The summer in rock: A Manhattan music diary

Radiohead kicked off my summer by releasing “Amnesiac.” A return to their roots? Hardly. Thom Yorke and company still can’t keep their hands off the electronics, and we still have a few tracks that are, in all honesty, electronic gibberish. But unlike its predecessor, “Kid A,” the songcraft on Amnesiac shines. “Pyramid Song” is among the finest pieces they’ve ever produced, as Yorke’s breathtakingly beautiful vocals soar over an equally gorgeous piano line, gradually building in “Hey Jude” fashi

Manic Street Preachers, Stereophonics rule Welsh Britpop

But when you stop looking and start listening, this place does have something to offer the average American. Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci. Catatonia. Super Furry Animals. All bands that emerged from Wales in the ’90s and carved a decent niche for themselves in the world of Britpop. Yet they all took a backseat in terms of both musicianship and popular following as soon as Stereophonics and the Manic Street Preachers entered the picture, for these are bands that have not only impacted the British indie

Campus Conversation

Legions of Amherst folk eagerly awaited Saturday night’s annual Computer Dating Tap, shunning old-fashioned fate for a night after spilling the contents of their inner psyches into a survey a week earlier. Some of those who came simply expecting a match made in Hamilton Heaven, however, found themselves in royal company, as Prince Albert ’81 was spotted amidst the beer, sweat and echoes of “The Thong Song.” Amherst’s royal alum had brought a team of soccer cronies with him from Monaco to play