So here we are in the first of what I plan to be a weekly feature, cheesily entitled 'Scots Way-Hay' (if you think that's bad you should have seen the one's I chose not to use). If all goes according to plan I should have a band/artist introducing themselves to you each week. Some of them might be well established artists that you know and love, other might be new to you, either way I hope to share with you something that I personally like and hope that you do too. The first band I have chosen to go with [...]
Recommended Show: SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2010 FINDLAY BROWN @ PIANOS 158 Ludlow St New York, NY 10002 $8, 8PM Sunday night is always an awkward night for shows. The weekend is just about over, and people have to return to work on Monday. Findlay Brown might be the perfect solution for folks who still want to go out. It's not going to be a wild night and with a set time of 8PM, it won't be going too lat either. Eugene Mirman @ Union Hall globalFEST 2010 @ Webster Hall [...]
As a special year-end feature at Rollo & Grady, we have asked over 60 artists to list the music that they've most enjoyed listening to in 2009. Contributors include some of the most talented musicians in the business; they have made some excellent selections and we are thrilled with their participation. *DEAN WAREHAM - LUNA, GALAXIE 500, DEAN & BRITTA Papercuts - You Can Have What You Want Davy Graham - Definitive Anthology The Feelies - Crazy Rhythms [...]
Devonte Hynes (aka Lightspeed Champion ) runs away with the title of "most prolific artist," revealing that he has 50 albums ready for bootleg release. It's a great business model - he keeps the fans happy with regular releases, but also maintains a great sense of quality control for his albums: "So I decided that in every gap in the week that I found myself sitting down, or watching t.v. or waiting for tea to brew or logging onto facebook. I would write and record a song instead, without any real thought behind it, and by making [...]
Here's what's going on musically in Chicago this week. As usual, my picks are in bold , and if I've left anything out, please drop me a note in the comments! Monday, December 7 Beat Kitchen: Pat McCurdy Darkroom: Tom Waits 60th Birthday Party ft. B1g T1me Empty Bottle: Shapers, I Kong Kult, Child Bite [FREE SHOW] The Hideout: Curtis Harvey, The Glorytellers (ft. Geoff Farina of Karate), Judson Claiborne House of Blues: GWAR, Job for a Cowboy, The Red Chord Lincoln [...]
Yep, it's a day late. Probably two if you live in a different time zone. It's part three of my top 40 albums of 2009. If we look back at the month of May, it seems like the majority of my favourites were released all at the same time, including albums from the Manics, IAMX, Morton Valence, Jarvis Cocker, Archivist, and The Rest. We also had new records that have already graced this list, including The Horrors' Primary Colours and Phoenix's Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix . The month was rounded out with albums by Maximo Park, Peaches, Esser, [...]
Come one come all to the magnificent and frightening Voodoo Experience 2009 Halloween spooktacular held deep in the swampy bayous of New Orleans at City Park! From outrageous costumes to glowing praying mantises, this year's Halloween celebration drew in an outrageous number of people to catch some of this year's hottest acts. Fans braved the freezing rain, which hailed all throughout the first day, and even withstood the muddy after effects on Saturday and Sunday. And all but one small setback (K'NANN canceled his performance last minute on Saturday) made this an exciting and fun filled weekend [...]
Spike Jonze has taken a 10-line children's picture book and turned it into a full-feature film. Which is quite a feat in and of itself, but I think that he does so successfully, even if it doesn't really translate into a movie that kids will want to sit through. They did a great job developing this little 10-line plot into a pretty fascinating full-fledged story. They did a great job of inviting the reader into the world of the "Wild Things" and I quickly found myself very invested into the each of the characters. Unfortunately though, Jonze left [...]
Before we dive into tunes today, I wanted to pass along two wildly unrelated (and potentially , but hopefully not actually, uninteresting) things that happened today. 1. It was a great mail day, the kind of day that makes up for Columbus Day, when I received no mail. I got two things in the mail that are awesome. First, I won an ebay auction for the above pictured Sebadoh 7 inch single. It's on clear vinyl, which is completely badass, and sounds excellent. The best part? I bought it from Paul Lukas, head honcho at the excellent [...]
So, I don't know if I've already mentioned this enough already, but I'm going to NEW YORK on Sunday for a week of tomfoolery and Big Apple based fun. We've also chosen this week in particular to head across the sea as it's CMJ Music Marathon and there are some pretty fucking cool bands playing. A fair few that we've featured on this here blog in fact. Hooray for us and coolness! But, my problem is I just can't process this list of bands who are playing. There are too many for my [...]
