OH NO, NOT A LOSER, BABY

By DAN AQUILANTE
October 10, 2008 - BECK is a stylistic chameleon whose musical colors can change from the blues to country to folk, to funk or hip-hop as easily as flipping a switch. At the United Palace Theatre on Wednesday, at the first of a three-show series concluding tonight, he showed that skill during a 20-plus song set that served as a career retrospective. Beck and his...

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• CAB GETS GOOD MILEAGE

  By DAN AQUILANTE

  October 8, 2008 -

  IF you've ever hailed Death Cab for Cutie, you know the Seattle quartet usually gives a smooth albeit melancholy cruise in concert. But at Radio City Music Hall on Monday, they hit the gas to...more >

• FEWER FRETS

  By ZACK GREENSPON

  October 7, 2008 -

  JON McLaughlin worries. A lot. The 26-year-old Hoosier worries about his music. He worries about touring. He worries about record sales. And then he worries about the little things, too. So how...more >

• MPFREES

  By MAXINE SHEN

  October 7, 2008 -

  Jon McLaughlin, "Beating My Heart" Charmingly poppy and heartfelt, it's a reminder to embrace what inspires you. Buy the album here. Velvet Code, "Say You Love Me"...more >

• AN OASIS FOR BEATLES FANS

  By DAN AQUILANTE

  October 7, 2008 -

  ANY Beatles lover who finds it remarkable how one band crafted so many songs that attached to the soul will appreciate Oasis' skill at making new music that smartly salutes them. It's easy...more >

• HE'S GOT THE WHOLE WORLD ON HIS MIND

  By MARY HUHN

  October 7, 2008 -

  'I love Lou Reed so much. He's one of my best friends." You don't often hear those words referring to the curmudgeonly rock star, but for Antony Hegarty, the lead singer of Antony...more >

• BEN GIBBARD

  DEATH CAB SINGER ALL WET, BUT HITS NO. 1

  By JOSEPH BARRACATO

  October 5, 2008 -

  DEATH Cab for Cutie marked its 10th anniversary as a band with a career milestone: the group's sixth studio album, "Narrow Stairs," which became its first to top the Billboard 200 album...more >

• 'CON' ARTISTS

  TEGAN & SARA'S TWIN TONES

  By REBECCA SILVERSTEIN

  October 5, 2008 -

  IT SEEMS ODD to speak of one of the Quin twins without the other. But while Tegan and Sara share a lot of things - a last name, similar pixie-punk hairdos, an interest in the ladies and musical...more >

• TO THE MAXWELL

  AFTER SIX YEARS, R&B ICON RETURNS TO STAGE, STUDIO

  By JOSEPH BARRACATO

  October 5, 2008 -

  FORGET about scented candles, red wine and rose petals - Maxwell, R&B's ultimate aphrodisiac, is back on the prowl. After spending nearly six years in relative obscurity, neo-soul pioneer Maxwell...more >

• IMPASSIONED, NOT RATIONED

  By DAN AQUILANTE

  October 3, 2008 -

  ON the surface, Florida pop quintet the Black Kids and American singer/ songwriter Sonya Kitchell have little to do with one another musically - where they connect is their passion for the song. At...more >

• NO GOLDS FOR FLACCID FOLDS

  By DAN AQUILANTE

  October 2, 2008 -

  BEN Folds? Yes he does, in two. At the first of a pair of Terminal 5 gigs, Folds played a divided concert that initially laid an egg with material off his just-released solo record "Way to...more >