Music
Essays, blog posts, playlists, and more focused broadly on music. For more playlists visit my Spotify profile.
- Sonic Youth “The Destroyed Room: B-Sides and Rarities” Review ()
Moments into “Fire Engine Dream,” an outtake from the Sonic Nurse sessions in 2003, Sonic Youth begins to deliver an almost encyclopedic, note for note, version of themselves; a noisy, brash Sonic Youth reminiscent to a version of Public Image Limited lacking the electronics and boasting heavier emphasis on crass audible devolution. Surprisingly are the […]
- 2006 in Review: The Rise and Fallout of Jay-Z ()
It may or may not have started with Nas’ “Ether” back in 2001, but after both ended up together with Def Jam someone had to take the reigns in cracking down on Jay-Z and in 2006 Cam’Ron stood up ready to battle. Though the roots to both Cam’Ron and Dipset as a whole disputing with […]
- Remembering James Brown ()
I don’t believe any of us can recall the very first time we heard James Brown, but more than likely it was through some commercial project attempting to utilize “I Got You (I Feel Good)” or “Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag (Part 1).” Chances are though, that if you’re a fan of the man’s […]
- Norah Jones: “Not Too Late” ()
Though it wont be released for another month, Norah Jones’ highly anticipated third studio album Not Too Late stands as something that could either identify her as a centerpiece of her generation, or demote her to a once triumphant musician now fading into the shadow of her celebrity. Having emerged as one of the most […]
- Campamento Ñec Ñec “Alimana” Review ()
How is it that the band with one with the year’s best EP in disguise as a LP can be so unknown? Not even in sense that your borderline indie, borderline corporate music mag hasn’t written about them. Not in the sense that the once-underground, now far above sea level internet hype hasn’t touched them. […]
- My Morning Jacket “Okonokos: The Concert” DVD Review ()
The DVD begins and the world is transformed, a first person experience as a man with a mission, on an evening like no other, a socialites dream somewhere in a mansion in the deep South. An estate lost in the backwoods, one which you arrive to as your horse drawn buggy calmly smoothes its speed […]
- Best Mashups of 2006 ()
In 2006 mashups saw a decline in mainstream acceptance as casual listeners lost interest and media outlets which once bolstered the musical niche regressed to their initial state of disinterest. But beneath the increasing skepticism a strong base of bootleggers kept creating music which still found a fan base with their ever-present originality. In an […]
- PJ Harvey “Peel Sessions 1991-2004” Review ()
It will take Rid of Me another half decade before it settles in with a new audience, the children of those who it was first adopted by. Harvey’s music was timely and appropriate considering her surroundings and the ears it originally fell upon, but it will prove itself instead timeless. A period where there was […]
- The Fire Now Teases: Jake La Botz ()
Something remarkable happens when you listen to music that you’re jealous of. Not jealous in the sense that you’re jealous of the musician or his struggles and accomplishments. Not in the sense that you wish you could bend a note like them, or whisper a truth the way they do. But it’s a complete feeling […]
- Ben Kweller Interview ()
Finding the most critical acclaim from his most recent self titled album, singer/songwriter Ben Kweller now looks to take a rest from touring before continuing the international leg of his endeavors next year. While latest album interrupts his past writing process by completing a shift towards a fuller, complete musician, he still seems able and […]
- Roger O’Donnell “The Truth in Me” Review ()
“It seems the bigger the band the more removed you are from the actual music.” As such Roger O’Donnell’s appropriately titled album The Truth in Me is what some might consider a realization of roots for an artist who has upheld quality and generated celebrity with all of the bands he has worked with in […]
- Cacoy “Human is Music” Review ()
Time is a remarkable thing. Let’s say that you’re one of the many many millions of people who choose to tie their shoes each day, how long does that take? And to get to work? And how long does it take you to complete any number of other tasks throughout the day? Let’s say, continuing […]
- LCD Soundsystem “45:33 Nike+ Original Run” Review ()
DFA President and LCD Soundsystem patriarch James Murphy laces up his shoes and takes to the track as he follows the pace set by the Crystal Method for the second recording in Nike+ Original Run series. For those unfamiliar with the series, the music is made for running, that’s it; no dramatic inspiration, just one […]
- Primus “Blame it on the Fish” DVD Review ()
Speaking from the year 2063, an elderly Les Claypool explains his life throughout the course of Blame it on the Fish. After detailing the origins of his name he recalls “I’m best known for playing with the band Primus. Primus was once a very popular group in sort of the underground cult scene – that’s […]
- Kentucky Slang & Detroit Grit: Leopold and his Fiction ()
There’s something odd about the air when Leopold and his Fiction occupies its space, it’s fresh but still smells like something that’s been sitting on your daddy’s record shelf in an uncovered beat up slip cover. The band’s songs are a strange brew of Kentucky slang mixed with Detroit grit, at times sounding like a […]
- A Striking Realization: The Bird and the Bee ()
