It's surprising how simultaneously hilarious and accurate the title of the new album by Extra Happy Ghosts!!! is. On the surface, as songs like “J and 3k” and “Mash-Up: Neither Being Nor Nothingness” – with their indie rock-infused love of textural waves, glitchy electronics and early Sebadoh-esque tape designs – build undercurrents beneath singer Matthew Swann, any sort of comparison to the penultimate sunshine band is totally asinine. The squalls of noise, screechy sonics and plinky performances...
In listening to Care Bears On Fire's sophomore long player, it's hard not to feel a sense of (certainly misplaced) paternal pride. Particularly now, in the landslide of ghost-written, saccharine-encrusted pop unloaded on kids by Family Channel-endorsed, neatly-pressed and media savvy kid rock (see Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus and Demi Levado among others), it's easy to forget that young people have a voice of their own but that it's still often ignored. It can be downright terrifying to think that...
There are a lot of clever turns of phrase that could be used to qualify Party Rock, but in the vernacular most regularly employed by the audience that LMFAO is making a play to entice, “Oh no, they didn't.” Oh no, they didn't give two weak-ass emcees a record contract. Oh no, mic mis-handlers S.K. Gordy and S.A. Gordy didn't bother to learn how to flow before making their debut, beyond cramming as many syllables and as much sixteenth note...
It's the kind of conventional wisdom that every parent teaches their children, but the sort of lesson that needs to be periodically re-learned: don't judge a book by its cover. Or rather, in the case of Andrew W.K. (born Andrew Wilkes-Krier), “Don't judge an artist by the cover of his first record.” Of course, it's very hard not to make (groundless) assumptions based on the cover image of I Get Wet and the story behind that photo; when it came...
There are few moments of greater anticipation in the day-to-day operation of a band than that magic minute when, with a brand new album in hand, the group visits its record label to show off what they've done. It can be very tense; when the elected representative of a band sits down with the people that have championed them to that point and voluntarily elects to dissect their newest offering, there can be cheers and celebration at a job well...
Saturday’s 2009 Pitchfork Music Festival coverage can be found HERE. 8:03 As far as the Flaming Lips are concerned, I’ve heard crazy things about their live shows, but nothing really prepared me for this trippy ride through all the colors of the rainbow. I decided I was just going to throw down my beach mat and have a solo picnic back in the nosebleed section of the park. As the sun set, the whole park was buzzing with the unexpected....
Every rule seems to have an exception, and Rise Against are one of the few exceptions to my general rule of thumb that today's punk rock bands just don't "get it." Rather than rant and rave while sounding like the bitter old man that I can sometimes be when it comes to music these days, let me just say I have always respected Rise Against, not only for their music, but also because they are one of the few bands...
Hometowns have a unique way of existing, being different things for different people, all in one zip code. For Paul Banwatt, Amy Cole and Nils Edenloff, home is a song. Or thirteen. The trio forms the Rural Alberta Advantage, and they are the creators of whimsical, achingly honest indie rock piped straight from the essence of their native Alberta on Hometowns. This album sings to all things Alberta; “Frank, AB” even nods to a devastating landslide in 1903. These kids...
Has there been an indie rock supergroup? Sure, there have been rock supergroups, like the Traveling Wilburys or Damn Yankees, country supergroups like The Highwaymen, punk supergroups including Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, and failed supergroups like Audioslave and Zwan. You might argue that Broken Social Scene is an indie rock supergroup, but seeing how a majority of the members gained widespread fame for their main projects only after the release of You Forgot It In People, I'm gonna...
Sunday’s 2009 Pitchfork Music Festival coverage can be found HERE. Here’s another reminder of why I love Chicago in the summer: Pitchfork Festival. Stationed at Union Park, it is not as big as Lollapalooza but it’s better that way. A weekend of hippies and hipsters joining together for a music festival that brings in new talent, unnoticed bands and groundbreaking veterans. Sometimes it breaks my heart that I can’t see it all. Overlapping band schedules are always a bummer and...