Prairie Pop: An interview with Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo’s brand of drone-rock is certainly hypnotic—narcotizing even—but their live shows are never boring. That has much to do with this threesome’s restless desire to switch up their act with e...
Author Archives: Kembrew McLeod
Prairie Pop: Jump up and get down
Editor’s Note: Kembrew McLeod’s two-year-old son, Alasdair, is sitting in for our regular Prairie Pop columnist this issue. Like many adult music critics, he likes to coin genre names, and lately Ala...
Prairie Pop: The story of Quirk
When Too Much Joy frontman Tim Quirk played Riverfest in the early-1990s, things didn’t go well. Mother Nature unleashed a shitstorm of epic proportions, so after a long delay, the gig was relocated ...
Prairie Pop: For those about to pop
Regular Prairie Pop columnist Kembrew McLeod has turned over this month’s edition to Umläut Nideldick—the famous German song doctor and rock and roll life coach. The following text is drawn from Nide...
Prairie Pop: Jonathan Richman: Playground Punk (Download)
Jonathan Richman will play at Gabe’s on Feb. 28 – 8:00 p.m. Most proto-punk legends don’t write songs like “I’m a Little Dinosaur” or “Ice Cream Man,” but Jonathan Richman isn’t your typi...
DOWNLOAD: The “ILLBOARD” Hot 100 playlist – Kembrew’s guide to goi...
DOWNLOAD THE PLAYLIST If you’re like me, Christmas songs probably send you into a murderous rage that ends with a trail of bloody reindeer and a decapitated Salvation Army Santa (those incessant ring...
Prairie Pop: Putting the Mental back in Instrumental
My son Alasdair turns two next month, and lately he has been immersing himself in the wild world of sound. If mom walks up the creaky wooden stairs to his bedroom, he’ll say, “Mommy sound!” Or, when ...
Prairie Pop: The Chump and the Champ
At the beginning of his professional boxing career, Cassius Clay was primarily known for winning an Olympic gold medal and possessing a loud mouth. Most sportswriters hated him, especially the old gu...
Prairie Pop: The Iowa roots of the “Paul is Dead” hoax
Did you ever hear about the “Paul is Dead” rumor, involving the Beatles’ Paul McCartney? Did you know it originated in Iowa? Back in 1969, news spread that he died in a car accident and was secretly ...
Prairie Pop: To Hell in a Handbasket – “Paradise Lost” and the story of ...
In 1993, three second grade boys were murdered in West Memphis, Arkansas—a deeply conservative community in the heart of the Bible Belt. Naturally, Satanism was blamed and suspicion was cast on a tri...
Prairie Pop: Black Rain Onslaught – Pitchfork Preview + Interview with Tim Hecker...
So, you are a composer and performer whose music requires close listening, preferably in the dark. Your recent Iowa City show at the First United Methodist Church blew the audience away—or, rather, i...
Atomic Andy Kaufman: The Comedian That Loved to Bomb
Early in Andy Kaufman’s career, the comedic performance artist sometimes opened for musicians—including, implausibly, schlock-popper Barry Manilow and R&B greats the Temptations. The latte...
Fishbone is Back! – An interview with Fishbone Bassist Norwood Fisher...
I made it out of the ‘80s, ‘90s, and ‘00s without a single tattoo, but if I did get inked, it likely would have been a Fishbone logo. They were my favorite band when I was a teen, and I wasn’t alone....
Strange Attraction: An Interview with Claudia Gonson of the Magnetic Fields...
The Magnetic Fields, the brainchild of pop prodigy Stephin Merritt, hold a unique place in my musical heart. I came across the group purely by chance in 1994 after finding their Holiday album in a do...
Prairie Pop: Identity Adorned
“Come with us through melody to the four corners of the earth,” the KTLA station announcer said as a mysterious man mesmerized viewers with a blissful gaze. “Hear music exotic and familiar spring fro...