Pop Quiz: Emmylou Harris

Pop Quiz: Emmylou Harris

Aidin Vaziri | Emmylou Harris, the Country Music Hall of Fame inductee who has closed out the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival every year since it began in 2001, reminisces about some of her favorite moments from the past decade and tells us what it feels like to be the silver-haired poster girl for San Francisco's favorite annual live music event.


Emmylou Harris
Q: You traditionally close out the festival. Isn't that a lot of pressure, to make sure everyone goes home happy?
A: I think it's a real honor. If Warren ever wants to move me, I won't complain. But as long as he wants me to close it out, I'll do it. I'll just make sure I wear warm clothes.
Q: Does the fog ever get to you?
A: Oh, my God. I remember one year I think I had to put on every article of clothing I brought with me. I could barely move my arms. But nobody left. Everybody shows up and stays. It's nice to know you're the cherry on top.
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10 to Discover at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass

10 to Discover at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass

Festival's smaller names include some big talents: Aidin Vaziri | The marquee acts at last year's Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival drew capacity crowds, leaving little room on the lawn for attendees to spread their legs, let alone picnic blankets. This year's free three-day clambake is likely to see a repeat with coveted sets by Patti Smith, Randy Newman and Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings. But for those who just want to hear some good music and take in the sun, there are plenty of thrills to be had just by showing up earlier and hitting the side stages. Here's a guide to 10 of the lesser-known acts on the bill that pack a big punch. Read more.

Review: Mark Ronson, 'Record Collection'

Review: Mark Ronson, 'Record Collection'

Review: Mark Ronson, 'Record Collection': Aidin Vaziri | Best known for making British pop sensations Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen sound certifiably funky, producer Mark Ronson also scored a minor hit three years ago with a brass-infused remake of the Smiths' "Stop Me." But his third studio album, "Record Collection," sees him stepping away from the retro-soul sound that made him famous. Instead, Ronson taps some of his musical heroes and new discoveries for a very contemporary-sounding jam session, steeped in synth-pop and hip-hop. The opening track and leadoff single, "Bang Bang Bang," is a celebratory electro-romp featuring Brooklyn singer MNDR and rapper Q-Tip, reprising his party-starting role from Deee-Lite's "Groove Is in the Heart." Boy George surfaces sounding virtually unrecognizable on the glistening new-wave duet with Miike Snow's Andrew Wyatt, "Somebody to Love Me"; while Duran Duran's Simon Le Bon and Nick Rhodes add oomph to the icy title track with the assistance of rapper Wiley. There are more highlights: "Lose It (in the End)," a song with a rat-tat-tat rhythm written by Jonathan Pierce of the Drums and featuring dizzying verses from Ghostface Killah; "Glass Mountain Trust," a loopy funk song heralding the return of D'Angelo more than a decade after "Voodoo" was released." It's not a perfect album by any stretch but certainly one where ideas and personality flow freely. It also gives one the impression that Ronson, unlike many others in his field, truly, deeply, madly loves his job.

Pop Quiz: Band of Horses

Pop Quiz: Band of Horses

Aidin Vaziri | Having toured arenas with Pearl Jam, rocked several major festivals and had one of their songs covered by Cee Lo Green, this has already been an epic year for Band of Horses. But things just keep getting better for the South Carolina rural rock outfit, which released its third and latest album, "Infinite Arms," in May. Checking in during a brief break between tours, front man Ben Bridwell tells us he has finally settled on a touring lineup and is starting to feel the benefits of signing to a major label for the self-produced new disc.


Ben Bridwell of Band of Horses
Q: You've gone through so many different band members. Are you that difficult to work with?
A: I think, yeah. My report card would probably say, "Doesn't play well with others."
Q: So you're going to take all the blame, just like that?
A: There's some of that. Some people just weren't the right fit. We've had people who I would consider some of my best friends who didn't want the lifestyle anymore. There's no clear answer.
Q: I thought you just hired those other guys based on their ability to grow facial hair.
A: Yes. If they can't grow a beard, they're f--- out.
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The Charlatans U.K.: The Unluckiest Band in the World

The Charlatans U.K.: The Unluckiest Band in the World

Tough breaks can't keep Charlatans U.K. down: Aidin Vaziri | Tim Burgess doesn't like being called a survivor. But looking back at the storied career of his band, the Charlatans U.K., there's really no other word that works. It's the day after the Manchester outfit kicks off its first North American tour in nearly a decade in Atlanta, and the 43-year-old front man is contemplating the countless setbacks it has endured just to get here. "We've gone through it all," he says, a severe jet-black bowl cut crowning his wispy figure. "We're up there with the Stones and the Who." Read more.

