Mike Mettler

Joe Elliott of Def Leppard

Singer for the British pop/rock/metal kings, who've stacked covers of 14 of their favorite songs of their youth on /Yeah!/ (Bludgeon Riffola/Island), chimes in on the state of the union of recorded music, the value of doing cover versions, and the ?

By Mike Mettler
Posted July 6, 2006

Are we close to the point of seeing CDs disappear entirely? Could that happen? Hey, listen: Vinyl's almost disappeared. 78's disappeared. I'm not a soothsayer, and I can't really say if people are going to give up on the physical side of intellectual property.

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An Interview with Celeste Lear

A view of the ever-changing recorded-music landscape from an up-and-comer with a hi-fi heritage — her grandfather William Lear invented the 8-track (and a little thing called the Lear Jet) — who merges rock and electronic on /The Echo Inside/ (Bout?

By Mike Mettler
Posted July 5, 2006

With such a storied lineage, I have to ask you: When did you first become interested in gear and electronics? Well, despite growing up in a family famous for the invention of the 8-track player, unfortunately, I was not filled in by any of my relatives on the mysterious world of electronics.

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15 Minutes with the Goo Goo Dolls' Johnny Rzeznik

By Mike Mettler
Posted September 2, 2006

Buffalo's favorite sons the Goo Goo Dolls are at it again, this time barnstorming on a cross-country shed tour to support the ever-catchy Let Love In (Warner Bros.) while teamed up with the Counting Crows. Singer/songwriter and all-around nice Goo guy Johnny Rzeznik recently took some time out from the road to chat Web-exclusively with S&V.

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MUSIC REVIEW: Thom Yorke

By Mike Mettler
Posted September 5, 2006

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MUSIC REVIEW: Tapes 'n Tapes

By Mike Mettler
Posted October 6, 2006

The Loon Xl Music •••• Sound •••½ This Minneapolis foursome stirs the indie-rock cauldron with gusto, mixing vocal a

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DVD REVIEW: Carnivàle

Season 2

By Mike Mettler
Posted October 6, 2006

HBO Series •••• Picture/Sound •••• Extras •••• The avatars of good and evil continue to clash in the Dust Bowl of the Great D

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DVD REVIEW: Prison Break

Season 1

By Mike Mettler
Posted October 6, 2006

20th Century Fox Series •••½ Picture/Sound •••• Extras •••½ Sure, the show's title gives it all awa

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30 Minutes with Carlton Cuse & Damon Lindelof of Lost

Lost may be an iTunes video phenomenon, but the best way to enjoy this gorgeously shot, great-sounding show is on DVD. On the cusp of Season 3, two of Lost's executive producers extol the virtues of extras, commentaries, and podcasts, as well as provide u?

By Mike Mettler
Posted October 4, 2006

Just to set the stage: You guys are working on Season 3 as we speak, right? CARLTON: Yes. We started shooting back on August 7. We're working on new episodes right now, in fact.

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Secrets of "The Hatch"

Exclusive! Show execs confirm some of the stereo gear and albums seen in The Hatch on Lost.

By Mike Mettler
Posted October 4, 2006

One of the very first things we saw in Season 2 of Lost was a needle dropping on the title track of Mama Cass's 1969 album, Make Your Own Kind of Music, inside "The Hatch" (a.k.a. "The Swan"), the underground locale that drove much of that season's action.

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Desert Island Discs

Exclusive! Lost executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse each give us 10 songs they couldn't be stranded without.

By Mike Mettler
Posted October 4, 2006

Who could be more perfect to solicit a pair of Desert Island Disc lists from than the executive producers of Lost, a show where music and locale are so often intertwined? Lost masterminds Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse couldn't have agreed more, so here are their respective 10-song lists.

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