
Well, we don't usually do this, but seeing as how Van Dyke Parks is a living legend and his Portland show is at Mississippi Studios on Wednesday (inconveniently, the same day WW comes out), we decided to run an extended Q&A with him a couple days before the article hit the racks. Enjoy! -Ed. Van Dyke Parks plays Portland Wednesday. Immediately tweet the following peeps: 1) Beach Boys/Brian Wilson obsessives, 2) students of rock history and 3) anyone interested in the intersection of popular and classical music. Talk about a rare opportunity: Though Parks [...]

Tutto quello che può essere pensato a priori è sbagliato a priori. Almeno in questo caso. Seabear è un progetto che ha radici nella sola mente di Sindri Már Sigfússon , musicista indie-folk nordico. Gli stessi presupposti dei Fanfarlo (o di un sano Jens Lekman . A proposito, ma che fine ha fatto?), ma assolutamente sonorità non accostabili a questi ultimi. Base a Reykjavik, ma non suona proprio alla Sigùr Ros (esatto, non tutti i gruppi che usano gli archi assomigliano ai Sigùr ). I suoi brani sono comparsi in [...]

In the middle of the country, far enough for the trendsetting sounds of the East and West coasts to be heard but not necessarily felt , the soul men, blues breakers, jazz giants, and hip-hop kings in the "City of the Big Shoulders" developed a sound all their own. Muddy Waters Like so many of his contemporaries, Muddy made the trip up to Chicago from the South, but once he got there he [...]

C'erano una volta i Galaxy 500 , straordinaria e sottovalutata band newyorkese che tra la fine degli anni '80 e i primi '90 ha prodotto tre splendidi album di luccicante dream-pop. Poi tutto è finito, e mentre il chitarrista Dean Wareham è andato per la sua strada e ha formato gli ottimi Luna , la sezione ritmica composta da Damon Krukowski e Naomi Yang ha scelto un profilo più basso, continuando, certo, a fare musica, ma senza troppi clamori, quasi sottovoce. Lo spiegano bene nelle note che accompagnano questo "The Sub Pop [...]

El año recién pasado el año se cumplieron cuatro décadas desde la aparición de Five Leaves Left, el primero de los tres discos que editó en vida el cantautor inglés Nick Drake. Esto sirve como la excusa perfecta para presentar un necesario homenaje a un artista que durante su corta vida ofreció más preguntas que respuestas, pero que dejó un legado que no sólo ha sobrevivido al ingrato paso del tiempo, sino que cada vez cobra más fuerza. Lo que aquí se expone son sus hojas de vida menos conocidas: desde su infancia hasta la gestación de un disco que [...]
Paris DJs Soundsystem - Who Is Molesting Laura ? (Part 17) (MP3 Podcast on www.ParisDJs.com ) 2010-01-19 After this incredible evening of mixes (already 8 new ones are up!), let's cool things a little bit with this spiritually joyful mix of slooooooow and loving covers. Standouts include the Alice Russell take on Gnarls Barkley , the emotionnaly intense Al Wilson soulful cover of Tim Buckley , the stripped down and laidback Isaac Hayes cover by El Michels Affair and The Supremes re-interpreted by [...]

Timothy Fadek / Polaris for TIME Like many of you, I sat down and took in the two hours of Hope for Haiti Now last night - a music-based benefit organized by overall good guy George Clooney. It was broadcast on most TV and cable networks. This will shock you, but Fox News did not - I repeat, DID NOT - broadcast the show last night. That is completely surprising to - well - nobody. Well, those Fox News watching fu-tards missed out on some pretty cool moments last night. If you [...]
The Singleman Affair Three reasons to head to The Whistler tonight... 1. Because nothing says Tuesday night like local psychedelic folk rock. Tonight the Whistler features two such acts in The Singleman Affair and Angel Olsen . The Singleman Affair offers a delicate sound that traverses between the acoustic, minimal '60s folk of their cited influence Tim Buckley to more Jefferson Airplane-esque psychedelia, which is enhanced during live performances by a number of additional instruments including pan flute, wurlitzer and sitar. [...]