Review: Robert Plant, 'Band of Joy'

Review: Robert Plant, 'Band of Joy'

Review: Robert Plant, 'Band of Joy': Aidin Vaziri | Why has Robert Plant chosen this precise moment to revive his short-lived experimental blues outfit from the tail end of the '60s, Band of Joy? Why not? The former Led Zeppelin front man thrives on defying expectations. So the follow-up to his Grammy-winning collaboration with Alison Krauss, "Raising Sand," once again finds him working with a dream team of American roots musicians, including singer Patty Griffin, guitarist and co-producer Buddy Miller, multi-instrumentalist Darrell Scott, bassist Byron House and drummer Marco Giovino. Together they take on a series of unexpected covers, such as Los Lobos' 20-year-old "Angel Dance" and the Townes Van Zandt rarity "Harms Swift Way," along with several traditional tunes, including "Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down" and the Appalachian folk ditty "Cindy, I'll Marry You Someday." The album has a distinct rockabilly feel, making it slightly livelier than its predecessor. But it's on the hushed ballads that Plant's leathery voice really captivates, particularly "Silver Rider" and "Monkey," smoldering ballads by the little-known Minnesota indie rock band Low. As a follow-up to the blockbuster "Raising Sand" it makes perfect sense. But as an alternative to a cash-grabbing Zeppelin nostalgia tour, it's really the only way to go.

Pop Quiz: Marina and the Diamonds

Pop Quiz: Marina and the Diamonds

Aidin Vaziri | With her love of Britney and Madonna rivaled only by her devotion to all things theatrical, Marina Lambrini Diamandis makes for a pop star with a twist. Earlier this year, the 24-year-old Welsh-Greek singer's first album, "The Family Jewels," released under the name Marina and the Diamonds, crashed the British Top 10, making her one of the year's breakout acts. Now she is hoping triumphal songs like "I Am Not a Robot" and "Hollywood" have the same impact here.


Marina and the Diamonds
Q: What were the main lessons you learned from the Madonna biographies you read growing up?
A: How did you know I read them?
Q: Everybody knows you read them.
A: I'm so ashamed. I think the main thing I learned is I didn't feel so alone. I tried so many different routes that didn't work. One of the indications for me was I was doing it for the right reasons. I wanted to be an artist.
Q: Is that why you auditioned in drag for a boy band?
A: Listen, I was desperate. I had nothing to lose. I was only 19 at the time. I couldn't sing. But it got me a meeting with a record label. It took me four more years to get a meeting with a record label again.
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Review: Interpol, 'Interpol'

Review: Interpol, 'Interpol'

Review: Interpol, 'Interpol': Aidin Vaziri |Despite a three-year gap between albums, highlighted by various solo ventures and the departure of mustachioed bassist Carlos Dengler, little has changed in Interpol's insular world. The seductive, doomy strains of the New York band's fourth album are instantly recognizable on the opening track, "Success," possibly the most downbeat song in the history of rock 'n' roll to bear that title. There is a good deal of brooding, naturally, accompanied by skeletal guitars and baritone-heavy howls on songs like "Memory Serves," "Lights" and "The Undoing." But nearly a decade after releasing its breakthrough debut, "Turn on the Bright Lights," the band finally seems willing to deviate from formula, at least on a pair of light-footed songs, "Summer Well" and "Try It On," that let just the right amount of light into the slow-rumbling storm. At this rate, they'll be a full-fledged pop band by 2074.

Pop Quiz: Scissor Sisters

Pop Quiz: Scissor Sisters

Aidin Vaziri | Scissor Sisters returned earlier this year with their third studio album, "Night Work," a full-tilt dance party wrapped up in a nice little package with a butt on the cover. Now the New York disco-pop outfit is out on the road performing it every night, which Ana Matronic, the group's resident female, tells us is much harder than anticipated. The 35-year-old singer, who got her start at San Francisco's very own Trannyshack parties, called us after the band's first tour date in Atlanta.


