Billy Jam says: New Jersey explorer, writer, photographer, filmmaker, welder, artist, skateboarder, avid Passaic River canoe traveler, graffiti lover, urban anthropologist, prankster, high school dropout, WFMU listener, Weird NJ contributor, and as he calls himself "run of the mill trespasser" are all titles befitting Wheeler Antabanez who will be a guest on WFMU today (Nov 20th 3-6pm) on Put The Needle On The Record when he will talk about his passion - New Jersey, especially the rundown abandoned funky parts - and take phone calls from listeners on exploring the abandoned buildings of [...]

Beck - "Harry Partch" ; The history of the musical feud dates back centuries probably, but in the last few decades it has really been the bearer of some terrific music at the hands of the hated on. This week Beck responded to all this Matt Friedberger (of The Fiery Furnaces) vs. Radiohead vs. Himself controversy with a song dedicated to late composer Harry Partch. Now that's not the same Harry Patch that Radiohead dedicated a song to. This little tune featuring snippets from Fiery Furnaces' songs and Partch's own composition structure really takes Friedberger to town. To [...]

I am kicking myself for not bringing Minuit to the attention of all AWMusic readers sooner. How I let a review of their third album, Find Me Before I Die A Lonely Death Dot Com, slip by is beyond my comprehension, and no doubt electro-pop fanatics will question my judgement once they feast their ears on the band's aural talents. Minuit (pronounced Minwee, as helpfully pointed out on the album cover) are a New Zealand-made threesome consisting of the lovely Ruth Carr and fellow knob-twiddlers Paul Dodge and Ryan Beehre. The band's success in places like London and [...]

Photo via stereogum In this picture, u see Edward Droste (lead singer of the band Grizzly Bear), along with a series of bros on a screen. Even though this chill session was happening in real life, Ed Droste also facilitated this same relationship on the internet with thousands of followers on the popular social networking site 'twitter.com.' Over the past year, @EdwardDroste became one of the most beloved alternative celebrities on twitter. It made me sad to learn that Edward Droste committed suicide. [...]

Physical Release Date / Monday 30th November 09 Digital Release Date / Tuesday 1st December 09 Format/ 123 Vinyl & Digital LuckyMe are very proud to present "Lucky 9teen" the new release from the innovative young producer Mike Slott. "Mannn, this record is really great. Snow Birds is KILLING it , as is 40 Winx. A 30 minute psychedelic journey" - Machine Drum Representing the largest collection of his solo music released to date, this "Lucky 9teen" micro album showcases several different sides to Mike [...]
I don't know if this made big news or not, but I was fascinated with the story of Belle de Jour , the anonymous sex blogger from London (most people might know that the Showtime series Secret Diary of a Call Girl , is loosely based on her blog)finally revealed her identity . The best part is that she's a scientist! Dr. Brooke Magnanti is not just a high-class call girl, but a specialist in "developmental neurotoxicology and cancer epidemiology. She has a PhD in informatics, epidemiology and forensic science and is now working at the Bristol Initiative for [...]
It happens so frequently now that it doesn't even phase us anymore. The heart and soul of what we think of as "American" music turning up in the most unlikely places, beyond our borders. The latest is the exceedingly wonderful Ladies of the Canyon , a quartet of talented young women from Montreal who, as their name implies, dig deep into the rich trove of 70's-styled countrified folk/pop and the traditions of fellow Canadian Joni Mitchell and her So-Cal Laurel Canyon cohorts: Gram Parson, early Eagles, CSN +Y, Stone Poneys . Like their [...]
WE ARE THE WORLD RELEASES DEBUT ALBUM 'CLAY STONES' ON MANIMAL VINYL FEBRUARY 23, 2010 IAMSOUND set to release "Clay Stones" single on January 26, 2010 "[We Are The World] work the dance beat, taking pop to strange outer space."– Paper Magazine "Art-damaged electronica." – LA Weekly "We Are the World celebrates the visual as much as the sonic—incorporating into their performance as much dance and design as music with fantastically spooky effects. We Are the World raised the bar." – LA Record "I feel that referring to them as [...]

The idea that Earth has been visited by aliens at some point in the distant past is not a new one. In Sumer, the alien Gods were known as the Anunnaki. While in Greece, they are known as Annodoti and in the Celtic lore, the Tuatha de Danaan. Tthe Semetic scriptures (Torah, Talmud, Old Testament, and other Apocryphal texts like the Book of Enoch), call them The Nephilim, The Sons of God, or The Watchers. We are told the gods themselves had their own monarchy, with laws of succession similar to our own, and they built a [...]

