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Named by Rolling Stone as one of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time," Akron native Robert Quine remains one of rock's most overlooked musicians.

New (and nearly new) releases from The Polyversal Souls, Patrick Sweany, The Arcs, Spanglish Fly, Alabama Shakes, Lana Del Rey, Keith Richards and more.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time on this site complaining about contemporary Nashville country (for example, here and here). And just when I decide to finally leave it alone, a massive brawl breaks [...]

I won’t pretend to offer the definitive word on J.J. Cale, who passed away on July 26. After the first reports of his death were verified the following day (one popular website initially called [...]

When it comes to exploring new music, I like to think my ears are wide open. But occasionally I lapse into that familiar attitude best expressed by the late Robert Quine: “If they’re not dead, [...]

I really didn’t have any intention of coming back with a second act. But Part 1 seemed to go pretty well… and I’m still struggling with a draft post on the new Eric Clapton album (of course, [...]

Alright, you knew it would come down to this. At some point, I had to weigh in on my favorite songs by nephew Dan and his musical soulmate, Pat. A few of you might have come here expecting a [...]

Here’s a re-post in honor of two Grammy nominees – Dr. John and Dan Auerbach. (Update: Congrats to Dan for Producer of the Year and to Dr. John for Blues Album of the Year!) Let me start by [...]

In our post on the Johnny Burnette Trio, The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach listed some of his main inspirations on guitar. Burnette sideman Paul Burlison. Howlin’ Wolf’s original guitarist Willie [...]

I decided to leave this post as is, but check out the comment at the end by Waylon Lightfoot. Then check out our post on Grady Martin. Looks like I’ve been schooled. With its five Grammy [...]

Time for another random post… Let’s start with The Grammys. Now RCR is probably the last place anyone would go for the latest news on rock and pop acts that typically get nominated [...]

Just got back from Nashville, where I got to see nephew Dan work his magic in the studio with a couple of artists – country rocker Nikki Lane and Hanni El Khatib, who’s a little harder to pin [...]

Let me start by saying Dr. John’s new album, “Locked Down,” is one of the most satisfying listens I’ve come across in the last few years. But I’ll also admit I [...]

Saturday Noon: Arrive at LaGuardia with wife, daughter and friend to spend a few days in NYC with other family members. Agenda includes The Black Keys’ sold-out show at Madison Square Garden. [...]

I haven’t had much contact with my famous nephew since The Black Keys conquered the world. Just the occasional text about someone I should check out, like Michael Kiwanuka or Bombino. So, like [...]

 In the last issue of Rolling Stone magazine, I was described as the “blues snob uncle” of The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach. At first, I took great umbrage to this (how’s that [...]

My sister Mary Auerbach, French teacher at Woodridge High School and mother of The Black Keys’ Dan, gives us a blow-by-blow of her recent trip to the Grammys, where the Keys picked up a [...]

Let’s revisit a couple of albums that had a big impact on yours truly, Brother James and Nephew Dan – basically, the vast majority of RCR’s global workforce. Marc Ribot (pronounced ree-bow) [...]

We now have a twitter account, which means we need to do something drastic to promote it. So we’re giving away 2 free tickets to The Black Keys’ sold-out New Year’s Eve Show at the historic [...]

Article first published as Book Review: Composed: A Memoir by Rosanne Cash on Blogcritics. Our last post on living, breathing artists led me to another crisis in confidence. Just what is this [...]

Nephew Dan is a busy man – touring the world and all – but he wanted us to check out this awesome clip of Otis Rush in his prime, playing in front of a polite but reverent audience [...]