Inara George and Greg Kurstin, the duo that comprises The Bird and the Bee, did not know one another five years ago, and it was mere business that brought them together in the first place. Kurstin was to produce George’s 2005 album All Rise, and it was in doing so that the two met and […]
- Deftones “Saturday Night Wrist” Review ()
Inching the band closer to a sound that it began realizing with 2000’s White Pony, the Deftones return after a three year hiatus with the dramatic Saturday Night Wrist; an album that not only characterizes the band’s direction but displays also what has made it vital since it first released Adrenaline in 1995. Shifting from […]
- …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead “So Divided” Review ()
Was it only last year when the boys in Trail of Dead released the critically snubbed Worlds Apart? An album that startled with waves of both brilliance and drudged self-mockery? Since the album’s release fans wondered where their Texas sized heroes had gone and if there would ever be a sincere conclusion to Source Tags […]
- Still Got Licks? The Search for Modern Relevance Amongst Yesterday’s Artists ()
Rock music as we know it is relatively young compared to the distinct genres that classify any number of nation around the world. Even compared to that of basic American jazz and blues it finds itself a younger sibling, stemming from a later seed, which finds itself further down the musical food chain. It’s humorous […]
- Sean Hawryluk (of Ladyhawk) Interview ()
Ladyhawk is one of a the rising number of bands this year that has seemingly hit highs as response to fan support which has come in the form of online feedback and generous praise of the band’s live show. As the distinction between hype and merit is agonized over and examined in detail Ladyhawk pay […]
- Silverchair “Young Modern” ()
Following up what many consider to be the band’s best album (if nothing else it was their highest selling in Australia) Diorama will be Silverchair’s fifth entitled Young Modern which is set to be released in the Spring of 2007. The band holds a special place for many as their youthful power defied typical modern […]
- Laurie Shanaman & Aesop Dekker (of Ludicra) Interview ()
Black metal is a strange thing, to a certain sects of fan it can take on entirely different meanings and embody a completely different lifestyle. Take a comparison between the Norwegian band Immortal and San Francisco’s Ludicra for example. Essentially, there is no comparison to be made yet both are termed black metal. One grew […]
- Jóhann Jóhannsson “IBM1401: A User’s Manual” ()
Roughly a month ago it was brought to my attention that Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson would be releasing an album of new material, this time with an interestingly historic running theme surrounding his relationship with both his father and one IBM1401. After initially reading about the project I began to search further as to where […]
- The Walkmen “Pussy Cats: Starring The Walkmen” Review ()
Outside of a certain realm of music fan, despite his overwhelming catalogue and history, Harry Nilsson is still a slightly obscure reference, much like The Walkmen. Despite being “music fans” there is a large segment of people who haven’t had the opportunity to hear music by either Nilsson or The Walkmen, and for the longest […]
- J-Sun Atoms (of the Upsidedown) Interview ()
With the effects of 2004’s Dig! still reeling throughout modern rock, The Upsidedown serve as the link between new and old; between neo-psychedelia and modern garage. Forming over the course of a few years following the break-up of shoegazers The Bella Low lead singer J-Sun Atoms and the other members of The Upsides look to […]
- Oxford Collapse “Remember the Night Parties” Review ()
Whenever a band is labeled as transitioning from independent to label there comes, for one reason or another, a discrepancy in reputability. In the situation of Sub Pop and Oxford Collapse, however, it seems a perfect match for both sides, on the surface, without anyone really scratching their head wondering where the street-cred has gone. […]
- Whiskas (of ¡Forward Russia!) Interview ()
One of the brightest groups to survive this past pre-SXSW hype, all members in tact, are Leeds’ ¡Forward Russia! who have branded such distinct tones that they honestly bear no one on one comparison with any of their contemporaries; granted they sound like a lot of bands combined, but yet they stand alone as something […]
- Shout Out Out Out Out ()
I don’t really get off on the whole electronic-wave of indie that has inch by inch, step by step, made its way into modern rock. Frankly I’m a separatist, rock is rock and electronica is electronica and I love them both the way they are. With that, Shout Out Out Out Out comes off exactly […]
- Ari Up & Tessa Pollitt (of the Slits) Interview ()
Finding a balance between the crass sounds of punk and dub long before bands such as The Clash formulated the blend as commercial, The Slits now seek to reclaim their sound and place in history with a return to both the studio and to touring after a twenty five year hiatus. In doing so an […]
- Teddybears “Soft Machine” Review ()
There is a sharp contrast in terms of contribution and exploration between the worlds of rock music and electronic music. Without heavily elaborating, if a punk rock icon was to release an electronic track, and in doing so expanding their previously stagnant sound base by leaps and bounds, it would be viewed as shocking and […]