychedelia," claims Billy Altman three songs into the Bongos' first set at the Bottom Line. "Like an early Nervus Rex if ...

Richard Hell: To Hell With Destiny

Interview by Iman Lababedi, The East Village Eye, August 1982

A TRIP down destiny street can take place any time. ...

Marshall Crenshaw's True Pop Ways

Profile and Interview by Iman Lababedi, Creem, September 1982

"I don't try to hang anybody up or get anybody over-involved in my hang-ups. I don't try to bore people with my problems. The main ...

August Darnell, Kid Creole & The Coconuts: August Darnell Gets Even With Everybody (For Forcing Him To Make Race Music & Other Sins)

Interview by Iman Lababedi, Creem, December 1982

ON A hot Wednesday evening I'm playing flick-yer-bic with the dial on my television, you know: flick — Three's Company — flick — Masterpiece Theatre ...

Elvis Costello: The Palladium, New York

Live Review by Iman Lababedi, Creem, 31 December 1982

IT HAD been 10 months since I last saw Elvis Costello; in between I'd watched him play footsie with Tom Snyder, straight man to George ...

Altered Images: Clare Grogan's Altered Images: Thank Heaven For Little Girls

Interview by Iman Lababedi, Creem, January 1983

"I just wanted to get to know her, really. She was just kind of fascinating."— Director Bill Forsyth, explaining why he cast Clare Grogan in ...

The Undertones: Brightness On The Edge Of Derry

Interview by Iman Lababedi, Creem, February 1983

NEW YORK — A SHORT HISTORY OF DERRY, IRELAND:1688 — Britain lay siege to Derry City for 105 days.1976 — The Undertones are formed. ...

Killing Joke: The Killing Joke Goes On (Forever)

Interview by Iman Lababedi, Creem, March 1983

NEW YORK—During the summer of '81, I wrote a review of London band Killing Joke's second album What's This For...! for the Village Voice; in ...

Grace Jones: Are You Ready For A Brand New (Disco) Beat?

Interview by Iman Lababedi, Creem, April 1983

IF I WAS writing in Australia for Tie Yer Kangaroo Down rock mag, or in Germany for Ach Tung – Der March Goes On, or ...

The Raincoats: An Old Raincoat Will Never Let You Down

Profile and Interview by Iman Lababedi, Creem, May 1983

NEW YORK — After the interview is over, Ana da Silva gives me a crash course on Portugese politics. Portugal is her homeland and she ...

The Pretenders: Pretenders Progress Report: Chambers on the Chaingang

Interview by Iman Lababedi, Creem, June 1983

SENSIBLE. THAT'S the word for Pretenders drummer Martin Chambers. Playing everything from progressive rock to proto-pub-rock professionally since 1967, he's a stolid albeit logical player ...

Elvis Costello: Growing Up Angry

Profile by Iman Lababedi, Creem, July 1983

"I'd like to be a funeral director..." — Elvis Costello, 1980 ...

Fabulous Thunderbirds: The Fabulous Thunderbirds: They're Tearing It Up Again!

Interview by Iman Lababedi, Creem, July 1983

THIS IS WHAT we call the irresponsible rock crit at his worst, enjoying the company of the band he's talking to so much he doesn't ...

Altered Images: Bite (Epic — import LP)

Review by Iman Lababedi, The East Village Eye, August 1983

NEITHER THE prosaic nor the lexicon of love, love is still the emotion Clare Grogan is taking a bite out of. A smooth profuse camouflage ...

Lita Ford: From Runaway To Metal Goddess: Lita Ford's Got BLOOD If You Want It!

Profile and Interview by Iman Lababedi, Creem, August 1983

Out Of The Blue (Stepping Out) ...

Man Parrish: Man (Parrish) Made Synth Dances

Interview by Iman Lababedi, Creem, November 1983

NEW YORK — Hands clap, a dog barks, a tonal drum pattern clicks, a bass drum pattern takes center stage, four notes from a synth ...

The Bangles: Bangles For Sale

Interview by Iman Lababedi, Creem, June 1985

AT THE CBS building in Manhattan guitarist Susanna Hoffs (all black tights and mini-skirt) explains the Bangles' modus operandi:"It's hard to work keeping your sense of ...

Katrina and the Waves: Katrina & The Waves: Doing Swimmingly

Interview by Iman Lababedi, Creem, October 1985

ONE OF THE real pleasures in chronicling the popular music business is in watching the heady excess of overnight stardom. For instance, in the Christmas ...

