UPDATE: Due to the tremendous amount of traffic and response this post has generated, I”ve decided to add a quick introduction/interpretation. The purpose of this entry was to complain about the lack of scope that other music sites seem to be exhibiting. It was prompted by reading an article on Grizzly Bear’s favorite emoticons...
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Interview with Sixteen Deluxe. Amazing 90's Austin-based "shoegaze" band
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Hype is a crazy thing. It sets an expectation that few bands are ever able to achieve. Southern California’s Henry Clay People take the hype and the endless comparisons and respond in the most logical fashion. They have fun. A quick trip through YouTube, shows a band whose live shows have gotten looser and...
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We got such a strong reaction to our streaming a song by The Big Pink, we felt it was our obligation to track ‘em down and bring them to your desktop. Milo Cordell and Robbie Furze are the London-based duo responsible for all the uproar. Milo runs the Merok label which has released records...
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Most bands shun comparisons to other bands. They’d prefer to be known for their own virtues and don’t want any intimation that they’re “unoriginal”. Personally, I appreciate when critics cite a comparison because it gives me a reference point. But if the comparison is wrong or does a disservice to the band, I too...
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When I was growing up, Interview Magazine was a must-read for me. At an early age, I could recognize media bias when I saw it. I watched the British music mags (NME, Melody Maker) and the U.S. press (Rolling Stone, Spin, Creem) spin bands based on how the articles were written. Seemingly innocuous quotes...
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We try. We scour the internets. We listen to everything that’s sent to us, including every lame, MySpace, ‘will you be my friend even though we’re a Journey cover band?’. And yet…..sometimes a band slips through the cracks. Thanks goodness for our readers, one of whom suggested our new fave: Gliss. Their recently released,...
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A quick glance at the Amazon.com list of new releases ranked by most pre-orders, tells you why a website called The Dumbing of America exists: Eminem, Eric Clapton, Tori Amos, Kenny Chesney, Iron & Wine…..wait, Iron & Wine?! Hallejuah, maybe there’s hope after all! Iron & Wine: Around The Well: A collection of out...
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The inherent limitation of rock or pop music is that it’s virtually impossible to evoke a mood in a four minute song. Generally musicians try to appear deep by telling us, “you’re hot then you’re cold” or the sage advice, “do you know your enemy” (repeat 10 times, then go to the bridge). For...
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I remember walking around in the late eighties and sneering at the “30-somethings” wearing old Stones tour shirts. Threadbare and ridiculous, given that the Stones had ceased to be relevent, I was comfortable knowing that I was far hipper wearing my new Wedding Present tour shirt. Twenty years later, the music has held up...
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