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The Accidental Success of Bastard Child Death Cult

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:50:01 PST

ARTIST: The Accidental Success of Bastard Child Death Cult
with free mp3 download of Year Zero by Bastard Child Death Cult in its entirety!
DATE: 03-08-10
WRITER: Bill Adams
Rock history is littered with the stories of bands that worked tirelessly to break through only to enjoy diminished returns at best. It is, by all accounts, wildly frustrating; a band can try endlessly to find just the right combination of factors to strike gold, yet consistently come up short each time. Sometimes though, the best results come [view more]

The Ongoing Critical Argument Around Andrew W.K. Turns Funny.

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 14:21:05 PST

ARTIST: The Ongoing Critical Argument Around Andrew W.K. Turns Funny.
There are moments when the press will eat itself and debating Andrew W.K. is one of them.
DATE: 03-07-10
WRITER: Emily Yoder
Long before "performance art" was even a twinkle in the eyes of James Franco or Joaquin Phoenix, Andrew W. K. was showing up to interviews with blood and vomit on stained t-shirts. Was it all schtick? Did he take the "Party Hard" lyrics seriously? People often joked that W.K. stood for "Who [view more]

Woodhands Get Personal

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 10:21:02 PST

ARTIST: Woodhands Get Personal
DATE: 03-07-10
WRITER: Bill Adams
I think the first record was an experiment,” contends Woodhands singer Dan Werb. “We were playing in a genre that we were learning about as we went along; playing shows and writing songs and recording them. Through them, we learned what dance music was all about and we took it as far as we could; in terms of the lyrical [view more]

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - [Album]

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 05:58:13 PST

ARTIST: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - [Album]
DATE: 03-07-10
REVIEW BY: Bill Adams
Historically in every musical movement, purists have always shrieked heresy as soon as someone starts tweaking convention. When that thing which bucks tradition starts fucking shit up, it isn't always done with malicious intent; the band (or bands) in question may have the utmost respect for the basic forms they're working with [view more]

Seasick Steve - [Album]

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 05:53:31 PST

ARTIST: Seasick Steve - [Album]
with three free live mp3 downloads by Seasick Steve.
DATE: 03-07-10
REVIEW BY: Bill Adams
Since the stream of original bluesmen that flowed out of the Mississippi Delta began drying up years ago, the ranks of remaining players making the music has been infiltrated by a number of well-meaning and earnest impostors who have kept the spirit of the genre going on life support. Sometimes the music can be good but, more often than not, it [view more]

Daniel, Fred & Julie - [Album]

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:55:59 PST

ARTIST: Daniel, Fred & Julie - [Album]
with free mp3 download for 'The Gambler And His Bride.'
DATE: 03-03-10
REVIEW BY: Bill Adams
In the last century, the processes of making and capturing music for the purposes sharing the moment with others has been torn apart and rebuilt so often that, were someone from the dawn of record making transported to the present day, they wouldn't even know where to start. Even in the 1950s and '60s, the act of setting up a [view more]

Balance And Composure - [12'' EP]

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:36:34 PST

ARTIST: Balance And Composure - [12'' EP]
DATE: 03-02-10
REVIEW BY: Bill Adams
Ever see or hear a band and know exactly what they're about from the very first time you hear them but remain hypnotized because something about it seems off? It's one of those moments when you know something's not quite the same as everything you've ever heard before, and that's the captivating skew; that [view more]

Franz Nicolay - [10'' EP]

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 05:54:46 PST

ARTIST: Franz Nicolay - [10'' EP]
DATE: 03-02-10
REVIEW BY: Bill Adams
If the last few years and the proliferation of solo and side projects that have appeared from major label artists have taught us anything, it's that the practice of a big-time band member striking out from his/her established project and releasing new music can be a dicey proposition. Much of the success or failure of a solo endeavor can [view more]

Lighten Up - [Album]

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:11:01 PST

ARTIST: Lighten Up - [Album]
DATE: 03-01-10
REVIEW BY: Bill Adams
It's a rare occurrence that a brand new band appears on the scene and bearing all of the earmarks of direct lineage to the first wave of hardcore bands. Make no mistake, lots of bands try to pantomime the movements of groups like Black Flag, Minor Threat and Descendents, but few if any of them ever really come close to the raw adrenaline [view more]

The SWAG Report 001

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 10:18:09 PST

ARTIST: The SWAG Report 001
Freebies from Imaad Wasif, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Daniel Fred and Julie, Evelyn Evelyn, Tony Sly, Dead Letter Chorus, Hesta Prynn, Barenaked Ladies, Cypress Hill, Gorillaz, Massive Attack, Richard Ashcroft and more!
DATE: 03-01-10
WRITER: Don Loder

