Music
Essays, blog posts, playlists, and more focused broadly on music. For more playlists visit my Spotify profile.
- Metric Critics’ Pick ()
For Toronto’s Metric, the road to this year’s Glastonbury festival in the U.K. leads right through the Twin Cities. Touring in support of their fourth album, this year’s Fantasies, Metric are receiving some of their greatest accolades as they continue across the U.S. Having gone gold in its native Canada, Fantasies has already spawned four singles, including the recently released fuzzy […]
- Mayhem at Station 4 (St. Paul, MN) ()
Though Blackened Fest had already been off to a rocky start, a delay in the visa process prevented Marduk from joining the tour and the entire Boise date had been canceled, a most unfortunate notice greeted fans as they arrived at St. Paul’s Station 4. An initial glimpse at the notice suggested that three local […]
- No Use for a Name Critics’ Pick ()
The video for the 1995 single “Soulmate” was one of Fat Wreck Chords’ first, and last, to receive heavy rotation on MTV. The song still remains one of the most successful singles from San Jose, California’s No Use for a Name. Though the band has seen a lot of changes to its lineup since its […]
- Grizzly Bear Critics’ Pick ()
Late last month Edward Droste, lead singer of Grizzly Bear, made an announcement via his Twitter feed: “Well after much rehearsal and preperation [sic], we will not be on Letterman tonight. We were about to walk on when dave said we ran out of time.” It was significant not just that they were bumped, but also that the television […]
- Jenny Lewis Critics’ Pick ()
Starting her career as an actress and later moving into a role she still retains—vocalist for the L.A. rock band Rilo Kiley—Jenny Lewis faces the same issue that M. Ward, one of the many contributors on her latest album, Acid Tongue, was confronted with before his most recent tour. Like Ward’s, Lewis’s latest release features an abundance of […]
- St. Vincent Critics’ Pick ()
Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, singer and multi-instrumentalist Annie Clark previously performed and toured with the likes of the Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens before breaking away and finding her own audience under the St. Vincent moniker. Releasing her debut album, Marry Me (the title coming from a gag line on the TV show Arrested Development), in 2007 to a wave of adulation from countless critical […]
- Blackenedfest featuring Mayhem Critics’ Pick ()
After a quick glimpse into Mayhem’s past, it’s easy to see why the band is one of the world’s most notorious. The Norwegian black-metal group was originally formed in 1983. Its members took names such as Euronymous and Necrobutcher, and Mayhem quickly developed a cult following in its Scandinavian homeland. The band has a shocking link […]
- Yeah Yeah Yeahs at First Avenue (Minneapolis, MN) ()
Video of Yeah Yeah Yeahs‘ May 30, 2009 show at First Avenue in Minneapolis, MN features performances of “Heads Will Roll,” “Dull Life,” “Gold Lion,” “Miles Away,” “Pin,” “Zero,” “Cheated Hearts,” and “Date with the Night.” [This post was first published by Culture Bully.]
- Grizzly Bear “Veckatimest” Review ()
There’s something to be said for following the advice of others… sometimes. Those largely unfamiliar with Grizzly Bear could easily find its latest album achingly dull. Much of Veckatimest sounds as though the band is casually treading through the recording, adding instruments and a quilted padding of sound below each track to magnify their impressiveness. […]
- Phoenix “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix” Review ()
When Phoenix recently performed on Saturday Night Live, there was a general sense of “who are these guys?” and “why are they on SNL?” that wafted out of the uninformed blogosphere (myself included). While the hype surrounding Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix certainly had to have helped the band land the spot, there is so much more […]
- Doves Critics’ Pick ()
With the band’s recent release, Kingdom of Rust, Manchester’s Doves have returned with a sound that bridges its booming guitars with a thick classic-rock vibe. For the recording of the album, the band’s first since 2005’s Mercury Prize-nominated Some Cities, the group holed up in a small farm on the Cheshire Plains between Manchester and Liverpool. The isolation allowed the group […]
- Moby “Wait For Me” Review ()
Last Night, Moby’s last studio release, was an attempt by the musician to return to something comfortable. Quoting the album’s liner notes, “To me this record sounds like a night out in New York with all the sex and the weirdness and the disorientation and the celebration and the compelling chaos.” And the album encapsulated […]
- Rage Against the Machine vs. Beck mashed by Overdub ()
A few years back when the Beastie Boys released a number of acapella versions of their songs for free via the group’s website, Beastie-mashes were immediately everywhere. One that really got me going at the time was DJ Payroll’s mash of “Intergalactic” and Rage Against the Machine’s “Know Your Enemy.” It was fairly rudimentary, but […]
- House of Pain vs Amsterdam Klezmer Band mashed by Faroff ()
File under: I can’t believe someone actually thought of doing this Brazil’s DJ Farfoff (who splits his time between Massachusetts and Brasilia) has created a multi-genre trio of tracks released as his East vs. West digital EP. The tracks take an extreme of offering classic songs contrasted with world music: “Lady Madonnavic” for instance mashes the Beatles […]
- Slayer vs. Queen mashed by DJ Schmolli ()
