Geaux Saints! Did you catch the Super Bowl last night? More importantly, did you watch The Who during the halftime spectacular. I've got my thoughts on how it all played out, which I was extremely verbal about during the presentation. No need to rehash, but you can scroll through my twittered-frustrations here if you must. Now that the footballing is over, we're ready to focus on an extremely busy week, chock full of rad new music news. [...]
This week we flash back to December 2005, and a solo effort from a member of Cincinnati's fine, ongoing ensemble, the Spectacular Fantastic. A lovely song, worth hearing again, or for the first time. [ from "This Week's Finds," December 11-17 ] "Nervous" - Tessitura Jonathan Williams sings in a warm, buzzy voice, rendered warmer and buzzier by his fetching tendency to sing in octave harmonies with himself. He further accompanies himself with clean, patient acoustic guitar licks; there's something of Pink Floyd's stately acoustic side [...]
Golden pop phenomenon Mika is releasing his brand new single Blame It On The Girls, taken from his acclaimed seconds album The Boy who Knew Too Much. The single is a massively happy slice of timeless, sing along pop bliss incorporating hand claps and floor stopping piano. Already a live hit Blame It On The Girls raised the roof at this year's iTunes Festival .The single comes with fantastic mixes from mighty Wolfgang, Paul Woolford, Anorak & Starmith and an old-school video spectacular directed by acclaimed director Nez (who has shot promos for Lily Allen and Kid Cudi). This single [...]
Editors note: comments have been disabled for the time being. Hello PMA readers! Stay with us through the night as we watch the Grammys with you, providing minute-by-minute commentary on the highs and the lows of tonight's telecast. And all the while, make sure to keep the conversation going in the comments below, as the more responses and reactions there are, the more fun and cool this whole thing becomes. 7:50- If for any reason you forgot how beautiful Beyonce was, this 60 Minutes is doing its [...]
Let's be honest here; dubstep isn't really dubstep anymore. Sure, nobody knows what to call it instead, but from London to Bristol to Glasgow to Los Angeles, what was once dubstep has spread like that alien virus The Spaceape warned us about. Hybridized, bastardized and globalized, it's evolved at a rate that would make Darwin blush. With that comes a lot of confusion; labels proliferate like an arms race and fantastic 123s drop every week. To guide you through this confusing neon dystopia, two e-dilettantes from Canada and New Zealand are on hand to provide a monthly rundown on some [...]
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 [...]
by Brett, Bmore Musically Informed This is Bmore Musically Informed's top 20 albums list of 2009 released by artists who call Baltimore home. Rankings were determined by vinyl wear and tear, iTunes play count, and placing a value on love. Intense moral and emotional qualms were reached when ranking number one through five. I tried to limit this list to mostly LPs, but there are a few worthy EPs thrown into the mix. 2009 was another fantastic year [...]
A lot has changed for the Cribs since their last visit to Washington, DC, on 19 March 2008. They've got a new album and a new band member, and the band are now playing a larger venue. That gig in March 2008 was my first time seeing the Cribs, and I was blown away, so I fully expected Tuesday night's show to be something spectacular, and I'm happy to say that the boys from Wakefield (and now Manchester, Portland, and London) did not disappoint! The night [...]
Does Portland need another music festival? It's an intriguing question, and the first thing that popped into my head when I heard news that a few people in the local music scene were looking to start another one. During the summer, we already have MFNW, PDX Pop Now!, and Pickathon. Last year Manny Reyes of disco krautrockers Atole started Superfest!, an all-ages weekend of electronic pop and dance music. But once I heard who was involved—Chantelle Hylton Simmons, former booker at the Medicine Hat and founder of Blackbird Presents; Amanda Stark; Kill Rock Stars founder Slim Moon—all my reservations were [...]
Photo by Askar Ibragimov Text by Cosmo Lee Mayhem will tour the US this spring, with support from Ludicra , Tombs , and Krallice . No official announcement has been made yet. But the Internet has been batting this ball around, so I figured I'd give it a good whack. "Mayhem" is still the most loaded word in black metal. No one would make black metal documentaries if it weren't for Mayhem. [...]
"If history were past... history wouldn't matter ... But history is present ... You and I are history. We carry our history. We act our history." - James Baldwin "It's stunning how Jay Leno outfoxed you again ... Your agent [said], 'There's good news and bad news. You are doing The Tonight Show ... Uh, but remember that discussion we had where you said I'll never have to fuckin' follow Leno again?" - Norm Macdonald appearing on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, February 10th, 2009 1 It's a maxim and [...]
Sounds like Yeasayer is looking to have a big 2010, see below. Listening parties tonight in NYC at Other Music & Sound Fix where you can pick up the new LP. Nationwide listening parties listed at the link below. Previously announced NYC dates include Bowery Ballroom on February 8th (sold out) and Music Hall of Williamsburg on February 9th (sold out). They've also got a Webster Hall date on May 4th, tix here . All tour dates listed at their myspace . Hello Friends. I hope [...]
