Email Author Ray Cummings

2008 Stories by Ray Cummings

• The Songs We Can't Escape

  published December 31, 2008

  CLIPSE FEAT. AB-LIVA"S.L.U." The further away from November 4 we get, the bigger the profile of the... More >>

• The Songs We Can't Escape

  published December 24, 2008

  CRAYON FIELDS"Mirror Ball" That I'd never heard of these sarcastic Melbourne kids... More >>

• The Songs We Can't Escape

  published December 10, 2008

  CHRISTINA AGUILERA"Keeps Gettin' Better" Did I miss the memo? Is every diva—be it country,... More >>

• Wu-Tang Clan

  published December 10, 2008

  The title of this Staten Island, New York, collective's overambitious sophomore album would seem to say it all: Wu-Tang Forever. But given... More >>

• The Songs We Can't Escape

  published December 3, 2008

  CLINIC"The Witch (Made to Measure)" Well, that'll teach me to lose track of Clinic for a... More >>

• Kimya Dawson

  published November 26, 2008

  An amazing, unexpected fate befell Kimya Dawson earlier this year: The squeak-lunged, anti-folkin' woman-child hit the big time. A fresh-faced... More >>

• The Songs We Can't Escape

  published November 26, 2008

  BEYONCÉ "Diva" I Am...Sasha Fierce, this Independent Woman's latest multimedia event,... More >>

• The Songs We Can't Escape

  published November 19, 2008

  NOUS NON PLUS "Fantôme Dur (Tuff Ghost)" Multinational concern best known for wanting to... More >>

• Grampall Jookabox

  published November 19, 2008

  Indianapolis's David Adamson seems like the kind of guy who has an awesome record—or at least mp3—collection. Ropechain, his... More >>

• School of Seven Bells

  published November 19, 2008

  Sometimes hyperbole's not only called for, but demanded, and School of Seven Bells is such a case. Solely composed of indie-rock... More >>

• The Songs We Can't Escape

  published November 12, 2008

  THE HAPPY HOLLOWS "Tambourine" A very merry bunch, these fresh-faced Californians ramble on,... More >>

• The Rosebuds

  published November 12, 2008

  Like so many other acts, the Rosebuds want to have their cake and eat it, too— they want to remain stern-browed, all the while barely... More >>

• Coldplay

  published November 12, 2008

  It's easy to despise Chris Martin. He's handsome. He's British. He's married to Gwyneth Paltrow. He fronts Coldplay, a milquetoast rock band... More >>

• The Songs We Can't Escape

  published November 5, 2008

  ANIMAL COLLECTIVE"Brother Sport (Live)" This shimmering, shrieking orgasmatron of a... More >>

• Wintersleep

  published November 5, 2008

  Wintersleep may hail from Halifax, Nova Scotia, but the group's sound is distinctly and quintessentially American: brusque yet romantic,... More >>

• The Songs We Can't Escape

  published October 29, 2008

  AKON feat. LIL WAYNE"I'm So Paid" Lost your job? Drowning in credit-card debt? Reduced to frying up... More >>

• Gang Gang Dance

  published October 29, 2008

  Brooklyn's Gang Gang Dance aren't beholden to any particular style or scene; this foursome brew their own inimitable sonic pilsner. Into the... More >>

• OneRepublic

  published October 29, 2008

  Some anecdotal evidence that OneRepublic is 2008-quality huge, even if it isn't moving U2 units: Both my wife and my mother-in-law... More >>

• Yeasayer

  published October 29, 2008

  Brooklyn's Yeasayer has so much madness happening in its chameleonic music that it's almost illicit. Was their 2007 debut, All Hour Cymbals... More >>

• The Songs We Can't Escape

  published October 22, 2008

  THE KILLERS "Spaceman" Alecia, to me, while watching the now-less-hirsute Killers run through this... More >>

• The Songs We Can't Escape

  published October 15, 2008

  Caw! Caw!"Organisms" "Kissing your sweaty face is like kissing every member of the human... More >>

• So You Think You Can Dance Tour 2008

  published October 15, 2008

  Three cheers and then some to the So You Think You Can Dance creative team; their behind-the-scenes machinations made for a wrenching,... More >>

• The Songs We Can't Escape

  published October 8, 2008

  BUSINESS LADY"Trick Boots" Okay, I'm sold: I believe that the protagonist really believes that by... More >>

• Silver Jews

  published October 8, 2008

  Watching lead Silver Jew David Berman cycle through phases over the past 10-plus years—from who-cares, post-grad, smart-ass nonchalance to... More >>

• The Songs We Can't Escape

  published October 1, 2008

  T.I. feat. JAY-Z, KANYE WEST, & LIL WAYNE"Swagger Like Us" Oh, why not recycle an M.I.A. utterance... More >>