Bananarama: These Charming Girls

Interview by Iman Lababedi, Creem, December 1986

"Who steals my purse steals trash, 'tis something, nothing; 'twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands. But he who filches from me ...

Big Audio Dynamite: No. 10, Upping St. (Epic)

Review by Iman Lababedi, Creem, April 1987

IF BIG AUDIO Dynamite's second LP is a de facto Clash reunion, with Joe Strummer and Mick Jones co-producing and co-writing a number of songs, ...

The Beastie Boys: Licensed to Ill

Review by Iman Lababedi, Creem, May 1987

THE MOST EXCITING white rock album since Never Mind the Bollocks has lousy politics. ...

Squeeze: Access All Areas

Interview by Iman Lababedi, Creem, September 1987

Don't Pull That Trigger ...

John Barry: The Man With The Golden Baton

Interview by Iman Lababedi, Creem, October 1987

COMPOSER AND conductor John Barry has scored 12 of the 15 James Bond movies, which is an impressive part of a spectacular career. However, on ...

David Bowie, Squeeze: Giants Stadium, E. Rutherford, NJ

Live Review by Iman Lababedi, Creem, December 1987

"I DON'T LIKE SPIDERS & SNAKES..." ...

The Cure: Race and Gender: Thisism, Thatism

Comment by Iman Lababedi, Creem, February 1988

IN 1981 I interviewed the Cure for CREEM. That was three years after they'd released their paean to Albert Camus's superb existentialist novel, The Stranger. ...

The Jesus & Mary Chain: Darklands Visible

Interview by Iman Lababedi, Creem, March 1988

1. I Fall To Pieces. ...

The Jam, The Smiths: The Smiths and The Jam: The Great English Rock Group

Comment by Iman Lababedi, Creem, March 1988

THE SMITHS broke up recently. No need for tears. The Smiths were a fine band, sure, but I doubt they made your life — and ...

Bright Eyes: Radio City Music Hall, NYC

Live Review by Iman Lababedi, RockNYC, 10 March 2011

THE LAST word we heard as we left Radio City Music Hall last night, was "Mercy", repeated twice – once by Conor Oberst and once ...

Bright Eyes: Oh, Mercy: Bright Eyes at Radio City Music Hall, NYC

Live Review by Iman Lababedi, RockNYC, 10 March 2011

THE LAST word we heard as we left Radio City Music Hall last night, was "Mercy", repeated twice – once by Conor Oberst and once ...

LCD Soundsystem: Madison Square Garden

Live Review by Iman Lababedi, RockNYC, 3 April 2011

JAMES MURPHY is Irish, so why not a wake? Following his decision to kill off the LCD Soundsystem franchise, lead singer Murphy announced a last hurrah ...

TV On The Radio: Radio City Music Hall

Live Review by Iman Lababedi, RockNYC, 15 April 2011

THE DAY AFTER the release of their somewhere between very good and great new album, TV On The Radio took over Radio City Music hall ...

Tyler, The Creator: Goblin

Review by Iman Lababedi, RockNYC, 26 May 2011

FORGET THE controversy. No, wait, we can't. The controversy is a breath of fresh air. If you listen to the album you might be confused ...

Jay-Z, Kanye West: Kanye West and Jay-Z: Watch The Throne

Review by Iman Lababedi, RockNYC, 10 August 2011

THIS ISN'T AS crappy as I expected, not the disaster 'H.A.M.' and 'Otis' promised us. Better than Jay-Z's BP3, not as good as Fantasy or, ...

Adele: 21

Review by Iman Lababedi, RockNYC, 16 August 2011

I HAVE HELD off writing about this hugely successful slice of AOR for months and months because it didn't seem worth the effort. ...

David Guetta: Nothing But the Beat

Review by Iman Lababedi, RockNYC, 13 September 2011

IT IS NOT THAT Nothing But the Beat is substantially worse than One Love; it is worse but not substantially. It is that it is a stylistic dead ...

Katy Perry: Madison Square Garden, New York

Live Review by Iman Lababedi, RockNYC, 16 November 2011

IT WAS THE 118th date on Katy Perry's California Dreaming Tour. I know that for certain because, standing on a pink cloud, held up by ...

