In my first couple of columns here I described the opening of my own musical mind, when I moved from the punk rock of New England to the jam bands of the Mountain West. Looking back I can easily see how narrow my taste had become, and how being forced to listen to music outside of those confines greatly enriched my musical life. Coincidentally, at the same time several of my musical heroes were also expanding their horizons. Not necessarily...
After watching the “Planet Earth” series on the Discovery Channel, I get the same feeling of bewilderment and awe as I do when I watch Sigur Ros’ first-ever live DVD, Heima. Although, instead of hearing Sigourney Weaver describe never-before-seen hunting habits of glowing vampire squid, you hear the sounds of one of today’s most gifted musical groups. And the unblemished imagery of their homeland—Iceland—contests the most breathtaking African migration scenes filmed from high above in HD, no less. It might...
Check out this photoseries of Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks as they performed at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco on 12.19.07. More on Stephen Malkmus here: www.stephenmalkmus.com Download "Baltimore" –...
Having come up through the indie rock tape-trading age synonymous with the 1980s and '90s, does it come as a surprise to anyone that Weezer was an avid home demo-makin' band? Anyone familiar with the band's unparalleled geekitude shouldn't be surprised, but no one could have guessed that the quality of Weezer's demos would be so good; immediately noticeable on Alone (where Cuomo is anything but—most of these tracks are full-band recordings) is the care and precision that Rivers Cuomo...
As idiosyncrasies go, few musicians can be topped by Rufus Wainwright; particularly now that the singer's adoration for Judy Garland has led him to recreate Garland's famous 1961 performance in every possible way from the set list employed to the venue in which the show occurred. Okay, that's out of the way. Now then—belief in one's ability is one thing, but execution is quite another, and the amazing part about Rufus Does Judy is that Wainwright does better than pull...
Check out this photoseries of VHS or Beta at Slim's in San Francisco as they made their way throughout the west coast in support of their latest album, Bring on the Comets, out now on Astralwerks. More on VHS or Beta here:...
A photoset from Kristoffer Rangstam's performance in San Francisco where he was opening up for Blondie, which we would've covered too if it wasn't for a publicist that thinks it's amusing to not return emails. Thanks a million. Kristoffer Ragnstam – Breakfast By The Mattress...
Remember when Kanye West flipped a shit at the MTV Europe Video Awards for losing out to the Simian vs. Justice video for that catchy “We Are Your Friends” song? Well the band of Simian is no more, but the vocalist, Simon Lord, has teamed up with Theo Keating of The Wiseguys to bring us some new music to dance to with The Black Ghosts. The Black Ghosts currently have their four-song EP out titled Any Way You Choose to...
A Les Savy Fav aftershow isn’t as cool as a Les Savy Fav show. Guitarist Seth Jabour carried his equipment back to what presumably was their van. Bassist Syd Butler and drummer Harrison Haynes talked to many of their friends who stayed behind. Even singer Tim Harrington, known for his high-wire stage antics, was subdued, decked in a Gilligan inspired Pabst Blue Ribbon hat, he jokingly apologized to the venue’s security guard whose sole purpose of the night was to...