On her 2007 album How To Win!, stand-up comedian Maria Bamford tells a joke about her mother telling her she looks…

Devo was finished. The quintet—brothers Jerry and Bob Casale and Mark, Bob, and Jim Mothersbaugh—had gotten about as…

A baby and a breakup. The catalysts for one of the most celebrated albums of 1998 are of some the most difficult and…

There are one-hit wonders and one-album wonders. There are musicians who consistently craft top-notch singles, but fall…

When The A.V. Club put together an Inventory of George W. Bush-era political works that still hold up, we couldn’t have…

Permanent Records is an ongoing closer look at the records that matter most.

Permanent Records is an ongoing closer look at the records that matter most.

Permanent Records is an ongoing closer look at the records that matter most.

Permanent Records is an ongoing closer look at the records that matter most.

It didn’t take long for riot grrrl to turn into girl power. By 1997, what had started as a provocative, politically…

Permanent Records is an ongoing closer look at the records that matter most.

When is an album not an album? In 1978, the American independent label PVC Records released a Big Star LP called 3rd,…

Permanent Records is an ongoing closer look at the records that matter most.

A piercing scream opens “Skunk,” the lead track on The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion’s Now I Got Worry. It’s a harrowing…

Permanent Records is an ongoing closer look at the records that matter most.

Permanent Records is an ongoing closer look at the records that matter most.

Permanent Records is an ongoing closer look at the records that matter most.

“The last time I saw Eddie, he was lying on his face…” It’s the summer of 1995 and Neil Young is standing in front of…

Permanent Records is an ongoing closer look at the records that matter most.

Permanent Records is an ongoing closer look at the records that matter most.