There’s been an ongoing battle in my head between who is the best at using metal or hard rock tracks in their boots. For as much as I’ve heard and enjoyed from Morgoth, Aggro1 or ToToM, a longtime personal favorite of mine has just raised the bar considerably. I’ve never (eeeeever) heard a mashup that […]
- Sonic Youth “Sacred Trickster” ()
Where much of The Eternal is a continuation of Sonic Youth’s career-long balancing act, featuring the staggered vocals of Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon, “Sacred Trickster” gives Gordon sole ownership of the spotlight. In doing so, the song arouses a sense of yesteryear, a sound that is reminiscent of the gritty, driving tracks that Gordon […]
- Big Quarters ()
Four years ago, City Pages ran a cover story on a young, burgeoning hip-hop group by the name of Big Quarters. The article followed Brandon “Allday” Bagaason and his younger brother “Medium” Zach as they traveled through Illinois, documenting performances, ideologies, and personalities. The most remarkable development captured during the trip wasn’t the struggle of […]
- Magic Castles Critics’ Pick ()
The name Magic Castles conjures up mythological tales of wizardry and adventure. As such, when imagining what a band by that name might sound like, it wouldn’t be out of line to predict a booming prog-rock amalgamation of extended keyboard solos intricately woven between booming guitars and lyrical blasts delicately recalling the stories of knights […]
- Pennywise Critics’ Pick ()
From the time of their formation in 1988, SoCal’s Pennywise have been one of punk’s most consistent bands. Last year the group threw fans for a loop, however, releasing their latest album, Reason to Believe, via their MySpace page. Though a corporate release was out of line with the band’s historical ideology (they backed away from signing with a corporate […]
- “Anvil: The Story of Anvil” Review ()
Anvil: The Story of Anvil isn’t simply a documentary about a group of balding, gray-haired rockers. The story follows an aging Canadian metal band as they continue to struggle to find success, but the spirit of hope is one that trumps any of the cinematic plot twists. The film documents a story of two friends, […]
- Mike Watt & the Missingmen Critics’ Pick ()
Chances are good that even if you can’t name a song by Mike Watt, you know of him. Chances are good that you’ve seen MTV’s Jackass; its opening theme is a song called “Corona” that was originally released in 1984 by a band Watt played in by the name of the Minutemen. Chances are good that you’ve […]
- Gene Ween Critics’ Pick ()
While he’s been playing with Scott Metzger, Dave Dreiwitz, and Joe Russo recently as the Gene Ween Band, Gene Ween will be performing a rare pair of solo shows on back-to-back nights in the Twin Cities. The band has granted Gene a different approach to his music, a relationship similar to that between Primus and singer/bassist Les Claypool’s many side projects, one […]
- King Khan & the Shrines Critics’ Pick ()
Notorious for their wild, occasionally nude live shows, King Khan and the Shrines have succeeded in building a sinister reputation in the States despite having a limited release history here. The Shrines are essentially a hodgepodge of characters that have joined over the years; the band’s members range from French to German, from a cheerleader […]
- Green Day “21st Century Breakdown” Review ()
After selling over 12 million copies of the album, many have certified Green Day’s American Idiot a modern classic. The band’s concept album not only reintroduced the group to the mainstream, but American Idiot quickly became Green Day’s second highest selling album since its major label debut, Dookie, in 1994. With the album, Green Day […]
- Mogwai and the Horrors at First Avenue (Minneapolis, MN) ()
Photos of Mogwai and the Horrors taken May 11, 2009 at First Avenue in Minneapolis, MN. [This post was first published by Culture Bully.]
- Eminem “Relapse” Review ()
The idea of relapsing isn’t one that’s solely aimed at addiction, especially so in the case of Eminem. Coming four and a half years after Encore, Relapse is a wildcard; an album coming from an unpredictable emcee, one of the world’s most popular and recognizable musical figures, and one that has been looming his entire […]
- St. Vincent “Actor” Review ()
At times, Actor is exactly what I expected it to be. Conversely, it’s also scattered with tracks that sound nothing like what I had anticipated. The first half of the album adopts an interesting mash of choppy, distorted guitar with Clark playfully breathing life into lyrics that might otherwise come across as desperate or woeful. […]
- Killswitch Engage Critics’ Pick ()
Whether you call it melodic hardcore, metalcore, or simply metal, Killswitch Engage has been one of the few bands this past decade to successfully make the step into the mainstream while still retaining widespread critical acclaim. The band’s forthcoming album, its second self-titled release, is the first that they’ve worked on with producer Brendan O’Brien (AC/DC, Pearl Jam, Rage Against the […]
- Mogwai Critics’ Pick ()
Following a triumphant performance at last September’s All Tomorrow’s Parties festival in New York, a message was posted on Mogwai’s website clarifying that the band had been forced to cancel the remaining dates of its North American tour due to health concerns. The news was unfortunate for the Twin Cities, as one of those dates was […]
- Loney, Dear Critics’ Pick ()
Loney, Dear, the nom de plume of Swedish singer-songwriter Emil Svanngen, has come an incredibly long way in six short years. Writing and recording his debut album in his parents’ basement in 2003, Svanngen would later be signed by Seattle’s legendary Sub Pop records in 2006 and go on to tour with the likes of Of Montreal, the Sea […]