Words: Gareth O'Malley I was wondering what the hell this lot had been up to for the rest of 2009! And with good reason: I was very, very impressed by London act The High Wire 's short but sweet Coldplay support slot when I caught them in The O2 last December. Quite an impressive live act, their debut mini-album 'Ahead of the Rain' wasn't too shabby either. The band have spent the year beavering away at newmaterial, and a single is due out next Monday: 'Odds and [...]
Manic Street Preachers by Nick Parker Growing Old Gracefully but it's a Mixed Bag that results... In the 1990s British music scene there were hardly any bands faster and more furious than The Manic Street Preachers . Leading the charge of Welsh guitar bands in the period, the Manics were also among the most radical of them, both musically and politically. Then of course, there was James Dean Bradfield's [...]
A while back Terraform were a new three piece band that could wow you with their first and maybe even second song but from there out dribble down to a spaz-punk one trick pony offering identical sounding songs with modulated guitars and David Byrne-esque yelp. Perhaps it's the new stop/start/stop/start again rhythm section - Jeff Brodski and Mark Makowski - that mad scientist/frontman Ryan Jorgensen lured in or the addition of their alto saxophonist -Katarina Lestenburge- who evens out the synth-y screetches of Dr. Joergensen's Devo-eque guitar playing, but this band sounded more coherent, diverse [...]
Calexico - Waitomo The Evens - On the Face of It The Sky Drops - Sentimental Pete Greenwood - Sirens Blind Pilot - Go On, Say It Woodpigeon - Home Is A Romanticized Concept... Hush Arbors - The Light Quantic - Fresh Rhythm Bookmark It [...]
So when i flicked this thing back on a couple days ago I had a couple of completely amorphous and occasionally ambitious ideas of what form this shoppe would take, if any. I've got big ideas, see, and every so often the wherewithal to carry them out. But one such concept I had involves this longer project that's been, well, haunting me for the past few years. As I told a kind and literary-minded coworker of mine who asked what I was working I sort of rolled my eyes, explaining "When I lie in bed and think about [...]
Band: Megafaun From: Durham, NC Sound: folk-inspired American music that incorporates elements of country/bluegrass, rock, jam band mentality, and sonic exploration Similar Artists: Akron/Family, The Band, Fleet Foxes, Grateful Dead, Bon Iver Listen: "Kaufman's Ballad" Based in Durham, North Carolina, Megafaun was built by brothers Brad and Phil Cook and fellow Eau Claire, Wisconsin native Joe Westerlund. The trio, plus longtime friend Justin Vernon (a.k.a. Bon Iver ), made the cross country move together [...]
It can never be said that ex- Joy Division and New Order member Bernard Sumner ever stops moving forward (in fact, I think the British version of the "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" game may be called "Six Degrees of Bernard Sumner"). You may recall that when Joy Division ended because of Ian Curtis' suicide, Sumner, drummer Stephen Morris, and bass player Peter Hook went on to form the 80s synth that was New Order. Along the way, New Order picked up guitarist/keyboardist Phil Cunningham, who was in the Britpop group, Marion . Jake Evens, from [...]
Legendary musician Ian MacKaye will be returning to Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA. MacKaye, who founded Dischord Records and was a member of the Fugazi , Minor Threat and The Evens , will be speaking on November 20th at 7:30PM. It will take place at the Barshinger Center for Music (619 College Ave) with a suggested donation of $5 and a limit of 500 seats allocated first-come-first-serve. Ian last spoke at the college in spring 2006 .
Yeah, I know: Halloween was shite. There was no candy, no costumes and no fat turd stepping on a paper bag full of poo. Just another day. Of course I'm talking about you. Not me. I'm like a completely different breed of party animal, yo ( vodkatus yumalotus , they call me). So yeah, my Halloween was so totally bodacious, like every other Friday night, except that the stripper costumes were actually compulsory (usually only the Y-strings are). But so anyways, back to you. Yes you, the fat turd with poo-stained feet. You've got almost one [...]
To start this post off check out this fucking top video from Nobody Beats The Drum. The download link for the song is underneath. Make sure you get the Dem Slackers remix! Where the original can be a bit choppy at times they clean it up and nail it. Purple Cactus - Nobody Beats Drums Purple Cactus - Nobody Beats Drums (Dem Slackers Remix) !!!!!!!!!! (boring till 2.00 then boom) No I know there is nothing [...]
