I met Marius Drogsås Hagen a few years ago in Norway, in a small town north of Oslo. The common denominator which got us talking all night was, of course, music. In spite of Jaqueline , his 'main' band, starting to get a lot of exposure at the time, he was developing ideas for two projects (one a solo project called Team Me , the second a band, SiN , started with Tord from the Wombats ). Three years and many written songs later, I followed him into a hijacked school he [...]
I went to my first Big Day Out on Australia Day and although it was an interesting experience I'm not sure that I'll bother with it again. Let me explain. After getting the merch hunting out of the way, we headed to the Green Stage and were in time to check out The Temper Trap who came on not long after we found a patch of shade on the side of the hill. I like 'Sweet Disposition' and I was interested to see how they perform live. I don't know if it was because we were so far [...]
This is it. The best of the best. As determined by me and in alphabetical-by-artist order. This list has been a labor of love and it is an honor to pay tribute to so many fantastic albums. With that said, don't hesitate to lift your leg and leave your own mark in the comments. Or just track down the albums here that you don't know and get down with a good set of headphone. I know these lists are self indulgent and often pointless but they are fun nonetheless. A big thank you to all the TBE readers who [...]
Jami Attenberg's third book (and second novel) The Melting Season is published today. In her own words, she shares the surprising benefits of book tours as well as two songs inspired by The Melting Season : Recently I was sitting with a male writer at a reading after a reading he gave. We were chatting, flirting a bit. It made me feel warm inside. Then I noticed three young women standing at the bar, staring longingly at the author. "You've got some groupies," I said [...]
2009 — what a crapsuck of a year. Without overstating or getting into it, it was easily the worst since, well, high school at least and I am not sorry that it is over. If I ever needed an object lesson in saving power of music, this was it. Music was one of the few things that keep the year from being a complete personal disaster. I've read others claim that 2009 wasn't a great year for music. In one sense I agree: there were few great albums — albums good enough to be considered for regular rotation [...]
Welcome to my weekly roundup of inexpensive indie(ish) musical happenings in downtown Toronto, all for $10 or less. If I'm missing something you think I should list, or you have any comments, let me know. I star (*) shows that most interest me. Like this list? Join my Facebook group or subscribe to this blog. Subscribe to my podcast (or download the episodes) here , or through iTunes . The latest ones are here . Make sure to [...]
holy shit, this picture is almost 16 years old! In the summer between my junior and senior year of high school, I called in sick from my job at the Kmart garden center and headed to the beach with two of my friends. Four other friends - all girls - were spending the week at an apartment in Madeira Beach (about 30 miles from our homes in Tampa) that one of their parents had rented for them. If that sounds to you like the perfect recipe for a day of unsupervised, beachside debauchery, then you'd be [...]
This began as an epic idea: We should get all of WW 's freelancers to report on their crazy New Year's Eve parties, thus painting a kaleidoscopic picture of the whole Portland nightlife at the end of the decade. But as it happened, only five people signed up for the project. And one of them wrote an elaborate, non-bloggy review . Some of the others were out-of-town, partying at friends' houses or overlapping at the same venues we were for the evening. Some people just wanted to get drunk and not think about writing. But the four of [...]
"I never thought being obnoxious would get me where I am today." - Billie Joe Amstrong. Green Day hardly met any challenges 'til the 00s. From the get-go, Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt witnessed success. In 1988, after only a year on the circuit, Larry Livermore of Lookout! Records signed their band, then called Sweet Children, to record a handful of EPs, which would more or less become the basis for their initial 1990 debut, 39/Smooth . Things hardly slowed down, either. They wrote, they toured, they snagged drummer Tré Cool, and they [...]
See here for Part 1 of this series. This second part includes mixes with themes of: senses, 80s film soundtracks, Australia/New Zealand, cover versions, robots, acoustic, London, New Wave, 2009, summer, dance/electro, Canada, France, and wit. Next weekend, the last of weekly mixes will make their appearance, and hopefully, at the end of the week, you'll find out what my top eight albums of the year are. Weekly Mix #62 - Why Can't You Touch, Taste and Smell Evil? ( Download ) It's Your Touch – The Black Ghosts Taste [...]
