Blog: GoGoIndieRocket

Why? :: "Song of the Sad Assassin" We loves us some Why? here at the 'rocket, and "Song of the Sad Assassin," what with its clunky toy-piano riffs and lurching structure, is one of my favorite jams from Alopecia , one of my favorite records from this year. The video is as brain-melting as some of Yoni Wolf's abstract rhymes, but that's why we like it, innit? Band of Horses :: "No One's Gonna Love You" [...]

This was posted to Idolator this morning under the headline "The Future of Music, Whether You Like It Or Not." The indierocket! response: Jesus. Fucking. Christ . It's as if someone invented a machine that took the characters from Rock Band — complete and utter lack of charisma and all — and made them real. Then made them start a band. A shitty, dishwater-grey mallternative band. Seriously. There is absolutely nothing redeeming about this. Nothing. If this is the "future of music," as Idolator posits, then [...]

Capsule Blue (Robotic Empire) Verdict: 9.0. RIYL: Orchid, Off Minor, Pg. 99, Circle Takes the Square, Cave In skramz (skrāmz) - noun 1. Informal A new term for the screamo/emo bands of the 90s, or anything that is REAL screamo/emo. I'm not sure if the term is supposed to be taken seriously or not, but it's there. Possibly created in revolt of the shitty 'new' emo bands and self-proclaimed 'emo' kids. (source: urbandictionary .) You see, this is [...]

Pelican is an instrumental band from Chicago that plays a dense, sprawling, heavy brand of instrumental music that often gets the band branded "post-metal." But that doesn't sit well with guitarist Laurent Schroeder-Lebec: indierocket! spoke with Lebec in advance of the band's upcoming show at the New Brookland Tavern about why post-anything is bullshit. An edited transcript is after the jump. More... The first thing people probably notice about Pelican is the absence of a singer. Was it always the intention [...]

dear loyal indierocket! readers (hi, mom!): between new jobs and new situations at old new jobs, indierocket comrade tug and i have been busy. that's no excuse for our neglect, though. we'll try harder. we promise. -patrick.

This makes me giggle: "BLOOMINGTON -- A 12-year-old boy was arrested and accused of throwing a rock through a hip-hop performer's tour bus windshield Thursday night, police said. Bloomington Police Lt. Pete Avery said the boy told officers, "I hate Soulja Boy." I believe the children are our future.

I'm a big Kaki King fan; I think Legs to Make Us Longer was one of the best albums of its year, and ...until we felt red is an underrated pleasure. "Pull Me Out Alive," the first single from King's newest longplayer Dreaming of Revenge , released today. It's an interesting mid-tempo indie-pop track, and the mostly strummed (and incredibly jangly) guitar work seems to mark a departure point from her previous textured-guitar work. I'm interested to see how the rest of the record turns out; hopefully, King won't have abandoned [...]

Get Out is indierocket!'s occasional guide to getting down in the Soda City. ...for science!, Anthems for Odyssey New Brookland Tavern :: 7 p.m. ...for science! plays loud, slow, heavy post-rock; Anthems for Odyssey plays tight, fuzzy, gothic shoegaze. It's a nice complement; trust us. Damage: $5 ($7 under 21) .

American Gun The Means and the Machine (Diamond D) Verdict: 8.3. RIYL: Whiskeytown, Lucero, Drive-By Truckers, Avett Brothers In the grand tradition of Southern rock bands — and please note the distinction from Southern-rock bands a la Skynyrd et al — American Gun possesses a hootin', hollerin', carryin-on' spirit that wouldn't feel authentic coming from a band of carpetbaggers. Indeed, much of American Gun's swagger can be traced to old-time country's bigwigs — The Man in Black, The Possum, The Red-Headed Stranger, The Killer and The King — [...]

You might remember me posting the demo for this song a while back . Back then, it was just a track on a four-song demo EP that they had thrown together themselves. Now signed to Sub Pop , Mat Brooke and Co. are about to drop their full-length (out Feb. 19th - pre-order and you get a bonus 7-inch), and to whet our whistle, Sub Pop has released the final version of 'Torn Blue Foam Couch.' To be honest, I'm a little torn with how to feel about the new version. I suppose that's [...]