Rihanna: Talk That Talk

Review by Iman Lababedi, RockNYC, 21 November 2011

RATED R FOUND THE Barbadian well pissed at Chris Brown and out for revenge to disappointing results. Loud seemed to find the middle ground behind the bucolic Rated ...

Taylor Swift: Madison Square Garden, November 22nd, 2011

Live Review by Iman Lababedi, RockNYC, 24 November 2011

STANDING ON A PLATFORM in the middle of the Arena, Taylor Swift looked genuinely amazed. A young girl in the cheap seats randomly began to ...

Swedish House Mafia: Madison Square Garden, New York NY

Live Review by Iman Lababedi, RockNYC, 18 December 2011

THE DIFFERENCE between House as the prevailing form of dance and house as a texture in modern pop is the difference between foreground and background. ...

Glen Campbell: Town Hall, New York

Live Review by Iman Lababedi, RockNYC, 9 January 2012

IT WAS 64 DEGREES in Manhattan Saturday afternoon, the world had taken a turn for the milder and, though it was the dead of winter, spring ...

Megadeth: Theater at Madison Square Garden, NYC

Live Review by Iman Lababedi, RockNYC, 31 January 2012

DAVE MUSTAINE made a fan out of me with two actions. Neither musical. ...

Ed Sheeran: Mercury Lounge, NYC

Live Review by Iman Lababedi, RockNYC, 2 February 2012

WHAT'S WITH Ed Sheeran and homelessness? The subject provides two short stories and three songs during his second set ever in the US at Mercury ...

Madonna: Yankee Stadium, Bronx NY

Live Review by Iman Lababedi, RockNYC, 7 September 2012

AT THE MIDWAY point of Madonna's lousy Yankee Stadium set Thursday night, she hectors the exhausted audience like a shrewish old maid, on the use ...

The Beatles, Marshall Crenshaw: Marshall Crenshaw's Incredible Simulators: B.B. Kings, New York

Live Review by Iman Lababedi, RockNYC, 6 January 2013

IN 1978, Marshall Crenshaw played John Lennon to Glen Burtnik's Paul McCartney in the touring company of Beatlemania. 35 years later the two men were ...

One Direction: Midnight Memories

Review by Iman Lababedi, RockNYC, 29 November 2013

IF NIALL HORAN, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson, referred to as One Direction, had thought it through, they would have cut at ...

Avicii: True: Avicii By Avicii

Review by Iman Lababedi, RockNYC, 29 March 2014

TRUE, WHEN it comes to EDM you have to be a little conservative and reactionary at the same time because if dance ain't dance, well, ...

Lana Del Rey: Ultraviolence (Interscope)

Review by Iman Lababedi, RockNYC, 23 June 2014

SOMETIMES OTHER writers do your work for you and Caryn Ganz's  (former editor at Spin) excellent Rolling Stone review of Lana Del Rey's sophomore effort ...

Sufjan Stevens: Beacon Theatre, New York NY

Live Review by Iman Lababedi, RockNYC, 12 April 2015

THE DIFFERENCE between Rufus Wainwright's full length lament for his late mother, All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu, and Sufjan Stevens, Carrie And Lowell, is ...

Swet Shop Boys: Webster Hall, New York NY

Live Review by Iman Lababedi, RockNYC, 14 April 2017

SWET SHOP BOYS performed a very neat trick at Webster Hall on Wednesday night: they made Pakistan cool again and brought the 90 million odd ...

Olivia Rodrigo: Radio City Music Hall, New York City

Live Review by Iman Lababedi, RockNYC, 28 April 2022

LAST NIGHT at Radio City Music Hall, Olivia Rodrigo provided a whole lotta deja-vu as she performed her hugely successful debut album, Sour, as well ...

Jay-Z, Kanye West: The Fall of Jay-Z and Ye

Retrospective by Iman Lababedi, RockNYC, 20 April 2023

BETWEEN THE TRAGIC murder of Biggie Smalls in 1997 and Jay-Z's temporary retirement in 2003, he and his producer Kanye West dominated the rap scene. ...

Beyoncé, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Kanye West: The Greatest Pop Star by Decade!

Comment by Iman Lababedi, RockNYC, 18 May 2023

PLEASE NOTE THAT I said popstar and not musician, so no Irving Berlin or George Gershwin… ...

James Brown: Think!

Review by Iman Lababedi, RockNYC, 7 June 2023

IT IS 1960 and we are along the lined streets of early James Brown, having steadily moved from Little Richard inspired tonal rock to Ray ...

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