Music: it's entirely, utterly, completely, undeniably, irrefutably subjective, right? Wrong. You daft idiot. Look, I know it hurts, but it's true. Some music is just objectively woeful. In fact, the odds are pretty high that if you're listening to music right now, it's crap. Whether it be chart music on the radio, an album on your iPod, or a memory on the tiny little Fisher Price turntable that is your mind, the song remains the same - and it's a crap song. Don't get me wrong, though: the fact that you listen to awful [...]
And now Day 2 of CMJ09 a/k/a Force Field PR vs. Terrorbird Media [Tweet] # #cmj09 :: missing Tempo No Tempo and/or Seven Saturdays #ohcrap [Downloadable] Kilometer (mp3) by Tempo No Tempo [Downloadable] A Beautiful Day (force field mp3) by Seven Saturdays [Tweet] # #cmj09 :: finally heading over to cake shop and pianos for an abbreviated look at force field vs. terrorbird [Tweet] # #cmj09 :: and we're back :: made it for most [...]
Jump Clubb calls itself "an anonymous band from Beverly Hills," which sounds really suspicious since nobody from Beverly Hills is anonymous, or evens wants to be. The act — which we hear may involve this electronic artist and member of the Def Jux family — this week released its debut album, "The Love of No Dance," which might be the No Wave of electro if it didn't try so hard to be. Major Lazer, Passion Pit, Wolfmother and Peter Bjorn & John are among the contributors. It is dance-tastic, and the guy — whoever he [...]
This post is a little light on content but I believe the quality makes up for the quantity. It also gives me a chance to explain something. I started this blog to highlight rare and hard-to-find recordings, primarily music you can't find on CD. When I started this blog a few years ago the pool from which to get tracks from was huge, but it's getting harder and harder to fulfill my original mission statement. Everything seems to be on CD (or iTunes/Amazon MP3 store) now! It's annoying! That is one of the reason why updates have slowed [...]
Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records Written by John Cook with MacMcCaughan and Laura Ballance Rating: An Absolutely Brilliant Must-Read Buy it at Amazon I first discovered Superchunk in 1995 after hearing "Hyper Enough" on modern rock stations and MTV, and I ended up buying Here's Where the Strings Come In , their 7th full-length record (including two singles collections). They instantly became one of my favorite bands and I bought up their [...]
I wasn't quite sure why, but when I hear Underworld was playing the Fox Theater , I was really excited. I've never been a raver, but I've always enjoyed the beats and vibe of the band. I was (and am) a huge fan for the movie Trainspotting , and Underworld's "Born Slippy .NUXX" was like an anthem for the film. I bought my ticket several months in advance. I'd hoped to be shooting the show, but I always like a hard ticket as a bit of [...]
Okay, I know, the Cudder obsession of mine is almost on the verge of getting ridiculous now. But here's yet another post feeding the crave... Dunno why I like Cudder so damn much really, maybe cause he makes me listen to things I would have never ever listened to if it wasn't for that CuDi feature. Like 3OH!3 for example. Or David Guetta ... or Mr Hudson . Healthy or not? I like to think it is. CuDi simply make semi-dull things and people interesting. Sorry to say, some people make great Cudder-things not [...]
Dischord records says: Dischord Records News: July 24, 2009 Dischord Vinyl Re-mastered Series As part of our ongoing effort to update and/or re-issue much of our vinyl catalog we now have the following 123 LPs back in stock (all LPs have been re-cut, re-mastered and include a free MP3 Download): Newly Re-Mastered LPs: 140 MINOR THREAT First Demo Tape 73 - June 2009 (black vinyl) 013 MARGINAL MAN Identity 123 EP+MP3 - May 2009 (black vinyl) 135 BLACK EYES S/T 123 LP+MP3 - May 2009 (black vinyl) [...]
This year will mark the fifth anniversary of Chicago based Grape Juice Records - they're the label of such fine acts as The Minneapolis Henrys, The Butcher's Boys and The Lower 48 - and to celebrate, it's throwing a big shindig. On September 3rd, Grape Juice will hit Chicago's Double Door for an all night celebrations featuring the aforementioned acts, as well as Phillip Morris, Curtis Evens, Sohadto, Squaaks, Go Long Mule and Inchworm. Cool, right? Well, it gets better. Grape Juice has teamed up with AlwaysUrban.com for a little contest of sorts. They're [...]
new music from vampire weekend – cousins + music video
WKND PLYLST!! This has nothing to do with NEW MOON!
HOT CHIP TAKE another crack at IT and I’m IN
Friday Five: Surf Songs
