As I said, Matthew Lindley & Troubadour Deluxe were the openers. If it falls on the opening act to truly warm up a crowd, in a bar, on a Friday night, ML&TD did the trick just fine. Not too flashy, just a five-piece with a few pretty harmonies, glib songwriting and a lead guitarist (Dean Kattari) that deftly noodled through each song like it was the first one he ever learned. Lindley's songs tend toward the stories of Americana; sappy love songs, soul baring confessionals with a sense of fun and a country edge. Highlight was [...]
In the Book Notes series, authors create and discuss a music playlist that relates in some way to their recently published book. Lydia Millet is one of my favorite writers, and her first collection of short fiction, Love in Infant Monkeys marries celebrities with animals to great effect. These keenly written interactions of human and animal move these tales forward and offer rare insights into the human psyche as well as our celebrity-obsessed culture. The Los Angeles Times wrote of the book: "Lydia Millet's first [...]
Last seen speeding through the chrome and glitter Delorean inspired world of Neon Neon, Ms. Le Bon has packed up her silver suitcase hung up her moon boots and headed back to her roots. Anyone expecting an album of Roland drum machine influenced rejects will be sorely disappointed, the only whiff of eighties pomp and glamour to be found here is her fantastically ironic New Romantic surname… Instead her debut offering Me Oh My is a crooked take on the usual singer-songwriter fare. Folksy piano led tunes are interspersed with unexpected wonky Moog bleeps and [...]
I got the opportunity to see War on Drugs guitarist and recent Matador acquisition Kurt Vile on the final date of his American tour. I turned the following in to another local blog but was horrendously late in doing so. I still find this review relevant to anyone curious about Vile, who has become one of my favorite new finds of 2009. So here are my thoughts on last week's Black Cat show. Photo from the Matador Records website [...]
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals and Brett Dennen_7 , originally uploaded by PZAO .
The problem with a list like this is the "shoulds". You know, the albums you feel like everyone else will pick, so you "should," too? Well, this time I decided not to deal with those. My list is based on the number of times I listened to these albums since they came out, whether I love them so much I already know every word to every song, how much it moved me, etc. This is a personal list. It isn't intended to be complete or controversial. That said, I know I'll get crap for [...]
For ramblings on how I came to compile this list go here . And for commentary on previous selections: [ #50-46 ] [ #45-41 ] 40. Goodbye Doris - Fox Jaws (2007) Barrie's Fox Jaws are easily one of my favorite live bands, and I make a point of trying [...]
Modern Radio is one of the finest local record labels the Twin Cities has ever seen. Congrats on 10 years guys, it sounds like a helluva way to celebrate! Friday, January 22nd at the Turf Club FT (The Shadow Government) Daughters of the Sun The Chambermaids Double Bird Sheridan Fox (His Mischief) 21+, doors at 9PM - $7 Saturday, January 23rd at the Cedar Cultural Center The Plastic Constellations Skoal Kodiak Vampire Hands STNNNG and more! [...]
La scorsa settimana abbiamo terminato il nostro viaggio attraverso gli album più importanti del decennio che si sta concludendo. Abbiamo quindi pensato di riassumere il tutto in questo post che non è altro che la lista completa, tappa per tappa, degli album che di volta in volta abbiamo approfondito, in modo tale da avere una sorta di indice delle varie puntate. Dopo il salto trovate anche la listona di tutti gli album che di anno in anno sono stati inseriti fra "gli album da salvare". [...]
Back on the world stage for the first time in thirty three years (and for the first time ever on these shores), Yusuf Islam has chosen to make his return in a decidedly eclectic and non-conformist manner. It was, undoubtedly, a spectacular way to make your Irish debut - the massive, near sell out, O2 Arena, and despite his singer songwriter identity and persona, his stature and the performance ensured the massive venue had, at points, an intimate feel. Often his charm and character meant it felt like he was performing for you and nobody else. The first half was [...]
