Alt-country (or Americana, if you must) was all over the music press in the late 1990s and early 2000s, with Uncut magazine, in particular, making the genre its de facto in-house sound. Since then, its visibility has faded somewhat, but the quality of the music hasn't suffered — while the work of artists like Lambchop, Jason Lytle and Grandaddy (who've recently reunited — yay!), Wilco, Calexico, Iron & Wine, Mark Kozelek et al remains well-renowned, there are plenty of other artists similarly deserving of your attention. We've rounded up a selection of such musicians after the jump. Do let [...]
David Ignatius Walsh was the hometown hero, a lion of the pre World War II Boston Irish community. He had served as Governor of Massachusetts followed by five terms in the U.S. Senate, the first Irish Catholic to hold the post. He was a confirmed bachelor, somewhat of a dandy with a penchant for flashy [...]
I trust you're all recovering/resting/relaxing today. Whether you welcomed 2012 with a quiet night at home alongside family and friends, or joined some raucous, drunken celebration at a house/club/bar, I'm sure it was a great time. If you must know about my night, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Considering New Years last year was probably the [...]
Angels of Light — Song for My Father From New Mother ( Young God ; 1999) It’s time we got some throwback posts back up in this here blog.
As I’m sure you’re all aware, tomorrow marks the dawning of the Rapture (6 P.M. Eastern Standard Time), in which believers will be whisked off to eternal salvation while the earth’s tainted masses (see: atheists, mimes, music bloggers) will be sentenced to 5 months of pestilence, famine, and other vaguely unfavorable things. Because you’ll need a kickin’ rad soundtrack to spin while the locusts devour you whole, we’ve assembled Repent! , a mix of 17 songs steeped in that sweet End Times Flavor™. Enjoy, and pick up a t-shirt while you’re at it. [...]
Hopefully by now you've heard Smother , the third album from Wild Beasts. As with all their records, it feels like it comes out of nowhere. And as always, I have trouble finding reference points to give people when recommending them (Antony? Talking Heads?). That's why I asked the band to talk about some of the albums and songs they listened to while writing and recording it, as well as some of the bands that inspired them when they started. Bassist/vocalist Tom Fleming created this list on behalf of Wild Beasts, though it includes some [...]
Luego de más de 10 años, el enfant terrible norteamericano, Michael Gira , ha retomado su proyecto -y lado más oscuro musical- de Swans , con un nuevo disco titulado "My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky" que, según el artista -también creador de Angels of Light-, es la continuación de donde se había quedado este antiguo proyecto (cerca de 1997) con su mítico álbum doble "Soundtracks For The Blind". A decir verdad, no había tenido la oportunidad de escuchar este nuevo material hasta que esta mañana la gente [...]
I've had a draft of a post dedicated to the Swans sitting in the queue for probably a year now. What I was planning to do was create a selection of posts just dedicated to things deemed in my mind "classics" and the late career live album Swans Are Dead is something that falls into that category. Perfect transition, as the news has hit that Michael Gira, frontman to both Angels of Light and Swans is reforming the latter with a mixture of old members and new for a tour this year. As well, [...]
Founding American industrial tormentors Swans are no longer dead
Filed under: News , Album , New Releases In an email message sent through his record label, Young God Records , experimental rocker Michael Gira has confirmed his intent to reform Swans, the influential "no wave" band which once paved the way for Sonic Youth , among others. "I have decided to focus my energy on Swans once again," writes Gira. "I'm reactivating that project." Swans formed in 1982 and initially disbanded in 1997. Since then, Gira has kept busy with side-projects including Angels of Light and the Body [...]
I never got to see Michael Gira 's ridiculously influential band Swans perform... probably because I was just starting high school and had no effing clue who they were when they broke up, back in 1997. So, after months of hint-dropping and message board buzzing, it's pretty exciting to learn that the band is, in fact, making a comeback . The group that our friends at The Quietus aptly describe as a "seminal noise/post punk/malevolent gothic troupe" already has the deliciously gloomy, desolate, solo-Gira acoustic track "Jim" posted at its MySpace page [...]
