Email Author Peter S. Scholtes

2009 Stories by Peter S. Scholtes

• The Aggrolites

  published June 10, 2009

  Like a Dap-Kings for late-'60s reggae with some Meters-style funk thrown in, L.A.'s organ-pumping Aggrolites have been mastering a musical moment... More >>

• Toki Wright: A Different Mirror

  published June 10, 2009

  Toki Wright's reputation as an all-around good egg in Minnesota rap hasn't necessarily helped his career: For years his prominence as promoter... More >>

• 3rd Annual Prince Family Reunion

  published June 3, 2009

  No, the man himself won't show—and he won't have to. This annual reunion of Prince bandmates and related musicians achieves party liftoff... More >>

• Mr. Lif

  published June 3, 2009

  Cam'ron's "I Hate My Job" might be the epochal rap of the season, but Mr. Lif's "Live from the Plantation" beat him to the sentiment by three... More >>

• Lil' Ed & the Blues Imperials

  published June 3, 2009

  A befezed slide guitarist of roaring verve, Lil' Ed Williams mastered Chicago blues under the wing of his uncle J.B. Hutto, and has since become... More >>

• Mastodon

  published April 29, 2009

  A great sound wouldn't be enough to awe non-metalheads the way Mastadon do, even if it's the greatest sound in some time—in this case... More >>

• Sole and the Skyrider Band

  published April 22, 2009

  It's been 10 years since Sole released Deep Puddle Dynamics, recorded here in Minneapolis with Rhymesayers and other friends, and... More >>

• The Current Fakebook: Bob Gruen

  published April 15, 2009

  The famous picture of John Lennon in a "New York City" T-shirt, or of the Sex Pistols with drinking straws, or of Led Zeppelin in front of their... More >>

• Bob Mould: Life and Times

  published April 1, 2009

  Has any voice been done worse by production than Bob Mould's? In retrospect, the best thing about his 2005 return to guitar rock after an... More >>

• Morrissey

  published April 1, 2009

  Though it's too tempting to read a career into every Morrissey lyric, maybe there was something to "The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get," his... More >>

• The Ting Tings

  published April 1, 2009

  It's one thing to absorb the styles of Chic, Devo, and others that were cool before Katie White was born, and quite another to reproduce aspects... More >>

• Raphael Saadiq

  published March 11, 2009

  Raphael Saadiq's flights of musical fancy are so fluid and light of touch that fans didn't necessarily know what to expect from last year's The... More >>

• Anni Rossi

  published March 4, 2009

  Chicago singer and viola player Anni Rossi recorded Rockwell, her full-length debut on 4AD, in a single day with Steve Albini, and at first... More >>

• Estelle

  published February 25, 2009

  "Don't like his baggy jeans but I might like what's underneath them" is only the funniest line of last summer's airy transatlantic hit "American... More >>

• Ralph's World

  published February 25, 2009

  After releasing six albums of child-friendly indie-rock on Chicago's Minty Fresh, Ralph Covert and his band signed to Walt Disney Records and... More >>

• Blitzen Trapper

  published February 18, 2009

  Eric Earley's melodic sense is so uncanny that critics appear to take for granted that he steals. Yet even the sound of his Portland, Oregon, band... More >>

• Juana Molina

  published February 18, 2009

  Beguiling as 2004's Tres Cosas and 2006's Son were, I've been reluctant to defend Juana Molina as more than background music to... More >>

• Slumdog Chamillionaire

  published February 11, 2009

  It must occur to K'Naan, in idle moments of daydreaming chutzpah, that he could be the next Bob Marley or John Lennon. The Somali rapper... More >>

• A Celebration of Immigration to the Twin Cities

  published February 4, 2009

  The auto mechanic for whom this benefit was organized remembers dance parties in his village in Guinea in which Tabu Ley Rochereau records played... More >>

• The Big Pink: A Tribute to the Last Waltz

  published January 21, 2009

  Dubbed by Pauline Kael "the best of all rock-concert documentaries," 1978's The Last Waltz leaves me wishing director Martin Scorsese had... More >>

• Best New Bands of 2008

  published January 14, 2009

  Reliable entertainment whether or not bands survive long enough to provide "I was there" stories, First Avenue's annual best-new-local-music... More >>

• Lil Wayne

  published January 14, 2009

  It's exhilarating when an artist as good as Lil Wayne does whatever he wants, even when you don't want everything he does. So Tha Carter... More >>