Alright ya mugs, so it's been a while since anybody at Ground Control posted a bunch of free SWAG from the music business, hasn't it? Those filthy prospectors have obviously been asleep on the job because it's not like the biz took a year off! So I guess it's up to me. Being the fine, upstanding [view more]

Zeus - [Album]

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 14:33:53 PST

ARTIST: Zeus - [Album]
with free MP3 download for 'Marching Through Your Head' from Say Us by Zeus
DATE: 02-27-10
REVIEW BY: Bill Adams
The problem so many rock bands suffer from has always been that, no matter what sort of music they want to make, they feel compelled to approach it with a sort of tunnel vision; they have to come into it in their own time, put their own stamp on it and make it their own. It's their way or no way. It's commonplace for a band to [view more]

Woodhands - [Album]

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 07:12:10 PST

ARTIST: Woodhands - [Album]
with link to watch Woodhands' video for 'CP24.'
DATE: 02-27-10
REVIEW BY: Bill Adams
Isn't it funny how trends are able to reoccur in pop music? In the 1980s, synth-pop ruled the airwaves as bands like Depeche Mode, Flock Of Seagulls, Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Devo (among hundreds of others) made the most of their Casio-tones and produced primo plasticized pop. All of that was erased at the dawn of the Nineties as [view more]

Matt Venuti - [Album]

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:04:56 PST

ARTIST: Matt Venuti - [Album]
DATE: 02-26-10
REVIEW BY: Bill Adams
There are moments – and listening to Matt Vanuti's Hangisphere is one of them – when one has to pay attention to what's going on because there's a central, cornerstone element that is very alien. There is an unusual sound that amounts to a puzzle that a listener will find himself [view more]

Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra - [Album]

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 07:52:50 PST

ARTIST: Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra - [Album]
with free mp3 download for 'Bury 3 Dynamos' from Kollaps Tradixionales by Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra
DATE: 02-26-10
REVIEW BY: Bill Adams
The gifts a band might possess can take many forms. For some, they have the impressive ability to simplify and micro-size their muse in such a way that tiny music – tiny structures, modest sentiments and small sounding instruments – can seem like the most important things in the world. When that happens, it's usually [view more]

The Flaming Lips Discography Part III - [Discography]

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 16:01:17 PST

ARTIST: The Flaming Lips Discography Part III - [Discography]
from 20 Years Of Weird to Dark Side Of The Moon
DATE: 02-25-10
WRITER: Bill Adams
This is Part Three of The Flaming Lips Discography. For Part One, click here. For Part Two, click here.

By the time the Flaming Lips [view more]

The Snips - [EP]

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 07:49:55 PST

ARTIST: The Snips - [EP]
DATE: 02-25-10
REVIEW BY: Bill Adams
Something had to change. When The Snips' original singer Mike Podio left the band last year (the details on why are public domain, but irrelevant) and trumpet player Ricky “Slick Dick” Pridmore stepped up to front the band, fans were surprised – but they also knew that the Ceremonial Snips' brand of [view more]

Meat Puppets - [Album]

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 07:25:28 PST

ARTIST: Meat Puppets - [Album]
DATE: 02-24-10
REVIEW BY: Bill Adams
It's funny how, as time has worn on, changes in the music industry and technology have completely changed how music is consumed. For a while, as albums from the punk and alt-rock explosions came of age and grew in mythos, many of those releases that were considered keystone or genre-defining reappeared on store shelves. Often, [view more]

777'' Vol.007

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 05:17:22 PST

ARTIST: 777'' Vol.007
Starring NoFX - with a free mp3 download from each 7''!
DATE: 02-24-10
WRITER: Ollie Mikse
I remember the first time I heard punk rock. I was in high school and my best friend kept raving about this one song by NoFX. Soon afterwards, I somehow tracked the song down on the internet. I say 'somehow,' because the internet at that point was still called the World Wide Web; dial-up and all. And the World Wide Web, dear [view more]

The Flaming Lips Discography Part II - [Discography]

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:40:00 PST

ARTIST: The Flaming Lips Discography Part II - [Discography]
from Zaireeka to Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell EP
DATE: 02-22-10
WRITER: Bill Adams

This is Part Two of The Flaming Lips Discography. For Part One, click here.

After the rousing success of albums like Transmissions From The Satellite Heart [view more]

Off With Their Heads Make The Label Leap

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 10:50:19 PST

ARTIST: Off With Their Heads Make The Label Leap
OWTH singer Ryan Young talks about his band's signing to the world's largest indie label, what it could mean for the band, and a new, forthcoming record.
DATE: 02-21-10
WRITER: Bill Adams
PHOTO: Tony Nelson
The explosion of Nirvana onto the pop music scene had a profound impact on the values inherent to the genre and the effects of that success are still being felt over a decade later. Prior to the emergence of grunge and Nirvana's ascension to the top of the proverbial heap, a band's signing with a major label was cause for [view more]