I'm feeling quaint today. That is, I'm in a bit of an 80's way, which doesn't exactly compute with my standard MO. Maybe it's because anything 80's is now at least 20 years old and that's my watermark for feeling nostalgic. I permed my hair, had two piercings in my left ear and wore short sleeve shirts rolled up to the shoulder, had a haircut like George Michael. I didn't roll cigarettes into my sleeve - it was a little too James Dean for me - and that was not the look I was going for. (See above.) [...]
Okay it was over a week ago really, but I think I can be afforded some poetic license for the sake of an Indeep reference. The Internets Celebrities had been invited by Checkmate co-star Ben Popken to attend the first Consumerist meetup, show some of our videos and talk to the crowd. The event was indeed a " great success " as we definitely won over some new fans that night. Meanwhile, just outside the private room, Botanica bar was crawling with attractive marketing folk peddling their [...]
Okay it was over a week ago really, but I think I can be afforded some poetic license for the sake of an Indeep reference. The Internets Celebrities had been invited by Checkmate co-star Ben Popken to attend the first Consumerist meetup, show some of our videos and talk to the crowd. The event was indeed a " great success " as we definitely won over some new fans that night. Meanwhile, just outside the private room, Botanica bar was crawling with attractive marketing folk peddling their [...]
Okay it was over a week ago really, but I think I can be afforded some poetic license for the sake of an Indeep reference. The Internets Celebrities had been invited by Checkmate co-star Ben Popken to attend the first Consumerist meetup, show some of our videos and talk to the crowd. The event was indeed a " great success " as we definitely won over some new fans that night. Meanwhile, just outside the private room, Botanica bar was crawling with attractive marketing folk peddling their [...]
Sun drenched French girls wont relate to frozen girls from northern states but they might elate when they hear that Zdar's producing The Rapture of New York State. Whoo! Alright, lets fall apart and...forget all about my shitty attempts at rhyme... So anyways, it looks like the new Rapture album is being produced by Cassius. Or at least half of; Philippe Zdar . Zdar told Pedestrian recently, "They came to me and said, 'we loved the Phoenix album and we want to do some new music...will you be able to [...]
Dirty Projectors Better late than never I suppose... This weekend, we're spotlighting tonight's Dirty Projectors show, Shrinebuilder and Chicago's own Bottomless Pit . But before we get to our picks for top weekend shows, a reminder: Loud Loop Radio will once again grace the intertubes tomorrow, Saturday, November 14, at 3 p.m. until 5 p.m. CST on Radio DePaul . We'll probably talk about The Pixies and other cool stuff. Joining me in the studio this Saturday will be Loud Loop contributor [...]
DAVE! That's me......fart.....I am still alive, not that anyone gives a shit. Other than possibly my mom and the 4 other people that write for this blog. Anywayyyy...time for some music talk rather than more of my self deprecating diarrhea of the mouth. I fucking am borderline creepy (scratch that....that statement now throws me into the realm of creepy) obsessed with The Mantles . They....fucking....annihilate my face holes. The Mantles sound like if The Beatles (who are fucking over-rated...FACT), and The Undertones, and The 13th Floor Elevators and everything you love about scuzzy rock had a [...]
Click here to view the embedded video. Dr. Silver is on call, readers! Check out: Dr. Silver - " Jupiter Spacedisco "...it's exactly what it sounds like. You're gonna need to do yourself a favor and check out some of the sets from Pretty Girls & Lasers. These cool cats are definitely going to get you moving. And that's a good thang. A real good thang. Do you like the Swedish like I do? Well then you'll probably like [...]
The whiskey train made it's stop in Denver and we sent C=T correspondent, Molly Müeller, to take in the booze induced glory known as Lucero . (Lucero Concert Poster taken from Fuel Friends by Denver artist, Alan Peters .) Lucero-Smoke [mp3] Photos and word by Molly Müeller Tuesday's nights show at the Ogden with Memphis-based Lucero didn't look too promising; the news reports were predicting doomsday amounts of snow, [...]
Yeasayer – Odd Blood (Review)
TOUR: The Tallest Man On Earth Announces U.S. Dates
New Releases V2.9
[mp3] Joanna Newsom - "Kingfisher"
Hot Chip: One Life Stand