I hate that people expect a person to stay classy after a break up. Fuck that, I was never like that and I'm not going to act like it now. I'm immature and a mess if you didn't know already and... Well, just let my sistas tell it... I went there: MP3: KEEPIN' IT DESPERATE MIX (101 MB) 1. Calvin Harris - Can't Get Alone (Dirty South Bootleg) [...]
[The internet has a habit of making friends of strangers and I guess I would have to describe Campfires & Battlefields as my best friend-I've-never-met. He is one of the longest standing readers and commenters of this blog, and has written another two fine Sunday Supplement posts for us this week. Cheers C&B.] To me modern German music has always been about the monosyllabic pioneers of Krautrock. Can. Faust. Neu! Or perhaps the ear-shattering crunch of Einsturzende Neubauten's strategies against architecture. Brilliant stuff, but forbidding too; and sometimes a little too Baader-Meinhof for my bourgeois ass. [...]
[The internet has a habit of making friends of strangers and I guess I would have to describe Campfires & Battlefields as my best friend-I've-never-met. He is one of the longest standing readers and commenters of this blog, and has written another two fine Sunday Supplement posts for us this week. Cheers C&B.] To me modern German music has always been about the monosyllabic pioneers of Krautrock. Can. Faust. Neu! Or perhaps the ear-shattering crunch of Einsturzende Neubauten's strategies against architecture. Brilliant stuff, but forbidding too; and sometimes a little too Baader-Meinhof for my bourgeois ass. [...]
Knocking our heads for a spin with his straight-out-of-the-desert brand of stoner/doom rock, Oscape made a big impression on the Ripple office when their first EP The Growing Ground fell into our laps. Needless to say, we couldn't wait til we had a chance to chat with Oscape's main man, Scott Heller, and dig deep into his fertile mind. When I was a kid, growing up in a house with Cat Stevens, Neil Diamond, and Simon and Garfunkle, the first time I ever heard Kiss's "Detroit Rock City," it was a moment of musical epiphany. It was [...]
In thinking about the end of this year coming up in a month or so, I decided to go through my music collection. I came across the "Dark Was the Night" CD, which features a lot of artists teaming up. These include: Andrew Bird, Bon Iver, The Books featuring Jose Gonzalez, Cat Power [...]
Alan Ball was known for his masterful use of music in Six Feet Under. He's lost none of his touch when it comes to his current HBO series, True Blood - which happens to be set in the Louisiana swa... Continue reading "The Music of HBO's True Blood, Episode 1.6: Making the Two-Backed Beast to Cat Power" >
In the Book Notes series, authors create and discuss a music playlist that relates in some way to their recently published book. Hanan Al-Shaykh's The Locust and The Bird is a unique memoir, a mother's life written by her estranged daughter, told in the first person. Not many authors could pull this off, but Al-Shaykh, widely regarded as one of the Arab world's finest writers, does so with incredible effect. Kamila (Al-Shaykh's mother) can neither read nor write, so she dictates her story of a forced marriage, search for true [...]
The thing that I've always liked about the singer/songwriter has always been their ability to strip the music down to its barest form and move the soul with a vibrant array of lyrics. But the lyrics alone don't do the work. Generally, the voice comes in and conveys the emotion with well phrased lines, slight changes in intonation, subtle nuances that captivate the senses and let the imagination soar. These singer/songwriters have the power of conviction behind their voices and for many years now, I've listened to the various works of artists like Jim Croce and Cat [...]
Moop Jaw is a collective of 4 artists working predominantly in music videos but don't be fooled, they have their sights set on world domination. We spoke to one quarter of the collective, Rhett Wade-Ferrell, about his recent trip to America, stalking Jessica Biel, shooting a Christian Joy documentary and working with Neon Indian and Peaches. Also known as reasons this whole "world domination" thing might come to fruition. Hey Rhett, we hear you've been working on the new Neon Indian video - how did that come about? We met Alan Polomo (Neon [...]
( robert bonnin ) Cat Power – Song To Bobby Enable Javascript to play audio content on this site. [...]
new music from vampire weekend – cousins + music video
Friday Five: Surf Songs
Beach House: Norway
No Curve Allowed (Grading This Week's New Tracks)
