Maura Johnston

Kelly Clarkson has claimed to have broken up with the American Idol machine that spawned her - to the point of rebelling against mogul producer Clive Davis and titling her second album "Breakaway". On today's Soundcheck Smackdown, Ricardo Baca, pop music critic for the Denver Post, and Maura Johnston, editor ...

Back in the swingin’ ‘70s, Peter Frampton won his fanbase on the strength of "Frampton Comes Alive." Today's concert recordings and DVDs don’t pack the same punch -- they often round out "deluxe editions" and pad record contracts. In another Soundcheck Smackdown, we debate the live album format with writer ...