Robin Hilton

Be careful what you wish for. In a surreal and comical new video for Sonny & The Sunsets' "Cheap Extensions," a man's obsession is his undoing. In this case, the object of his desire is some sort of supernatural discount hairpiece, and his lust for it nearly destroys the world.

This week's guest Quizmaster is Brandon Barnes, drummer for the Chicago-based punk band Rise Against. Known for packing a punch at the kit, Barnes actually got his start in jazz and was influenced early on by drummers such as Elvin Jones and Tony Williams. So some of Barnes' picks for ...

In the past 20 years, the world has gotten windier. Maybe it's global warming, maybe it's some kind of cyclical pattern. But whatever it is, winds have picked up by about five percent, and extreme winds caused by storms are up 10 percent.

This unexplained occurrence is at least ...

This week, Foo Fighters releases its latest project, Sonic Highways. Why "project" rather than album? Sonic Highways is more than just eight new songs. It's also an eight-part documentary currently running on HBO. Together, the album and film series look at the intersection of geography and music. It's what ...

Americans can be pretty grumpy on the outside, even when they're actually happy and content on the inside. The Japanese are often the opposite: Civilized and happy on the outside, but perfectly miserable on the inside. (At least that's the assessment my Japanese friends shared with me back when I ...

No special theme to this week's Drum Fill Friday, unless you count "awesome" as a theme. I've got a little bit of metal, a little bit of R&B, some disco and '90s rock and roll wrapped up in this baby. If some of these feel too challenging, just remember the ...

Imagine an evening where you just around with your closest friends or family, and all you do is play music for each other. No TV or video games. No texting. Just a bunch of songs and some great conversations about what you love, or don't love and why.

It's kind ...

The creatures you are about to see are not Yetis. They're not aliens or mythical beasts. The truth is, we don't really know what they are, who they are or where they're from. We only know they call themselves "the one and only PPL MVR," and claim to be some ...

It's been more than a decade, now, since José González first burrowed into our hearts with his inspired and deeply moving cover of The Knife song "Heartbeats." (Remember that bouncing ball video?) That track appeared on the Swedish singer-songwriter's 2003 debut album Veneer, a collection of sometimes moody ...

It turns out all Chaz Bundick really wants to do is dance. Since releasing his debut album as Toro Y Moi in 2010, the 27 year-old musician has staked a career on making sometimes idiosyncratic but soulful pop, with occasional shades of R&B. But for his latest project, Bundick assumes ...

We got a bunch of truly disturbing song suggestions from listeners for our Question Of The Week. (Some of you clearly have a lot of issues to work out). So to celebrate Halloween, we've put together a playlist with some of our favorite picks. Turn off the lights, turn up ...

This week's Drum Fill Friday comes courtesy Otis Brown III, a young jazz drummer and composer who's best known for his work with Joe Lovano, but who recently released his own debut solo album, The Thought Of You. Brown's selected a number of intros and fills from some of his ...

It's easy to define the world in absolutes, but it rarely leads to truth. Reality is usually more complicated, mostly colored in shades of gray, and often unknowable. It's a never-ending struggle to make sense of each other, ourselves and our desires.

The strange and transfixing story that unfolds in ...

"Paradise Girls" is bright and upbeat, defined by fluttery percussion and syncopated guitar lines. The song was inspired by the band's long roster of female heroes, including 'Joan Jett, Janet Jackson, [and] Kim Gordon.' For more on La Isla Bonita, visit the band's website.

Drummer Janet Weiss is a force. For the past 20 years, her distinctive punch, precision and signature head swing while at the kit has been a fierce anchor for the bands Quasi, Wild-Flag, Stephen Malkmus And The Jicks and most prominently Sleater-Kinney. Now that Sleater-Kinney is back together, following ...

Sleater-Kinney is back together, has a new album coming out Jan. 20 via Sub Pop records, and will go on tour early next year. The album is called No Cities to Love, and you can listen to the first single, "Bury Our Friends," right here.

It's been eight ...

One thing that really struck me while putting together this week's batch of drum fills is how different they sound. I don't mean the timing or fill patterns themselves. I mean the timbre of the drums and the way they were recorded. You've got the super tight kits that pop ...

This week's puzzler comes courtesy Stella Mozgawa, drummer for the L.A. rock group Warpaint. The band is currently on tour for its moody, self-titled album, released at the beginning of the year. Mozgawa's picks for this week's quiz range from '80s pop to experimental rock, R&B and electronic music. ...

It's impossible to know for certain what tomorrow may bring, but that doesn't keep us from trying. In the captivating new video for her song "Fortune Teller," Czech singer-songwriter Marketa Irglova ponders her own future and the endless possibilities of an unpredictable life.

The six-minute piece unfolds in grassy ...

I don't get out to see many films these days. But I did recently catch a matinee of the super duper popcorn movie Guardians Of The Galaxy. In addition to some spectacular CGI, the film was supported by a solid foundation of Top 40 Hits, largely from the 1970s, such ...