UNCOOL #1: Guiltless Pleasures by UNCOOL For the last couple months, I've been working with some of my favorite writers to put together the first issue of UNCOOL , a new music publication for curious people. This issue is themed and titled Guiltless Pleasures . It's about exploring why we worry about the music we love and the forms that can take - from watching a favorite band's career publicly implode to embracing a once-embarrassing teenage passion to, uh, skipping Arcade Fire to see Soundgarden. You'll also find a reenactment of my [...]
I see you. You may have heard about the coming death of Google Reader. Here are two other options, if you haven't switched yet: The Old Reader , which is what it sounds like, and Feedly , which is a little flashier. You can follow my writing on Tumblr and Twitter . Rawkblog is 8 years old now and is still alive. As ever, full-time freelancing doesn't leave a lot of room for this blog, but I'm still paying for the web space and I don't particularly trust Tumblr. Thanks for following me [...]
There are thousands of bands playing SXSW. Thousands. Every year, I skim a few hundred of them beforehand in hopes of finding some hidden gems—then spend hours rigorously hunting down the potentially least populated parties to see the year’s better buzz bands. Below, you’ll find the most honest list of interesting SXSW bands I can give you, sorted by how easy I think it’ll be to see them. One of the fun parts of SXSW is seeing how many people actually care about these bands in real life, so I don’t have a crystal ball for show attendance, just my [...]
Fear of Men is of my favorite new bands of this young year. Looking forward to seeing them in Austin. Maybe they'll cover "Linger"? Cross your fingers. (via Gorilla vs. Bear ) Find more music new and old with Playlist Club , my weekly hand-curated music discovery service.
Here's some confidently silly Sunday afternoon hip-hop from Chance the Rapper, a song amusing enough for this L.A. native to excuse a Lakers diss. Download his album #10Day for free . (Via Kevin )
Rhye's debut album, Woman , is a breathtaking collection. Not quite a dance record, not quite minimalist R&B, it melds the romance of bedroom soul with chamber-pop sophistication. It sounds a bit like Owen Pallett making a Sade record; or, for that matter, like the silk sheets sequel to the bridge of Usher's "Climax." It's out today on Republic Records. ( Buy )
Rose Melberg / photo by David Greenwald Here are some new songs and new-to-me songs I've been thoroughly enjoying lately, with links to further listening. I've been posting the occasional track on Tumblr , but I think I'll round them up here on the Rawkblog mothership. Notarized and Signed by Imaginary Pants Imaginary Pants is a new (touring!!!) duo featuring Rawkblog heroine Rose Melberg , whose vocals are as lovely as ever on this track. The band's quiet/loud Bandcamp EP is free. [...]
I covered the Grammys for Billboard last week and was struck, like most viewers, by Miguel's stripped-down performance of "Adorn." The singer's Kaleidoscope Dream album didn't touch me in the way it did many fans: the production, a rock/R&B hybrid, was progressive but too mushy for his stunning voice to rise above it often enough for my taste. That's solved above. One thing I love about Miguel: his sense of humor, which brings laughs without resorting to (also amazing) R. Kelly-level ridiculousness.
In today's episode of Rawkblog Presents , Jacob Burch and I celebrate Magic: The Gathering's 20th anniversary, talk about our gaming history and discuss Gatecrash, Magic's latest set. Download : Rawkblog Presents, Episode 16: Magic: The Gathering Previously : * Episode 1, Pitchfork Fest (Chris Ott, Paul De Revere) * Episode 2, The Dark Knight Rises (Mark Humphrey) * [...]
Loose lips sink relationships . LA Font's excellent, oddly nautical-themed sophomore album will be out this year, probably as soon as you give them a record deal, you handsome tastemaker. I have written about them a lot .
Here's a new video from, surprise, Hem, the makers of much of the last decade's prettiest Americana music. Thanks to the singularly lovely voice of Sally Ellyson, "Tourniquet" is another addition to the band's subtle but stunning catalog. It's the first single from Departure and Farewell , due April 2 on Waveland. If you're not familiar with the band, Rabbit Songs is an all-time classic.
Despite a decade-plus of Nigel Godrich obsession - I bought Beck's Sea Change on release day in the quiet, awful days before advance streams - I managed to sleep on the longtime Radiohead producer's new band. Ultraísta's superb self-titled debut is full of gummy-bear synthesizers and familiar sounds: among the many highlights, "You're Out" evokes Kid A 's lemon-sucking and "Wash It Over" provides a floating showcase for Laura Bettinson's feather-light vocals. Watch the "Wash It Over" video above. The band just canceled some dates due to a family emergency but hopefully they'll be back on the [...]
As much as we hunger for classic albums, sets that stand on their own two mind-melting feet, there's something to be said for following an artist at a career's pace. Toro Y Moi hasn't made his OK Computer yet, but with every release, he comes a little closer. 20102s Causers of This marked him as a savvy master of the fledgling chillwave sorta-genre he and groups such as Washed Out pioneered, while a pair of tour CD-Rs - one officially released last year as June 2009 - showcased his hi-fi EDM aspirations and his [...]
In today's episode of Rawkblog Presents , Paul de Revere , Erik Burg and Tyler Andere talk about what it's like to be a young freelance music writer, blogger and everything in between in 2013 - and why none of us live in New York. Discussed within: several great Tumblr posts about freelancing . Download : Rawkblog Presents, Episode 15: Freelance Life [...]
One of the great pleasures of keeping up with new music is when a band bashes through the blogosphere static with a song that triggers lightning in your veins and chills down your spine - and of course, it doesn't get much worse than when an album you've waited for for months sounds like Michael Jordan playing baseball. With that in mind, this is by no means a definitive list of what to expect in 2013, just a handful of picks to look out for from the reliable crystal ball of my inbox. P.S. to the new My Bloody Valentine [...]
The 2013 Album Release Calendar page is live. Bookmark it: I'll be updating it on a semi-weekly basis. Lots of exciting stuff coming this year, though most of it (I see you, My Bloody Valentine) is missing release dates at the moment. Here are a few of my particularly anticipated announced albums from the first few months of 2013. P.S., you can play these tracks in a single playlist with the ex.fm player in the bottom right corner of the page. January 15 A$AP Rocky – Long.Live.A$AP (RCA) [...]
Places you can find me and my work in the months to come: Email: david.elliot.greenwald AT gmail.com Twitter: @daverawkblog Resume, bio, clips and photo portfolio: davidgreenwald.com Rawkblog Presents pop culture podcast: iTunes (audio) and YouTube (video) Rawkblog Playlist Club, my curated weekly music subscription service: rawkblog.net/playlist Music blogging: Rawkblog.com + RSS Tumblr/general blogging: Rawkblog.tumblr.com + RSS Photography: Meaningless Before + RSS I am writing regularly for Billboard , MTV and [...]
In today's giant-sized year-end episode of Rawkblog Presents , Consequence of Sound managing editor Jeremy D. Larson and I go in on 2012, from Frank Ocean and Kendrick Lamar to making a living on music in the Spotify era. It's almost as long as good kid, m.A.A.d city . Enjoy. Download : Rawkblog Presents, Episode 14: 2012 in Review Previously : * Episode 1, Pitchfork [...]
The Rawking Refuses To Stop!
Lana Del Rey is the “Queen of Disaster” on New ‘Born To Die’ Leak
Eurovision Song Contest 2013, vince la Danimarca con Emmelie De Forest. Marco Mengoni è settimo.
It’s A Celebration
