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Dennis Wilson Reborn on 'Blue'

Dennis Wilson's rocky rock 'n' roll life ended twenty-five years ago this December in the ocean he loved. The Beach Boy with the real-life passion for sunning, surfing and California girls would not have even been in his brothers' band if their mom hadn't insisted. But while Dennis never did quite distinguish himself behind the drumkit (that's Hal ...

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Big Pimpin' in Texas

SXSW Rule #147: When in doubt, stay away from the road-weary indie bands (you can always catch them two weeks from now at that cool club up the street) and seek out the weird stuff. This strategy paid dividends for me three times this year: 1) Goat the Head (left): I wandered down a broken-bottle-strewn back alley to catch these Norwegian ...

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R.E.M. Barbecue Bushes in Texas

If you're going to pick a fight with a man, you might as well do it in his hometown, and -- what the hell -- you might as well call out his mom. So went the thinking of Michael Stipe, as he and his R.E.M. mates took the stage of Stubb's Bar-B-Que in Austin to cap off the opening night of South by Southwest. Stipe blamed President Bush for turning ...

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Best Songs of 2007: No. 17

'Makes Me Wonder,' Maroon 5 Too cool for this one? Too bad. This is among the best three-and-a-half minutes of blue-eyed soul not recorded by men named Hall, Oates or Gibb. Fifty percent kiss-off love song, 50 percent political rant ("I don't believe in you anymore" is inspired by our nation's fearless leader), the lyrics don't even matter, ...

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Best Songs of 2007: No. 8

'101,' Albert Hammond Jr. The Strokes guitarist may have done hard time in New York, but, on his debut solo single, the son of the man who gave us 'It Never Rains in Southern California' shows us where he left his heart. Ditching Big Apple grit for a breezy guitar riff that begs to be blared from a convertible, Hammond sets this hazy, melancholy ...

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Best Songs of 2007: No. 3

'Tears Dry on Their Own,' Amy Winehouse Not since Sinéad O'Connor blew up and flamed out has an artist so selflessly bared her soul -- and so recklessly aired her dirty laundry -- for our listening pleasure. Sure, the beehive hairdo and the Motown backing track are borrowed, but the anguish, defiance and splendor that gush from this ...

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Best Songs of 2007: No. 2

'Good Life,' Kanye West 'Stronger,' Mr. West's pedestrian first single from the otherwise sublime 'Graduation,' will prove to be the 'Bombs Over Baghdad' to the 'Hey Ya!' that is 'Good Life.' Like the mightiest anthems from Prince, the Jackson 5 and, yes, OutKast, this ever-building, panoramic party jam threatens to bust apart at any moment. ...

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