CMJ released the band schedule for its 2009 Music Marathon & Film Festival yesterday, which is about as good a sign of fall hitting New York as the return of apple cider at Greenmarket. The festival runs from Oct. 20 - Oct. 24 and includes various venues throughout the city, and the list of featured artists would probably take all four days to read through. But skimming the selection reveals a fairly equal distribution of well-known acts like Atlas Sound and Deer Tick , anonymous locals (including krautrock-y Jeff Buckley-channelers Pocketknife), twenty-two bands who [...]
The press release below doesn't actually list all the acts performing at CMJ this year, so you're probably better off checking out cmj.sched.org to get a true idea of what's happening during this year's marathon. Of course, sched.org is a little confusing too and it doesn't list unofficial events and day parties (as far as I know), so you'll have to wait a little bit longer for info to trickle out from the blogs and other unofficial sources. Lastly, even though the press release says the schedule is "final", you can pretty much bet that things will shift [...]
Last week we brought you into the sweet fantasies of Brandi Milne , so this week I thought we would talk a look at an artist who's work (on the surface) is the complete opposite. The work of Skinner takes you into a dark and psychedelic world that is more vivid and wild than any dream you could imagine. Drawing on the principles of heavy metal and his own internal stories, Skinner is gaining global recognition for his unique and detailed creations. Where one is dark and one is sweet there is contrast, but Milne [...]
We all know someone without health insurance-the type who calls wondering if you've got any antibiotics left over from that nasty bout with tonsillitis. A lot of those people are musicians. A few years ago Rock A Mole Productions conducted a yearlong survey that found nearly 96 percent of musicians struggled to secure regular health care. The cruel irony, of course, is that they often play benefits for friends. Over forty-five million people in the U.S. were uninsured in 2007, a number that continues to climb as unemployment rates increase and policies become more costly. [...]
"Do you think being circumcised will make you faster?" "Eh, I'm not circumcised". And so begins day three, as Roskilde Radio interviews the participants before the now-legendary Naked Race on the campsite. Today is going to be a scorcher – even compared to the two last days – so sitting in the shade beside the race track as the participants are introduced is as fine a way to start the day as you'd get. We certainly choose it over standing in the nip out in the boiling sun, but the 10 men and 10 ladies (many who have replaced their [...]
"Do you think being circumcised will make you faster?". "Eh, I'm not circumcised". And so begins day three, as Roskilde Radio interviews the participants before the now-legendary Naked Race on the campsite. Today is going to be a scorcher - even compared to the two last days - so sitting in the shade beside the race track as the participants are introduced is as fine a way to start the day as you'd get. We certainly choose it over standing in the nip out in the boiling sun, but the 10 men and 10 ladies (many who have replaced their [...]
Much as it would be in keeping with the total avoidance of a song that has appeared on Letterman I can't deny myself the pleasure of 'Ten Dead Dogs'. As you'd expect Wild Sweet Orange have also done some time on Grey's Anatomy, the pained delivery is an undeniable fit for slo-mo surgical theatrics. But, for all the strong arguments brought forward by the prosecution it seems the case for the defence is watertight. 'Ten Dead Dogs' is just too pretty and cleverly built to be brushed aside on a whim. And with a bassist called Garret Kelly it would [...]
I'm a sucker for well-written, witty lyrics set against a Northern Soul-influenced soundtrack, as well as the artfulness of good rhyme. So it should come as no surprise that I am a fan of 20-year-old Wakefield, England native Matt Abbott and his pop outfit Skint & Demoralised . He is one-half the thinking man's poet (check out his MySpace under the name Matt Skint , one-half budding pop star - a combination all too rare these days. Matt is also not shy to voice his [...]
Photography by Tsuru (in old school wallpaper size, click it, then save) So baby and I got home a few minutes before the doors were to open, but we know how these things go, we live about a 5 minute leisurely bike ride from the Lifestyles Pavilion, so there's no rush. We cooked up some yummy chicken sausage and Mac N' Cheese for me, edamame for baby (she can't do cow cheese, though I suspect there is nothing even chemically resembling cheese in Mac N' Cheese). We [...]
This Week's Other Releases
Essential Mix - Riva Starr (Feb)
New Releases V2.9
Remix Review
