Because Neutral Milk Hotel, The Decemberists, and Arcade Fire had to go and exist, an inordinate number of up-and-coming young indie bands presently have at least one stringed instrument (or perhaps an entire section) or at least one trumpet (or perhaps an entire section) or at least one vocalist who sounds like Colin Meloy or Win Butler (or an entire section), and by and large, these groups are boring and derivate and possess the inexplicable ability to make me angry inside when they open at shows. On The Rules Were Handed Down EP , St. Louis's Gentelman [...]
In between consecutive shows at Schuba's in Chicago this April, The Wrens played a very special acoustic performance for one lucky fan in his apartment . This rendition of "Everyone Choose Sides" features drummer Jerry on cereal box.
Tucson Weekly examines how Pretty Girls Make Graves evolved in response to the departure of guitarist Nathan Thelen prior to the recording of the band's last album, Élan Vital . "The format that we had gotten used to stopped working," explained bassist Derek Fudesco. Rather than work together on bits and pieces, individual members brought in fleshed-out songs. Before, "someone would bring something in, and we'd turn it into something different," said Fudesco. Now, "the biggest thing is just working on other people's songs, rather than just parts, and seeing people's visions through their songs. That's something [...]
Reuters reports that Michael Jackson was less than a stellar in the first step of his purported comeback last night, accepting an award and singing "We Are The World" at The World Music Awards in London . Some critics doubt the pop star will be able to resurrect his singing career, citing the years 1990 to 2006, his last five albums, and, famously, all that shit he did.
BeeThere , a concert guide, is a new service that has the ability to import your iTunes library and notify you when artists listed there are playing in your town. [ Fabulist ]
There will be times, listening to White Flight 's new eponymous LP for Range Life , where you may find yourself reaching for the headphone jack to make sure you're in all the way, knowing full well that there's no such thing as a "back channel" or a "front channel" in the world of two-channel stereo. You'll rotate the plug, thinking it's you who is making the breadth and depth of what you're hearing bounce around parts of your skull that you never knew existed, with the consistent break-beats and psych-folk strumming providing your only [...]
Information Leafblower has compiled a list of the Top 40 American Bands from the ballots of 24 bloggers. TV On The Radio led this year's list after not being ranked last year, while Wolf Notes favorites The Fiery Furnaces slipped from 8 to 25.
The Daily Texan breifly profiles VietNam in anticipation of their debut, revealing that they've actually been a band for five years. "Why would a group wait so long to release its debut? The answer is simple: money. To make up for this time lapse, Vietnam has already recorded three additional EPs and half of their sophomore album."
Pitchfork columnist William Bowers gave Annuals' Be He Me , one of the year's strongest debuts, a 7.8 . While I find myself in agreement with the score, the actual text of the review is ridiculous. First, what does "Refreshingly unconcerned with perpetuating cool, Annuals' attack is fundamentally escapist: Baker seems to prefer living inside his ever-aburst music" mean? Second, Bowers concludes his review with a lyrical misquote and a botched joke about butt-plugs , when, in fact, the line is "magic crying out my eyes," not "ass."
Is it truly possible for music (or a musical style) to be timeless if it experiences a renaissance? There are extreme examples, obviously, like the swing revival that came and went (and the GAP commercials that went with it), but what about the storytelling revival that independent rock music seems to be in the midst of? If The Hold Steady can be revered for telling a story and meaning it like no one since Bruce Springsteen, does this imply that in the subsequent decades between the two, there was simply a void of bands who could adequately [...]
The Federal Trade Comission has approved the UMG purchase of Bertelsmann Music Publishing for roughly 1.26 YouTubes . The purchase, which must be approved by the European Union to continue, will shrink The Big Four (previously The Big Five) major labels to three: Universal Music Group, Capitol/EMI, and Warner Music Group.
At some point this Summer, I became acutely aware that I was probably burnt out on music for the first time in my life, and it wasn't until four weeks ago (when I went on a lengthy no-posting hiatus) that this premonition was fully realized. But I think it really began at a Bishop Allen concert in August at The Beachland Tavern . I've never really liked more than a handful of music blogs and didn't read any regularly before starting this one, but I've always been aware of the 18 [...]
I've never followed a band on consecutive nights before this weekend's shows in Columbus, OH and Newport, KY, but I've finally done it, and I can say for sure the following things: a) I'm very tired, and b) What a difference the crowd makes. The set in Columbus on Friday night was the single most enjoyable concert I've ever had the privelage of attending. And though I've said that the two times I'd seen The Wrens prior to Friday, I'm not one for hyperbolizing: They actually do put on an [...]
Every year a few days before I see the Wrens, I like to have the girl I'm in love with at the time break up with me needlessly so I can mope about it for months afterwards. Sometimes I also enjoy subtlety, but this is not one of those times. With that in mind, here are five songs that have made me cry or have made me bitter or have made me feel like Tim Robbins in that rain scene from Shawshank or maybe just some combination thereof: Spiritualized: "Broken Heart" [...]
Snaggle-toothed glam-smith Justin Hawkins, otherwise known as The Darkness, has quit The Darkness in order to stay on top of his cocaine addition. The group, which evidently had three other members, will continue on without him. I went through a period of doing drugs during shows. I would come off stage and do a line and then go back on. But it affected my voice so I switched to starting the minute I came off stage. I wouldn't stop until I blacked out. Every day focused around drink and drugs. - [...]
If you've not given Gomez -the band who beat out Massive Attack and The Verve for the Mercury Prize in '98-the time of day up until now, let me start by saying "Shame on you." Let me also admit that I've similarly been neglecting them since Jed had me listen to "Whippin' Piccadilly," the lead single from 1998's Bring It On , three or four years ago (if only because I got into Kid A around the same time and that, in all its face-meltyness, took a sort of natural precedent). Across six [...]
As of 10:10 EDT this morning, WOXY is back on the air . The current WOXY is functionally identical to the old one, but changes are expected in the coming weeks, beginning with higher quality streams, once everybody manages to catch their breath.
This Bee Thousand cover appears on the forthcoming And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead album So Divided , due out November 14th on Interscope . "Gold Heart Mountain Top Queen Directory" is given the anthemic treatment here with strings, brass, and tympani and is extended by a full 30 seconds to 2:14. That, in my opinion, is really the only thing wrong with the song; this cover is too slow in comparison: The original, despite being just about as close as Robert Pollard gets to a [...]
This weekend is shaping up to be a very big Wrens weekend for me. Friday night I'm heading down to Columbus to catch the boys at Little Brother's . Saturday, I'll see them at Southgate House in Newport, KY. Some time in between that, I'll make every attempt to watch them record their WOXY Lounge Act. Now, some might call seeing the same band 3 times in a 24 hour period excessive, but not me. Some people look forward to The Superbowl every year. Some people look forward to [...]
Wolf Notes
Monday Music – 28 May 2012
Bison - Quill