Ok Go's UK tour kicked off with a bang at Norwich's Waterfront last night. Pre-gig, I had the pleasure to interview lead singer Damien Kulash. I got a good vibe about the night ahead, and I was not mistaken!! The night exploded into life as they bounded onto Stage with a revved up version of "Shooting The Moon" from the New Moon soundtrack. Ok Go are one of the most engaging bands i have seen live for a long while. All the old favourites were in the set [...]
Ok Go's UK tour kicked off with a bang at Norwich's Waterfront last night. Pre-gig, I had the pleasure to interview lead singer Damien Kulash. I got a good vibe about the night ahead, and I was not mistaken!! The night exploded into life as they bounded onto Stage with a revved up version of "Shooting The Moon" from the New Moon soundtrack. Ok Go are one of the most engaging bands i have seen live for a long while. All the old favourites were in the set [...]
Well this was actually much more tricky than anticipated. Since my heroin like addiction to Spotify developed, I've gone off the musical beaten track somewhat and end up taking swerving journeys through The Waterboys ' back catalog, Brian Eno's experimental ambient albums and hideous amounts of French dance, most notably M83 . In this age of mouth watering musical emancipation I don't seem listen to many new releases unless I review them. So with these encouraging words in mind here's my somewhat skewed list of 2009's top releases (in no particular order): [...]
Looking at the different best-of lists for 2009 and best-of the decade from TSOI contributors there are surprisingly few overlaps. Based on these lists, TSOI opinions on music might diverge more than one might think, however, there is one sure-fire point that all in the TSOI fold are in agreement: Mark Robinson performing live in any form is solid gold (Note that separate Flin Flon shows made best concerts of the decade from Kevin and Avalanche ). His latest incarnation, a collaboration with [...]
For the 12th year Brainwashed Readers have voiced their opinion on the best and worst music of the year. While some of the results shouldn't come as a surprise, there are, as always, plenty of anomalies. Brainwashed Readers have once again, and probably moreso than any other previous year, distanced themselves from the mainstream. Thanks to all who took part. As always, the Brainwashed Staff have added their comments. Album of the Year:Sunn O))), Monoliths Dimensions Their best album by a country mile. I get the feeling their collaborators have a lot to do with [...]
I didn't really want to attempt a list of my favourite albums of the decade - the list for this year alone was more work than I needed. Instead, I decided to hit some of the ways this decade dealt with music - how technology has changed the musical landscape further, what globalized capitalism has done to the music industry, and what media convergence did to help out. Then as a second part, I thought I should add some of my musings on the decade as far as my own musical development goes - after all, I became an adult [...]
40. Franz Ferdinand Franz Ferdinand Even if they never manage to live up to their self-titled debut album, and they have come awfully close, Franz Ferdinand deserves to be mentioned anytime someone brings up the music of this decade. At one point this band seemed set to become this generation's biggest rock band, and though things have settled down a bit their songs are still fantastic, enthusiastic bursts of rock. This album in particular is loaded with songs that are so good you never want them to leave you head, and based on how strong [...]
by QC staff Well, hello there. How've you been? How was the year? What did you do? Who did you see? Why did you make the decisions you made? Did they turn out well? Did your mistakes become happy accidents? Did you hear that song? You know which one. Wasn't It great? How about that show? The one where they... yeah, that one. I almost cried when I saw that part where he... We don't really believe in lists here. We prefer conversation to soap boxing; we enjoy the transfer [...]
I’m gonna keep this one short & (bitter) sweet: Those that loved All Hours Cymbals are (really) going to hate Odd Blood . Best track [...]More about Yeasayer
NYC fans were in for a special treat last Friday night as Hot Chip performed a last minute show as a part of the MySpace Secret Show Series -Â [...]More about Hot Chip
February 8, 2010 is the day that Massive Attack releases their fifth studio album. Its been seven (wow that long) years since their last effort 100th [...]More about Massive Attack
Nick Speed is a Detroit producer/MC who I recently met while I was up in Detroit this past weekend. He has worked [...]More about Vampire Weekend
Narrowing my list down to just ten was quite a task this year. But it was a problem I am grateful to have. With a year so heavily saturated with [...]More about Phoenix
2009 the Year in Music Welcome! You have just found one of the most exhaustive and well-considered lists of quality, [...]More about St. Vincent
The melancholic cyborg It might be released only on the 26th of January, but Beach House's Teen Dream is already considered one of the strongest albums [...]More about Beach House
Click image to download full album Song: Download audio file (03-You-Got-Yr.-Cherry-Bomb.mp3) What Others Say: A band of devout audiophiles, [...]More about Spoon
A few days ago, I posted an old track by Kid Cudi called “Highs N Lows,” which originated from around the time when he was just starting out.Turns out [...]More about Kid Cudi
Sach O doesn’t feel the need to write a vaguely predictive intro to this piece. Here’s 10 full-length releases he’s [...]More about Gorillaz
TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB | UNDERCOVER MARTYN
The Strange Boys - Be Brave
Phonat - "Love Hits The Fan" music video
Die Antwoord - Enter The Ninja (Official)
Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields - Official Trailer
Yeasayer – Odd Blood (Review)
New Releases V2.9
2010 Bonnaroo Artists Unveiled
Massive Attack is inconsistent, but ultimately gratifying, on Heligoland