Ana Matronic of Scissor Sisters
Q: There are no ballads on the new record. Do you guys just come onstage and go nuts?
A: TIt's hard core. We were joking that we were going to have Richard Simmons come out for one of the shows and lead everyone in a workout.
Q: Watching some of your moves, it already feels like you guys have studied every Jane Fonda workout video from the '80s.
A: TJake (Shears) loves Jane Fonda's workout tapes. He's a big aerobics fan in general. There's nothing he loves more than a woman with a giant frizzy perm and French-cut leotard with leg warmers. If I came out onstage wearing that, he would cry. I'm not kidding.
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Fall Concerts Preview 2010

Fall Concerts Preview 2010

Fall concerts preview: pop music: Aidin Vaziri | We run down all the major tours coming through the Bay Area in the next three months, from Green Day and David Gray to Shakira and Ravi Shankar. Read more.

Dan Mangan: The Force Is With Him

Dan Mangan: The Force Is With Him

Dan Mangan's unusual path to music success: Aidin Vaziri | Dan Mangan didn't know the first thing about how the music industry worked when he started - still doesn't. But that hasn't stopped the 27-year-old Canadian singer-songwriter from recording and releasing two critically successful albums on his own, circling the globe for nearly seven years while picking up bigger audiences and scoring several major industry plaudits. "I have been accused in the past of having naive optimism at times," Mangan says, calling from his home in Vancouver. "I kind of figured if I was going to make music my career, I didn't want to do it half-assed. I wanted to put everything into it." Read more.

Live Review: Jenny and Johnny at Great American Music Hall

Live Review: Jenny and Johnny at Great American Music Hall

Music review: Jenny and Johnny: Aidin Vaziri | Relationships can be a messy business, even for indie rock's most beautiful and extravagantly talented couple. On Thursday, Rilo Kiley front woman Jenny Lewis and her longtime boyfriend, Johnathan Rice - who perform together under the name Jenny and Johnny - set out to prove as much with a sold-out concert at the Great American Music Hall (where they also played Friday). It was the first night of a four-month tour in support of the duo's debut album, "I'm Having Fun Now," and they spent a good deal of their hourlong set delving into the minor bickering and major blowups that populate the record. But onstage, most of the album's delicate drama was blown out by sheer volume. Read more.

Pop Quiz: Mavis Staples

Pop Quiz: Mavis Staples

Aidin Vaziri | Mavis Staples, who got her start in the family gospel group the Staple Singers, continues her impressive comeback streak with her forthcoming album, "You Are Not Alone." Produced and co-written by Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, the set does a fine job extending the legacy of the woman who sang on the 1972 soul classic "I'll Take You There," marched with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., almost married Bob Dylan and worked on previous solo albums with Prince and Ry Cooder.


Mavis Staples
Q: I read the reviews from Lollapalooza and it sounds like people liked you better than Lady Gaga.
A: That was really surprising. It was so amazing to look out there and see all those young faces smiling. I was looking forward to seeing Lady Gaga myself. I was so grateful.
Q: And you didn't even have to go through 20 costume changes.
A: I don't have 20 altogether. That's the thing. You take the Lord along with you and that one outfit will do. But Gaga is still my girlfriend. She can sing.
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Slash's Most Random Cameos

Slash's Most Random Cameos

Newly solo Slash sure gets around: Aidin Vaziri | Slash is on the road with his self-titled solo album, which features guests like Iggy Pop, Ozzy Osbourne and Kid Rock. The former Guns N' Roses guitarist, who plays the Warfield tonight, is used to working with an odd cast of characters - and we're not just referring to his time with Velvet Revolver. Over the past two decades, the 44-year-old top-hat-wearing rock icon has made a habit of springing up where you least expect him. Here are seven of our favorite random Slash cameos. Read more.

Review: Philip Selway, 'Familial'

Review: Philip Selway, 'Familial'

Review: Philip Selway, 'Familial': Aidin Vaziri |Because he's the drummer for Radiohead, you might expect Philip Selway's first solo outing to sound like an abstract collision of Terry Bozio, Jeff Porcaro, Nicko McBrain, Tony Thompson and a garage-door opener. On "Familial," though, which features cameos by Lisa Germano and Wilco's Glenn Kotche, Selway takes an unexpected turn. He comes up as a folksy singer-songwriter offering hushed songs and well-worn sentiments ("The lights are burning bright/ But no one's home," he sings) with very few rhythmic frills. He's got a pleasant enough voice, but songs such as "All Eyes on Me" and "By Some Miracle," some of which stretch back to Radiohead's early days, don't always amount to anything more than melancholy mood music. Don't we already have Thom Yorke's solo album for that?