Rick 's Top Lists of 2012 Ohhh the Draw Us Lines "Best Of" 2012...a bit late, which I dig. Remember: the best music takes time to sink in. Why do music sites release "Best Of" lists in November or December anyways? THE YEAR'S NOT EVEN OVER YET. That new Scott Walker album alone took at least two months to process! Anyways, 2012 wasn't THE strongest year for new music, arguably, but boy was there some solid releases. When I look back, here's the stuff I'll remember most... [...]
Vicki 's Top Lists of 2012 I went into 2012 with a very ambitious goal of trying to cover more musical ground than in the year before. I set up a playlist and began adding songs from all of the new releases, in an effort to keep track of them all. By March my playlist was already over 100 songs, and undoubtedly did not encapsulate everything new. This approach allowed me to sample a lot of different songs from a variety of artists, but I never really felt that I'd absorbed anything. More importantly, [...]
Chris ' Top Lists of 2012 This was a good year for music. It usually always is. Mostly, the more one pays attention to new material, the more they think, “This was a good year for music”. It’s safe to say that a lot of the bands I adored back in college took a break this year (save a few, see below), which left a power vacuum in my heart. This year I made a point not to be a jackass in my review, let’s see if it works. [...]
Grace Potter & The Nocturnals / Stage AE / Thursday 01.31 / Doors 7:00 / $25 Words by Brendan In the 10 years (and counting) span that Grace Potter & The Nocturnals have been together, they've managed to grow as a band and explore several arenas of the modern rock canon rather successfully. The band started when Potter was approached by drummer Matt Burr after performing some of her own folk songs at a campus coffee place. The band then developed a bit of [...]
Words by Ricky Rumors of a new My Bloody Valentine album dominate indie rock news clippings yearly. If you’ve been keeping track, it’s 23+ years since Loveless graced our ears (and emptied Creation Record’s wallet). By all means, Kevin Shields, take your time! Amazing whammy-bar-dive-bombs don’t record themselves-it may take a few thousand tries to nail'em down. Yeah it's annoying, but there's something admirable in perfecting a work of art for a weirdly long period of time-be it a never-gonna-be-released album, a novel, or even that adorable [...]
Words by Vicki Sometimes the best concerts are the ones you go into with no expectations. Earlier in 2012 , I went to see Other Lives , thanks to a cheap ticket and the knowledge that soon after the show, the band was slated to go on tour with Radiohead . I hadn’t heard anything else about the band, but that was enough to pique my curiosity. I had no way of knowing I was about to see the best live show of my [...]
Words by Brendan It's a New Year! What are your musical resolutions for 2013? For us, we're looking to do lots more blogging, sharing our favorite bands and songs, and letting you know about upcoming shows. For you, perhaps you're looking to see some more shows, explore some more local bands. Well, this weekend is a good chance to do just that! Pittsburgh band Atlas is releasing a new EP tonight, Jenny Owen Youngs is coming to town tomorrow, and Weird Paul is doing his monthly 99 variety show at [...]
Words by Ricky The name may suggest an underground Ambien-dealing drug collective, but I assure you, Sleep Experiments remains an innocent band of musicians. Their compositions rely on ambiance (without being an “ambient band”), acoustic guitar (without being an “acoustic band”), dreamy vocals and stomp box delays (without being a “shoegaze band”), and some mean songwriting chops (without being too mean). In fact I’d burn their new LP of baby-bedtime-worthy-jams for my 4-month old niece had that measly FBI Anti-Piracy Warning not sneaked its way onto the back cover. [...]
Words by Ricky Whatever happened to bands dorky-enough to cover obscure songs that (maybe) 20 folks in our small city appreciate?? Over a year ago inside a smoky Howlers (back in the days of blood-red walls and credit cards), my ears perked up when the discernible intro to my favorite Feelies song blared from the concert space next door. I dashed into the show and was greeted by sweetly shrill vocals, some drum set-programmed crazy rhythms, and (what sounded like) a wall of amplifiers spewing electric guitar [...]
Words by Ricky Check out that band photo-that’s a kickass gang of dudes who just returned from a B.O.C. concert, circa ’76 ( Agents of Fortune tour?*). OK, not true. The photo was probably snapped a few weeks ago, as they form a Pittsburgh band that shares a name with an innocently tame amusement park ride. No, they're not Garfield’s Nightmare (that would make for a sweet noise band name, though). It’s Carousel . A bad-ass EP now exists that documents their 70’s hard rock-influenced riffage, and [...]