• Torn Foam Blue Couch (final) » Grand Archives - Torm Blue Foam Couch-of....mp3

Get Out! is indierocket!'s occasional guide to getting down in the Soda City. FRIDAY :: 02.01.08 Black Swan :: Hunter-Gatherer :: 11 p.m. Black Swan 's dark, progressive indie rock makes excellent use of post-rock and goth-rock touchstones, creating a moody, atmospheric sound all its own. Reid Hardaway's nimble, heavily reverbed arpeggios counter-balance Courtney Vincent's simple piano structures perfectly, and Hardaway's tasteful use of delay recalls early British shoegazers Ride. And let's not forget the rhythm section, the simple-yet-effective combination [...]

• Josh Roberts And The Hinges - Every Brick Of Downtown

You SEE, THEEE -oh, the HIP-HOP is a moral sewer, you see, with the suggestive dancing with hippin' and hoppin' and bippin' and boppin'. You see, we had the jazz MU -sic back in my day, THEEE -oh, we didn't have the dope-pusherrrrrs and the soldier boys with their crankin' and their supermen. Why don't you get yourself some JELL-O pud - ding with the flavors and the chocolate and tastes so good in your mouth and tongue, you see. ROOOO - DEEEE !!! Bill Cosby Working on Rap [...]

Aloha Light Works (Polyvinyl) Verdict : 6.4. RIYL: Death Cab for Cutie, The Shins Light Works is an astutely appropriate title: The seven tunes on the mini-LP (or really long EP) are profoundly quiet, eschewing Aloha's trademark prog-rock clamor for plaintive, heart-on-sleeve indie-pop built on pristine, plucked acoustic guitars and pastoral piano figures. Indeed, "Too much of anything is wrong," which Tony Cavallario muses on "Passengers," is much less a lyric and much more a statement of purpose; to call [...]

Ben Gibbard: " Narrow Stairs — now that is an exciting title! Huh. That's funny. I can't feel my pulse. Shouldn't I have a pulse? Could this have something to do with the bland, watered-down tripe I've been releasing since We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes ?" Chris Walla: "No. You're fine. Now let me get back to my solo record." Death Cab for Cutie Name New Album [via deathcabforcutie.com]

Before I even start talking about these videos, I would like to (respectfully) inform Nada Surf bassist Daniel Lorca why he doesn't get too much facetime in these videos. Here's a hint - it rhymes with 'red socks.' Apart from questionable hair decisions, I'm pretty excited about Barsuk releasing the new Nada Surf album Lucky on Feb. 5th. Weight Is A Gift and Let Go are two of the best straight-up pop/rock albums of the Aughts. The few promo tracks released thus far haven't completely won me over, but admittedly, their previous two albums [...]

Here's the thing about music that's designed to fit a purpose: It is (or at least should be) judged against Eno's Music for Airports . Above, you'll see Stockholm's Nordic Light Hotel , the core design element of which, according to its website, is the Northern Lights . And the hotel (or at least the marketing firm the hotel employs) has asked a very strange question, at least for a hotel (or at least the marketing firm the hotel employs): What does light sound like? "This question," the hotel's website reads, "inspired our [...]

Please apologize my recent lack of posts, but holidays + mini vacation + (new job x 2) = Tug has been short on time recently. I did want to take the time, however, to tell you guys about a guaranteed barn-burner going on tomorrow night at The Whig. You've heard me talk about American Aquarium many times before, so it should be no surprise that I'm excited about a solo tour by their lead singer BJ Barham. Now you've heard me extol the virtues of American Aquarium, and how they're a boisterous, hard-drinking explosion of a band, and while that [...]

Soulja boy off in this hoe / Watch me crank it, watch me roll / Watch me crank dat soulja boy 1 / Then Superman dat ho 2 / Now watch me do (crank dat soulja boy) / Now watch me do (crank dat soulja boy) / Now watch me do (crank dat soulja boy) / Now watch me do (crank dat soulja boy) 1. Crank dat Soulja Boy: Verb. 1. Masturbating an erect penis. 2. Superman that ho: Verb. 1. The act of ejaculating on your sexual partner's back and then stick the sheets to [...]

Can we just throw this tripe on Gilmore Girls and be done with it? Smashing Pumpkins Issue New EP Today [Pitchfork] Smashing Pumpkins - "Rose March" [via themodernmusic.com]

• The Smashing Pumpkins - themodernmusic.com Rose March

In which indierocket! editor Patrick counts down his favorite records of the year. More... 1. Dirty Projectors, Rise Above (Dead Oceans) Mad genius Dave Longstreth and company rewrite, reimagine and recontextualize Black Flag's seminal classic Damaged , showing that the problems of [...]