For sixteen years now, Noise Pop has taken over San Francisco for a handful of days to play host to some of the best underground and not-quite-underground music, art and film out there. Past performers are a who's-who of indie rock gods and goddesses, and this...
Britt Daniel, Jim Eno and the rest of the boys from Spoon could be sitting back on their laurels right now. After all, they've had a run of damn good albums, culminating in last year's Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (although I personally feel that anything after "The...
The Kills previewed songs from their new album, Midnight Boom, at Popscene's Valentine's Day Massacre. The duo from London played their first U.S show in 2008 before embarking full tour starts at SXSW on March 12 (dates below). The Kills played a 45 -minute set...
Every punk historian will tell you that the bulk of the genre was built upon a handful of bands in the twilight of the 1970s (Ramones, Sex Pistols and The Clash along with about a dozen others) and hardcore was borne of a few more (Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Black Flag,...
I've never been much of a car person. Granted, after 20 years in Southern California I've made my peace with them. I've learned to drive the freeways with ease. I've even been known to express something like affection for my beat-to-shit 1990 Honda...
It’s always a weird phenomenon when the band you show up for is the opener and not the headliner—like going to a fabulous restaurant and ordering appetizers, then scoffing at the main course. But all bands—even the more obscure opening ones—have...
Trend after trend emerges in the music scene, and we chase after them until the next new thing comes around. Sometimes these trends explode into defining eras, but even those shrink back to make way for what comes next. It seems that in all this chasing we can forget...
When I walked into Slim's on Friday evening, it would have been far too easy to become jaded. The average age of the crowd had to be no more than 18, and looking around it felt more like I was in Hot Topic at some mall in Middle America, rather than a Rockabilly...
NOTE: FOR THOSE OF YOU LOOKING FOR INFO ON CAT POWER'S "SPACE ODDITY" COVER, CLICK HERE. So I heard that that Mark Ronson guy met that Radiohead guy once out on the London-town with some other guys. Story goes, Mark Ronson introduces himself and the...
I got to see Beach House open for Ariel Pink in the summer of 2006. Victoria Legrand's glassy stare and Alex Scally's literal shoe-gazing made for a dreamy performance of lo-fi somnolence. Looking back, I realize the duo's mental presence has always been...