By Tom Huizenga Conductor Marin Alsop ( Tracey Brown ) Let's face it, the world of classical music is fairly far off the radar screen for most people in this country. Still, [...]
Hey yall. As yall know, I spend most of my time on the internet, but sometimes I like to escape 2 a different reality by playing some video games. Decided to 'smoke a bowl of marijuana cigarettes' and unwind by playing this new chill game. Had to go on a 'mission.' Damn. This game seems 'mad violent.' Like stuff that they use to train terrorists/miscellaneous evil people in the world who do things like 'shoot up high schools/colleges/work places.' I wonder if it is good to have progressive games like this. [...]
Jack White 's color palate is usually red, black, and white. But really it should be red blue and, yellow, as the man of a thousand bands (plus a record label and studio and God knows what else) is seemingly the Superman of modern rock. His next massive undertaking? To produce 72-year-old Wanda "Queen of Rockabilly" Jackson 's next album. This will mark White's second collaboration with a high-profile dame of popular music, coming five years after he had a huge hand in the Loretta Lynn revival with 2004's Van Lear Rose . [...]
Je me souviens assez mal de mon premier concert de A-Ha. C'était déjà à l'Ancienne Belgique, en 2003 pour la tournée Lifelines . Surnage seulement le souvenir de mon enthousiasme de grand enfant face à un des groupes phares de mes douze ans, que je ne pensais jamais voir en concert, tempéré par une légère déception qu'ils n'aient pas fait un peu plus d'efforts : son un peu bouillasse, arrangements approximatifs, peu de communication avec le public, voix fatiguée. Lorsqu'un nouveau concert à l'AB a été annoncé il y a quelques semaines, j'ai donc un peu hésité avant d'acheter [...]

Gangsters Want To Cuddle Me Har Mar Superstar (real name Sean Tillman) has just finished a short, sweet US tour with Bang Bang Eche , and continues on the road with his white-clad band, but touring is not all he's been busy with. The enigmatic soul-pop singer has been developing a sitcom pilot for HBO with Arrested Development 's Alia Shawkat and Ellen Page ( Juno , Hard Candy , Wilby Wonderful ), written a film script with Justin Long, been consistently churning out short [...]
![[Retrospective: Of Montreal @ FFF Fest]](http://cache.elbo.ws/posts/2131024_lg.jpg)
[Fun Fun Fun Fest '09] I'm totally not late on this Of the three major music festivals that grace this city each year, Fun Fun Fun Fest is certainly the locals' secret. Granted, it's a horribly kept secret, but there's an aspect to Fun Fun Fun that makes it seem so much more manageable. Watching Fun Fun Fun Fest grow and progress each year definitely lets you see just how much this city thrives on music. From it's humble beginnings as a $20 or so catch-all of good [...]

Hey, guy who told me I post pictures of myself and write about food too much: Fuck you, this is my website! Image borrowed from LA Eater website Throughout my search for the best burger in Los Angeles, I have consumed some really awesome food. Along with my dining partner Nicci, we have scoured the city for restaurants with big reputations as well as the greasy, down-home-y burger stands that are a staple of any metropolitan center in the country. We began with all the pure fast food [...]

Being the young age I am (under 30) this last decade was really the one where I can intensely focus on new releases, critically analyze and find real magic in modern music. As much as I wish I was cool enough to say I bought "Slanted and Enchanted" on vinyl the day it came out or smoke a joint and sit around with my friends about to listen to "The Bends follow-up album" with everyone saying "this better not suck!" But since I never saw Nirvana in a basement and didn't hear "Loveless" until Billy Corgan recommended it I'll just stick to [...]

What's the appeal of The Walkmen ? It can't be the guitars that echo, or the lo-fi ambiance, or the depressing lull that seems to resonate within every song. It can't be. Right? Don't get me wrong. They've yet to put out a disappointing effort. Everything from 2002's Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me Is Gone to last year's remarkable You & Me oozes with delectable indie cadence, but it's not the same "cadence" as say that of The Shins, or even Spoon. It certainly doesn't explain last night's sold out crowd [...]
You don't even have to be an online music nerd like me (and maybe you), to realise that the music industry is in a state of flux. Whatever your position on the digital democracy that music sharing online has fostered, whether you stand arm and arm with Reverend John Mclure who thinks the digital revolution has opened up the doors to a world of music you might never have heard, or you stand behind Lilly Allen who rather hypocritically thinks it's an evil theft of an artists work whilst sitting pretty on a major label and making her own mixes [...]

Newark can give you chills, and it's Local Music Friday the 13th! Tell me...what is this Local Music Fridays? I know Matt aka Sah Ril from work. Actually, he just made a very Newark-centric video with another colleague, Amil. I don't talk about it that much, but I do work in Newark, which is a weird city. As a kid I grew up joint custody--7/8 Jersey suburbs, 1/8 Washington Heights/Yonkers. As a youth, to [...]