Every month, MAP (Music Alliance Pact) asks 34 music bloggers across the world to share a track from their home country that they think you should hear. ARGENTINA : Zonaindie Catalina Vin - Caleidoscope Catalina Vin is an Argentine-American singer and songwriter who started learning music at the age of seven. Genuine is her first album, in which her [...]
Päevase hilinemisega küll, kuid aasta esimene MAP on nüüd siin. Lisaks Eesti loole soovitan kindlasti kuulata Austraalia, Hiina, Islandi ja Iirimaa lugusid, neile on Popopi rasvane kvaliteedimärk peale surutud. EESTI: Popop UNCANDY - Lovecool UNCANDY (jah, on oluline kirjutada kõik suurte tähtedega) on multitalent Maria Juur Tallinnast. Tema kodulindistused on Eesti indieskeenes juba omajagu kahinaid tekitanud ja kuuldavasti ei pea [...]
Bulan ini kita mengirim Seringai untuk didengar di 34 negara, dan kita juga kedatangan musik dari 34 negara yang direkomendasikan oleh perwakilan blog musik. Kalau mau lansung download 34 lagu klik disini here Jangan lupa tinggalkan komentar ya dibawah. INDONESIA : Deathrockstar Seringai - Mengadili Persepsi (Bermain Tuhan) Seringai are one of the finest Indonesian metal bands, often described as a [...]
ARGENTINA : Zonaindie Catalina Vin - Caleidoscope Catalina Vin is an Argentine-American singer and songwriter who started learning music at the age of seven. Genuine is her first album, in which her roots are reflected through eight indie-pop songs sung in both English and Spanish, with soft string and piano arrangements. Caleidoscope is one of our favourite tracks. AUSTRALIA : Who The Bloody Hell Are [...]
ARGENTINA : Zonaindie Catalina Vin - Caleidoscope Catalina Vin is an Argentine-American singer and songwriter who started learning music at the age of seven. Genuine is her first album, in which her roots are reflected through eight indie-pop songs sung in both English and Spanish, with soft string and piano arrangements. Caleidoscope is one of our favourite tracks. AUSTRALIA : Who The Bloody Hell Are [...]

Once more, here is this first MAP of the new decade, January's edition of the Music Alliance Pact . For those of you who don't know about MAP, it's a collection of music blogs from around the world who band together once a month to shed light on up-and-comers from their home countries. It's sort of like the WTO without the human rights violations. After the jump you'll find music from 34 nations spanning the globe. If you'd like to be considered for this feature, drop by the comments section with a [...]
a new year, a new setlist of great music from around the world, delivered to your doorstep through the music alliance pact which now 34 countries strong. in this issue, our faithful local music correspondent brian koh features veteran indie band sherene's closet with their early sessions at the green room. recorded in the mid-90s, the green room sessions was a distinctive record of the local music scene during that era, and also captures an early glimpse of now-famous local superheroes electric co. enjoy! [...]

It's the 15th of the month so that means it's time for the Music Alliance Pact, the planet's greatest mixtape. The rules are pretty simple: one song per blog, one blog per country. And on behalf of Scotland, we take immense pleasure in introducing the world to the aural delights of GALLERIES , one of our hottest 10 tips of 2010 no less. SCOTLAND : The Pop Cop Galleries [...]

The Music Alliance Pact is a collective of 34 of the world's top music blogs and webzines from 34 countries spanning six continents. Every month, each of these 34 sites picks one hot local song that gets posted on all these great blogs and zines. This month we picked New Delhi boy-girl punk duo Seven Degrees ' 'Shadows In The Dark' as the Indian representative on this massive international indie mixtape. The song is featured on Stupid Stupid Stupid and comes from an EP called Be The Change . You can download [...]

It's the 15th of the month, Music Alliance pact day! Music Alliance Pact (MAP) is a collaboration between 34 blogs from all over the world, and every month, each of us present a new band from our country. All presentations are put together in this huge blogpost, and presented on the same day in all the MAP blogs. Massive promotion for the bands! This is the January edition, and the Norwegian band this month is Sacred Harp. Enjoy MAP! NORWAY : [...]

34 songs, 34 music blogs, 34 countries JAPAN : JPOP Lover Green Blossoms - Hana Akari Green Blossoms are folky duo Aiko Koga and Anthony Guerra. Aiko sings and plays ukulele, Anthony plays the other instruments. They released their second album, Whiskey Leaves, on US-based Digitalis Recordings last summer. Hana Akari is beautiful, softly-intoned songwriting and its ghostly incantations will stick [...]