Compiling a list of this magnitude is a daunting task, so we're going to start with a disclaimer. This is "our" favorite albums of the decade and we make no claims that this is the defining, music snob list that you should bow before as you read it. While we shunned the concept initially, we've been disappointed to see a lot of our favorite albums being ignored by the likes of Pitchfork and others. Obviously, there will some overlap (how many Radiohead albums does your list have?), but in general we think this list gives you a [...]
WE WERE PROMISED JETPACKS We cover two gigs today that show off one established act and a band who find themselves at a rather more humble beginning. It's fair to say that this Scottish four piece pack no lesser punch however. We adore them, having previously covered them here and here . If you could bottle the energy and power that this young band play with then you would out-sell Coca Cola. With drums and guitars that sound as if they're being played by Thor himself and their ability to pen [...]
Been quite a while since I've done one of these, shame on me! Miss Tart has a mighty review up of a live show with Brakes Brakes Brakes (The Electric Soft Parade's other band). Sounds like something we all should have attended! [ Love Shack, Baby ] Jim over at QBIM reminded me of how great Hawksley Workman is, something you'd think would be harder to forget. Head over to hear his track 'Maniacs'. [ Quick Before It Melts ] Casey has a great [...]
Frank Yang There's no shortage of terrific records that have been released with the Fat Cat marque, but many of those have been Europe-only territory deals, those same artists having different representation in North America and thus keeping the label's profile over here largely on the down low. That's begun changing in recent years, however, as they've assembled an impressive roster of talent on worldwide deals and thus been able to assemble tours like the one that rolled through the El Mocambo on Saturday night, featuring The Twilight Sad , We Were Promised [...]
Frank Yang There's no shortage of terrific records that have been released with the Fat Cat marque, but many of those have been Europe-only territory deals, those same artists having different representation in North America and thus keeping the label's profile over here largely on the down low. That's begun changing in recent years, however, as they've assembled an impressive roster of talent on worldwide deals and thus been able to assemble tours like the one that rolled through the El Mocambo on Saturday night, featuring The Twilight Sad , We Were Promised [...]
There was a UK invasion of the most enjoyable sorts last weekend up at the North Star. Scottish bands We Were Promised Jetpacks & The Twilight Sad were joined by England's BreaksBreaksBreaks for musical antics. Full disclosure, since I saw The Twilight Sat at Monolith and had social obligations that evening I did not stay for their set. Having missed WWPJ's set at Monolith I was eager to see what these boys had to offer on stage. If you haven't made it a priority to check out their records get on it. [...]
This is an ever changing and (hopefully) expanding list of some of the songs I have mentioned before in this blog or simply stuff I have found somewhere on the web that I find interesting, but have no time to write about. All files have been found somewhere in cyberspace (and NONE of them have uploaded by me, so I cannot help you with any requests you might have - just keep returning and something new might pop up), so they will be available until the artists, record labels, fans, whatever decide to remove them. Thanks to a few readers, [...]
I've been spending a lot of time recently combing through Pitchfork's list of the top 500 songs of the decade, but one thing that has annoyed me is that I can't find a site that actually lists all 500 songs on one page. I'm tired of having to scroll through page after page. So, I'm doing it myself. Here's the complete list, republished merely as a reference. Go to www.pitchfork.com to see the full presentation with song reviews, artwork, and audio clips. 500. The Big Pink - "Velvet" 499. N.E.R.D. - "Run to the [...]
Land of Talk - "May You Never" ; For a second there I thought Liz Powell took more then a little away from her time singing with Broken Social Scene. If that opening piano bit had drifted a little further I would have really worried, but luckily the song explodes into the dreamy rock we've come to expect from Land of Talk. This is the first tune off a new EP which we're now pretty excited for. Grade : B Junk Culture - "West Coast" [...]
olmadı pitchfork, olmadı 500. The Big Pink - Velvet 499. N.E.R.D. - Run to the Sun [Electronic version] 498. Unwound - Scarlette 497. Woods - Rain On 496. Akufen - Deck the House (Herbert's Stop Like This Mix) 495. Weezer - Island in the Sun 494. Blonde Redhead - Equus 493. Goldfrapp - Lovely Head 492. St. Vincent - The Strangers [...]
Jeremy from Fingertips joins us each month as he scours the betterPropaganda archives, highlighting gems buried a few years back in our database. This week we bring you "If That's the Case, Then I Don't Know" from The Electric Soft Parade . At once squonky and lithe, "If That's the Case, Then I Don't Know" features anthemic chords and resounding beats, scuffed up fetchingly with fuzzy guitars and electronic blips and boops. Add Alex White's nicely vulnerable, Brit-poppy vocals and the whole manages to trump the sum of its parts--quite an accomplishment, [...]
