Music
Essays, blog posts, playlists, and more focused broadly on music. For more playlists visit my Spotify profile.
- Dan Wilson Critics’ Pick ()
Standing as the premier long-format live interview series in the Twin Cities, the University of Minnesota’s Whole Music Club’s “Making Music” has established itself as a staple in the music scene, consistenly hosting discussions that offer insight into the minds of local and national artists. Now well into its ninth season, “Making Music” follows a celebrated […]
- Cloud Cult Critics’ Pick ()
The last two months have been insanely eventful for Cloud Cult: The band completed the first leg of their current tour while playing a series of co-headlining dates with Margot and the Nuclear So & Sos, made their first-ever appearance at the mammoth Coachella Music and Arts Festival, and released the career-spanning retrospective DVD No One […]
- Mastodon at Fine Line Music Cafe (Minneapolis, MN) ()
Video of Mastodon‘s April 29, 2009 show at the Fine Line Music Cafe in Minneapolis, MN featuring performances of “Oblivion,” “Bladecatcher,” and “Colony of Birchmen.” [This post was first published by Culture Bully.]
- Guante & Big Cats! “One of These Mornings (remix)” ()
“Life ain’t short, it’s just a lot of people waste it.” This could simply be coincidental, but it’s fitting that the tracks on Guante and Big Cats!’s Start a Fire EP have been edited and cut down to their most basic, wasting nothing in the process. It’s not that Big Cats!’s beats are any less […]
- Shugo Tokumaru “Rum Hee” ()
Over the past decade there’s been a remarkable shift from using jingles to pop music when tracking the music for national commercials. Bob Dylan has crooned for Apple, Parliament has funked for Mastercard, the Go! Team got down with Honda, the Flaming Lips waved a wand for Dell and Daft Punk got their denims on […]
- McSleazy Calls It Quits, Creates Ultimate Mash ()
This evening as I was going through some mash links that I hadn’t visited in a while I stumbled onto some huge news from McSleazy, “10 years of messing around with other people’s tunes compressed into 5 one hour mixes for your listening pleasure. Am uploading this now as I’m retiring McSleazy, and moving on to other […]
- The Sounds “Dorchester Hotel” ()
Though I later became a fan of the album based on the music that was actually on it, the first thing that captured my attention when initially introduced to the Sounds’ Dying To Say This To You was its titillating cover. Though neither of the women featured on the cover (DJ Leigh Lezark and Alexis […]
- The Klaxons vs. the Police mashed by Renton F. ()
Though most every day we’re given a bit of news recalling a story of how the big players of the recording industry have partaken in some sort of shady business practice, it still comes as a bit of a shock when you read about some of the absurd stuff that goes on. One of the […]
- Blueprint “Sign Language” Review ()
In a move slightly more akin to his Soul Position partner, RJD2, Blueprint focuses primarily on his beats while wading through a sea of organ and soulful samples on his latest album Sign Language. A true followup to Blueprint’s 2004 instrumental release, Chamber Music, Sign Language is a largely instrumental mix that combines down-tempo grooves […]
- Doves “Kingdom of Rust” Review ()
Kingdom of Rust immediately dives into classic rock territory with the band’s spiraling, Steve Miller Band-like electronics in the album’s lead track “Jetstream.” Fitting that from there, the album initially succeeds by tracing the history of bands who had all but vanished a couple decades ago. Aside from the rushed sounds of “The Outsiders,” the […]
- M. Ward Critics’ Pick ()
In his 2006 single, “Chinese Translation,” M. Ward asked, “What do you do with the pieces of a broken heart?” And through his collaborative album with Zooey Deschanel as She & Him and his recent Hold Time release, it appears that surrounding yourself with the best friends you can find seems to be the answer to the question. Though the physical […]
- H.R. “We Belong Together” ()
The sole difference between H.R.’s latest album, Hey Wella, and Bad Brains’ 2007 release, Build A Nation, is that unlike the glossy surface provided by Adam Yauch, Hey Wella has a level of production value that lands it somewhere closer to a time when Bad Brains were in their prime (for the sake of discussion, […]
- Chris Cornell vs. Jennifer Paige mashed by DJ Schmolli ()
Had you told me in 1998, when Jennifer Page’s “Crush” oozed into the pop music mainstream, that Chris Cornell would take the direction he has with his life, I wouldn’t have believed you. At that point in time Cornell was just out of Soundgarden, and fans were likely still attached to the band’s sound (the […]
- The Streets “Trust Me” ()
Mike Skinner’s voice transmits a swagger that gives him the freedom to stumble through the some of the sketchiest lyrics at times, while still coming out sparkling. Taking that into consideration, his promise to release three original tracks in three days via his Twitter account still seemed like an undertaking best left for someone a […]
- Kelly Clarkson vs. Ozzy vs. Pink mashed by Dan Mei & Marc Johnce ()
It’s been years since Ozzy and the Osbourne family first became entrenched in MTV-culture, so why not toss the Prince of Darkness into the deep end of the pool: mashing the Black Sabbath frontman with Pink and Kelly Clarkson. The resulting mashup is a track primarily focusing on the dueling vocals of Ozzy & Pink […]
- Travis Critics’ Pick ()