Akron/Family & Angels of Light Akron/Family & Angels of Light (Young God, 2005) When Akron/Family created the first half of this split CD they must’ve been aware of the impact it would have on thousands of listeners around the world. I mean how could you listen to it and not immediately mark Akron/Family as your new favourite band of all time? In seven songs, Akron/Family crammed in more creativity, energy and sheer musical bravado than could be heard in 5o full albums from all the RIYL bands that you could throw at them. [...]
Today was one of those "I hate my life" days, but since I came home from work things are slowly turning around. Maybe a little Sunday Mix Tape will help sooth my frazzled nerves. RULES for uninitiated noobs : With roughly 100MB of webspace, I give birth to a weekly Mix Tape to be deposited on your iPods or Zunes or Kingklangs or whatever the industry is currently pushing on you. Sometimes there will be themes that link all the songs together, other times I'll just throw songs at a wall (not literally) and see [...]
I'm back in Los Angeles. I slept for about 10 hours and am still getting reacclimatized to this place. I'd like to extend a "Happy Mother's Day" to my mom. Of course, she's probably not reading this website today. She only ever visits the page when I've written something nasty about baby boomers or blamed my parents for making me a miserable human being. I don't think she's ever seen a positive note on this page. Oh well, I guess that's my fault. Also, congratulations to Nicci. She was in a student film that premiered tonight, and she [...]
While listening to San Juan, P.R. raised/NYC based band Suturee , I realized that I might have found my theme music for the post-nuclear winter. With nods to Nico and the Velvet Underground , Suturee is vintage dream-pop and a brilliantly executed soundtrack to a foggy afternoon. Their debut album sticks close to a kind of retro balladry and instrumental density that sneak into your consciousness before you even realize it. There is something to Suturee's music that defies time and makes you sit up and listen. These are the future [...]
Well, color me gobsmacked! According to a few personal accounts and a subsequent article on Brainwashed , New York-based no wave/experimental act Swans may be reforming, with rumors of a new record and tour in embryonic stages. Essentially, the article claims that Michael Gira's new set of songs, performed intimately at Tufts University, reminded the imposing singer more of Swans material than his latter-day efforts as The Angels of Light , and may appear on a future, undisclosed Swans record, the first since Gira retired the moniker in 1997. He didn't offer a slew of concrete info, but [...]
the first time i heard akron/family (who happened to be touring with the dodos recently) was their split album with michael gira's angels of light , with the first half of the record comprising their originals and the second half faithfully backing gira. the song that marked the end of their section was "raising the sparks", itself an epic in two parts. beginning rather carefully as a sung-out family fable, it rumbles after a couple of verses and stumbles into a base, repetitive series of yelled murmurings, which itself gives way a stomping anthem and a party [...]
The photo above is Kenny Bloggins doing his angry Michael Gira face, exhibited with the gatefold spread of the Can't Find My Way Home 123 by Swans. I love this single. It was a going-away gift from punk rock historian Uncle Bill Widener when I moved to Chicago. I like to crank it when I take my relaxation bubble bath, agitated by only the finest sacred oils and incenses imported from India. This, among other reasons, inspired a little write-up on Swans . First, boo's been into reading rock biographies lately. In the past [...]
I'm not sure how many of you have been reading this page for a while, but some of you may remember last summer's "The Great Chili Cook-off That Never Was" . 368 days ago, I tried to attend the Beverly Hills Farmer's Market Chili Cook-off. I showed up too late, and lamented my misfortunate for longer than I should have considering I didn't have a job or anything to do that day anyway. Nevertheless, when I saw this past week that somebody had Google'd "Beverly Hills Farmers Market Chili Cook-off", I got to thinking that maybe it was an [...]
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