Rock

Music critic Ken Tucker gives us his top picks in pop for 2004. He runs down his 10 best albums, and then talks about some trends of 2004, such as the return of punk, the year of the hip-hop producer, crunk music, and the potential end of an era as iPods and single song downloads replace album purchases.

David Johansen was a member of the early 1970s glam-punk band the New York Dolls. They often wore both makeup and leather as they played a raw, aggressive style of rock. The group's influence spread far beyond its two studio albums, as it paved the way for rough-riding bands like the Ramones and the Sex Pistols. This year, the singer Morrissey asked the New York Dolls to reunite for his UK Meltdown festival. A CD and DVD came out of the performance, called The Return of the New York Dolls: Live from Royal Festival Hall 2004.

Rock historian Ed Ward tells us about the middle years of Little Richard's career, when he left pop music for a while, sang gospel, and then returned to rock 'n' roll.

Ken Tucker reviews Kimya Dawson's 'Hidden Vagenda' and finds her hidden agenda might be to sing about death. He says she taps into childhood's honesty to achieve maximum adulthood.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews two new albums: a punk-rock-opera by the group Green Day, American Idiot, and Rubber Factory by the group Black Keys.

Rock 'n' Roll historian Ed Ward reviews Smile, the recently released album Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys began working on after Pet Sounds.

Rock historian Ed Ward comments on the burgeoning rock scene in Austin, Texas during the 1980s.

Sorry, the Web audio for this segment is unavailable due to Internet rights issues. Donovan Leitch, known for psychedelic hits such as "Mellow Yellow," is back with his first album in 8 years, Beat Cafe. Known best by his first name alone, Leitch grew up in Glasgow, and was a big part of the San Francisco music scene in the late 1960s.

Music critic Ken Tucker reviews Blueberry Boat, the new album from brother and sister duo Fiery Furnaces.

McLagan played with the first generation of British rockers, handling keyboards for both the Small Faces and Faces, led by vocalist Rod Stewart and guitarist Ron Wood. McLagan produced a new box set of Faces recordings, Five Guys Walk Into a Bar.

Music critic Milo Miles reviews a new box set by the 1970s band Faces, Five Guys Walk into a Bar.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews To Tulsa and Back by J.J. Cale, and Roll It Down by Canadian-American Ray Bonneville.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews Uh Huh Her, the new album from PJ Harvey. Tucker says the artist displays a maturity that isn't weighed down by self-seriousness.

Members Michael Hearst and Joshua Camp talk about their new CD, As Smart as We Are, which is a blend of literature and music. Each track is written by a different author, including Paul Auster and Margaret Atwood.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews C'Mon DJ, the third album by the Boston based duo Mr. Airplane Man, featuring singer-guitarist Margaret Garrett and drummer-organist Tara McManus.

Music critic Milo Miles remembers Robert Quine, a respected guitarist in the New York punk and underground jazz scenes. He was found dead on June 5 of an apparent heroin overdose.

Burns, along with drummer John Convertino, make up the band Calexico. The Tucson, Ariz. band is known for music that is inspired by southwest border region they live in, blending multiple musical genres including folk, rock, pop, country and mariachi. Their latest album is Feast of Wire.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews Now Here Is Nowhere, the first major-label release by the trio Secret Machines.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews Musicology, (Columbia) the new recording by Prince.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews the new solo album by Graham Parker, Your Country.