Years before Chris Martin had the inspiration to bellow the moody, yawnish purr that contributed to Coldplay’s eventual superstardom, Travis set the tone for what was yet to come with their 1999 single “Why Does It Always Rain on Me?” It could be said that the band should be damned for opening the doors for such leisure-rockers as […]
- Bat For Lashes “Use Somebody” (Kings of Leon Cover on BBC Radio1’s Live Lounge) ()
It’s not that King of Leons’ “Use Somebody” was a terrible song, or that Only By the Night was a completely unforgivable album (though to some degree it was), it’s just that for every enjoyable moment on the record, there was an equally awkward moment about someone’s sex being on fire, or the difficulties of […]
- No Doubt “Stand and Deliver” ()
The reunited No Doubt is set to return to TV with an appearance on the show Gossip Girl in May. In the flashback episode (which supposedly introduces a retro-themed spin-off series that will kick off in the fall) the band will perform a cover of Adam and the Ants’ “Stand and Deliver.” Accordingly No Doubt […]
- Quintron & Miss Pussycat Critics’ Pick ()
With the release of last year’s Too Thirsty 4 Love still fresh in listeners’ minds, Quintron and Miss Pussycat return to headline the same venue the duo played just a year ago, opening for the Black Lips. On the surface they appear anything but a likely pair: the darling Miss Pussycat with a large pompon on her […]
- Dan Israel “See the Morning Light” Review ()
From a place of personal crisis comes See the Morning Light, the 10th solo album in roughly a decade from Dan Israel. Following 2007’s rousing Turning, an album recorded with an uplifting spirit guided by the help of countless friends, Israel hit an emotional low, one that left him in the grip of depression, from which it took him nearly […]
- T.Q.D. “The Appetizer” EP Interview ()
Following the release of the Background Noise Crew’s Everybody Does This, the group’s T.Q.D. dropped an extremely limited release of The Appetizer EP as a supplemental CD in preparation for the emcee’s sophomore album, Clench, Grit, Breathe. Speaking of the EP T.Q.D. explained, “When I was making my full length Clench, Grit, Breathe, I wanted […]
- Jon Hopkins “Insides” Review ()
Whether it be the gloomy Maritime ambiance of “The Wider Sun,” or the layered funk of “Wire,” Jon Hopkins’ third studio album is a tremendous expansion on 1990’s electronica, offering 10 tracks that comfortably balance sounds with contrasting musical textures. Fortunately, Insides is far more consistent than Hopkins’ resume as of late: most recently the […]
- Neil Young “Fork In The Road” Review ()
Leading up to the release of 2006’s Living with War, Neil Young defended the anti-war, anti-Bush album by saying, “I was hoping some young person would come along and say this and sing some songs about it, but I didn’t see anybody, so I’m doing it myself.” It’s not that Neil Young needs to release […]
- Dan Deacon vs. GS Boyz mashed by ABX ()
Not that the internet has even been known as a beacon of positive reinforcement, but the last Hood Internet track combining Dan Deacon’s “Paddling Ghost” with the GS Boyz’s “Stanky Leg” has received nothing but hate on the duo’s website. In this situation I think that the final product has a lot to do with the […]
- Tallest Man on Earth Critics’ Pick ()
Though it might have some entertainment value, a musical performance by Bao Xishun, who the Guinness Book of World Records currently recognizes as the world’s tallest man, would likely fail to deliver an emotional set of songs that tugs at your heartstrings. Actually, with Xishun’s limited exposure to music, it’d probably fail to sound even remotely decent. Fortunately, […]
- The Gaslight Anthem Critics’ Pick ()
Last April, the Gaslight Anthem opened for Tim Barry and the Bouncing Souls at the Triple Rock Social Club. Now, less than a year later, the band find themselves returning to Minneapolis as headliners. Sounding as though it’s the end result of years of cranking Springsteen while speeding down the New Jersey Turnpike to see punk shows across the bay, the […]
- Wavves Critics’ Pick ()
It’s been included on a list of five of the most anticipated albums of 2009 on ABC News, and most recently it was given the coveted “Best New Music” nod from Pitchfork. But whether or not Wavvves, the latest album from 22-year-old Nathan Williams, is worthy of such adulation is beside the point; what is important is that […]
- Prince “LotusFlow3r” Review ()
In describing First Avenue to someone from outside of the Twin Cites, it’s easiest to just explain it as “that club” in Purple Rain; Prince returned to “that club” for the first time in two decades as one of three shows he played in Minneapolis on July 7, 2007. Following an in-store at Macy’s and […]
- Green Day vs. Jack Johnson (and more) mashed by Norwegian Recycling ()
It’s not entirely unusual to stumble across a mashup that you enjoy, despite it featuring a track which you absolutely despised in its original form. I can think of more than a few… actually, the number of Fergie mashups I have on my hard drive is downright embarrassing. But it’s a little more difficult to […]
- DJ Reno/Justice “A Cross the Universe of Mash-Up” ()
Where A Cross the Universe, last year’s live release from Justice, was “a reflection of what we know the duo is capable of, but not necessarily a recording that gives any indication of what is to come,” DJ Reno’s A Cross the Universe of Mash-Up is an album that stretches Justice’s music beyond the lengths […]