Words, Photos, and Video by Ricky Everyone’s already told you … Austin, TX remains a kickass, music-obsessive city despite it being surrounded by a dirt-filled desert of conservatism. The massive SXSW and Austin City Limits Festivals flood the town with traveling music dorks each year, but a younger, cozier, and (dare I say) FUN festival crept into the scene seven years ago. The Fun Fun Fun Fest! The name says it all … organizers strive for a festival devoid of pricey, overcrowded Coachella or Lollapalooza vibes. Their gift for assembling lineups [...]
Words, Photos, and Video by Ricky Everyone’s already told you…Austin…it’s a kickass, music-obsessed city despite it surrounded by a dirt-filled desert of conservatism. The massive SXSW and Austin City Limits Festivals flood the town with traveling music dorks each year, but a younger, cozier, and (dare I say) FUN festival crept into the scene seven years ago. The Fun Fun Fun Fest! The name says it all…organizers strive for a festival devoid of too-expensive, overcrowded Coachella or Lollapalooza vibes. Their gift for assembling lineups THAT MATTER and convincing vital bands to reunite for [...]
Words by Ricky Let’s start by declaring Legs Like Tree Trunks one of the best bands in Pittsburgh. Yeah I said it. They haven’t existed long. If memory serves me right (which it sometimes doesn’t), all four members have played together for two years or so. Still they’ve gained a solid following thanks to touring and playing a shit-ton of shows. Their first EP saw the light of day last year—it was quite good. Equally impressive is their 2nd EP, which recently made its way to the webz. [...]
Words by Brendan There are. Literally. Too many concerts happening tonight. Into catchy garage rock? Check out Habibi and The Mallard at Garfield Artworks. Wanna shred and headbang and forget to wear earplugs? Get out to Gooski's and catch Carousel and Electric Hawk . How about some kraut rock and psychedelic noises? The Shop is your best bet, with Chicago's Cave and locals Dark [...]
Words by Brendan Have you ever seen a band live and really loved it, but then the band's music gets lost in the wayward times of your life and you forget about them until like a year later and you notice that they're playing your city again but you can't go due to work, but then you see that they just released a new EP and you go and listen to it and you remember why you loved seeing them in the first place? Yeah. That happened recently with Santah [...]
Said The Whale + Cold Weather + Sleepy V Howlers / 11.14.2012 / 9:00 / $8 "Resonant Frequency - A Love Letter To Said The Whale " Words by Matt What is it that can make a person go to inordinate lengths to see a band perform? What could be the rationale for driving 800+ miles, going through border patrol, and doing it alone? The answer, dear friends, can [...]
Words by Brendan Sometimes, we lament a great band skipping over Pittsburgh on their way from Philly to Cleveland. It happens, for one reason or another. Tonight, though, it seems like a whole bunch of acts collaborated to make sure our decision about where to go and who to see would be as difficult as possible. Black Moth Super Rainbow at Mr. Small's? I want to go to there. Yellow Ostrich at Brillobox? I want to go to there. Horse Feathers at Club Café? I [...]
Cuddle Magic + City Dwelling Nature Seekers + The Daredevil Christopher Wright / Howlers / Monday 11.05 / 9:00 / $8 Words by Brendan Late notice on this, but hopefully yinz see this and are free tonight and can make it out to Bloomfield for a great show! Info Nympho by Cuddle Magic Cuddle Magic hails from Philadelphia. Their latest album, Info Nympho (streamable above), is full of inventive chamber pop, [...]
Words by Jacob I had an epiphany when I realized that my Soundtracking eye had yet to cast its gaze on Halloween. How did I miss this? Not only is this a pseudo-holiday (if work doesn't close, it's not a real holiday) fraught with a number of recognizable moods and sounds and images, it also provides me with enough cover to get away with mentioning a few of the millions of metal bands that I not-so-secretly love and want to share with you. So, without further ado, below is a list [...]
Words by Brendan All Hallow's Eve is upon us! Wednesday is the day of celebration, the dance of the dead. There's no need for a suave/slutty costume; there's no need for candy; there's no need for jack-o'-lanterns and cobwebs and tombstones. All you need are some friends, some pumpkin beers, and some good fucking music. That's where we come in. Here's a mixtape of Halloweeny tunes for you to play at your party. Some of these bands are as old as the hills, and some I quite literally just heard about [...]
Draw Us Lines
Listen to Daft Punk’s “Horizon”, the Japanese bonus track for Random Access Memories
Baauer knocks trap music out of the park with Disclosure ‘You & Me’ remix
Talking Heads interpretando Psycho Killer con Arthur Rusell en el cello
