Email Author Jason Heller

2002 Stories by Jason Heller

• Battery Park

  published December 5, 2002

  An indie-rock-scarred hipster's first reaction to this disc might be one of disgust. Clean, processed guitars? A singer in tune? Swelling anthems... More >>

• Various Artists

  published December 5, 2002

  Here are two more in a long line of compilations meant to promote Denver-area punk rock. The only real surprise here is that more of these groups... More >>

• Great Pretenders

  published November 28, 2002

  The members of 90 Day Men are some of the biggest assholes in rock. Just ask Chunklet, an indie-rock magazine based in Atlanta; earlier... More >>

• Whisper to Scream

  published November 21, 2002

  There are people who walk through a door and on pops the spotlight -- heads turn, glances flash, and the air crackles with the presence of an... More >>

• Get Hustle

  published November 21, 2002

  Sometimes too much caffeine can be a horrific thing: the shakes, the jerks, that vicious nervousness that boils your intestines in adrenaline,... More >>

• Critic's Choice

  published November 21, 2002

  Nobody likes a whiner. And yet a whole troop of emo crybabies, from Dashboard Confessional's Chris Carraba to Bright Eyes' Connor Oberst, has... More >>

• Smokey Robinson & the Miracles

  published November 14, 2002

  "And love, like a versified cliche, came down on me/Hard, in its casual way," wrote militant black poet LeRoi Jones in 1962. "Versified cliche,"... More >>

• Hit Pick

  published November 7, 2002

  David Byrne recently compiled an album called The Only Blip Hop Record You Will Ever Need, which catalogues the vanguard of this new genre:... More >>

• The Maybellines

  published October 17, 2002

  A profile of your average Maybellines fan: thick glasses, cardigan sweater, scuffed-up thrift-store shoes, a back pocket full of half-melted... More >>

• The Hacks

  published October 17, 2002

  Before the ideas of "pop" and "punk" were grafted in unholy union, there were bands that didn't know there was ever a difference. Add the Hacks to... More >>

• Progress Makes Perfect

  published October 10, 2002

  I think it's hard to pull off actually having feeling in aggressive rock," says Chris Sorensen, guitarist of the pigeonhole-dodging Denver group... More >>

• The Apples in Stereo

  published October 3, 2002

  The Apples' antsy retroactivity has ping-ponged back and forth so many times over the past nine years, it's become downright dizzying, from '60s... More >>

• Mighty Rime

  published September 19, 2002

  Kerry McDonald, former bassist of local emo legend Christie Front Drive, has reinvented himself with the Mighty Rime. Sounding at times like... More >>

• The Lapse of Luxury

  published September 5, 2002

  It's always good to put yourself in new situations," says Scott McCloud, singer, guitarist and svelte frontman of New York City's Girls Against... More >>

• Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings

  published August 22, 2002

  When listening to current R&B, one might marvel at its distinct lack of anything resembling either rhythm or blues. Modern-day studio auteurs like... More >>

• Sonic Youth

  published August 15, 2002

  It used to be that people struggled to place Sonic Youth's music within some kind of context. Was it avant-garde improv or pop-culture pastiche?... More >>

• GoGoGo Airheart

  published August 8, 2002

  There is a secret history of British new wave. Beneath the cosmetic facade of Boy George and Adam Ant lurked a legion of post-punk misfits --... More >>

• To the Rescue

  published July 18, 2002

  Our everyday experiences have more influence on our music than anything else does," says Dan Matz, singer and guitarist of Windsor for the Derby,... More >>

• Hit Pick

  published June 27, 2002

  It's hard to believe that seven years have passed since Qualm first inflicted a stage with its breakneck teenage punk rock. Now wiser,... More >>

• Feast of Reason

  published June 20, 2002

  As a band, I'd say that Pleasure Forever is a celebration of the ecstatic annihilation of orgasmic energy." So asserts Dave Clifford, drummer... More >>

• Cursive and Eastern Youth

  published June 13, 2002

  When you're a little kid, cursive handwriting seems like such an arcane, esoteric thing: Its strange and indecipherable loops and swirls reduce... More >>

• Hit Pick

  published June 6, 2002

  As its name would imply, local indie-rock combo O'er the Ramparts is well-versed in the fine art of the anthem. The band, which appears... More >>

• Gone Again

  published May 23, 2002

  It's hard to put into words or numbers the impact that a local band can have on its hometown. Besides just providing the soundtrack to endless... More >>

• Trans Am

  published May 23, 2002

  Trying to pin down Trans Am is as mercurial an endeavor as defining postmodern culture itself. Since postmodernism likes to subject itself... More >>

• Promise Keepers

  published April 25, 2002

  In the world of music, change is the only constant. Movements mutate. Yesterday's vogue is today's punchline is tomorrow's retro fad. Punk rock... More >>