As always, there's an eight-hour pile of tracks for you today. Here's how it breaks down: - Six songs get repeated in that eight hours, so it's four hours between plays for those six songs. They're the ones in " The Grinder ", in case you're wondering what I mean by that when I say it on the FM Showcase (which, by the way, is on 90.5 The Night tonight at 10pm .) - The rest of the songs are set up so [...]
Dopo tre anni dall´ultima fatica tornano i Brakes , supergruppo formato da membri di band rispettate come British Sea Power , Tenderfoot ed Electric Soft Parade . E questa volta sembra che il quartetto abbia concentrato gli sforzi cesellando un lavoro che si presenta molto piú coeso nelle sue fondamenta ed estremamente scorrevole nello svolgimento. La partenza di "Touchdown" é bruciante con l´ottima "Two Shocks", basso che infiamma e cantato quasi distaccato che apparecchiano una tavola riccamente bandita. Il ritmo aumenta con la successiva e piacevolmente melodica "Don´t Take me to Space [...]
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE LABEL SAMPLER: Or how the sampler album changed the face of British alternative Music, 1978 – 1990 SOME WILL RECALL, before the interweb and mp3s, that music geeks perpetually fueled their addiction by trading LPs, reading music 'zines and hanging around grubby 2nd hand record shops. And nothing seemed to shed more light on this dimly-lit and infinitely undiscoverable world than the Label Sampler; records showcasing all of a label's new hot bands at an affordable price! As a result these albums contain seminal works by many subsequently adored bands [...]
Band: Brakes From: Brighton, United Kingdom Sound: a less-is-more blend of country and punk; honest, witty, and irresistibly entertaining, both in concert and on record Similar Artists: Camper Van Beethoven, Pixies, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Art Brut, Ween Listen: "Two Shocks" Brakes ! Or, BrakesBrakesBrakes... How you refer to the band might depend on where you live, actually. Brakes, our current Band of the Week from Brighton, were served with cease and desist papers by [...]
TOP ALBUM RELEASES: JUNE 2009 NICK'S TOP The Dirty Projectors: Bitte Orca Sunset Rubdown: Dragonslayer Street Sweeper Social Club: Street Sweeper Social Club Deerhunter: Rainwater Cassette Exchange HANK'S TOP The [...]
by qc staff There's a lot of aging rock stars in this week's Full Release . From the still-cooler-than-you Dinosaur Jr, who release their second album since reforming two years ago, to the most recent releases from Tortoise and Mars Volta. Even the most recent Sunset Rubdown album is beginning to sound like the work of an artist maturing. Check out our reviews below, along with some videos and tunes to help you make up your mind when you visit the record store this week. [...]
I witnessed two of Band of Skulls' approximately 1,000 shows (OK, they played five, I think) in L.A. in the past week, and it was hard to not to get a little bit excited. The U.K. trio's no-frills but high-skills take on blues-rock is simply a lot catchier than some of their contemporaries doing the same type of music. Imagine Wolfmother or the Black Keys with pop songs (and boy-girl vocals). A friend likened them to the 22-20s (ah, Coachella 2003), an astute jog of my memory. This is the video for "I Know What I Am" (which, [...]
On Thursday is Keane at the Pavillion and I have a soft spot for them. Plus it's supposed to be a great evening weather-wise and it'd be great to be outside listening to music. On Friday the show at the Middle East Down is very tempting with Hallelujah the Hills, Magic Magic and Cymbals Eat Guitar. My pick for Saturday is the big St Stanislaus Day Polka Party at the Polish American Club in East Cambridge. Yup, there'll be polka music and yup there'll be yummy Polish food like kielbasa and pierogis and yup there'll be beer. I dare you [...]
This post is from Out the Other's 2009 Bonnaroo Artist Previews , where I will be posting previews of all the musical acts playing the 2009 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival . Please check out and subscribe to the full site to learn more about all of this year's performers. Bands like BrakesBrakesBrakes make me both glad and sad Out the Other's archives exist. Glad, because I know I used to listen to them, but I can't [...]
WKND PLYLST!! This has nothing to do with NEW MOON!
Vampire Weekend - Cousins
Tila Tequila NSFW UStream Freak Out (Video)
HOT CHIP TAKE another crack at IT and I’m IN
The Beach House Theory of 2k10.
