The title of this article may seem like old news, LCD Sounsystem’s 45:33 has been out nearly for six months on iTunes; however, it will just now be released for the first time on CD and double-vinyl on November 13. What a great example of the current state of the music industry…. 45:33 was originally recorded by James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem) as a continuous, album-length disco symphony.  Basically it’s one really long song commissioned by Nike for their Nike +...

What’s a multi-million-dollar industry to do? There’s no way for the record industry to hide it anymore as the loss of many record labels’ revenues have now been thrust squarely into the public eye. Variety recently reported that one of the “big four” record labels, Warner Music Group (Sony BMG, EMI and Universal Music are the other three –ed), reported losses of $27 million, or 19¢ per share, in the three months that ended on March 31, 2007, compared with...

"Retreat! Retreat!" somebody shouted, and followed by several other people. No, it wasn't an order, but it's a song title from 65 Days Of Static, the band from Sheffield, England who made their way to Bottom Of The Hill, San Francisco. It's probably 65 Days Of Static's most well-known song, thanks to its air share on MTV2. 65 Days Of Static has been hailed as the new Mogwai with their soft-loud, crescendo sound. What sets them apart from other imitators...

Part 1: The Concert King Crimson, Nov. 30, 1981, somewhere in Seattle. It is, I'll admit, a close call. In competition for the honor are concerts by Bob Dylan, The Who, The Rolling Stones (with Guns 'n' Roses), The Clash, Talking Heads and Iggy Pop. But the King Crimson concert always wins out. It's a combination of an incredible musical experience, and, admittedly, the circumstances surrounding the concert. For those of you unaware, King Crimson, in the early 70's, was...

The single most important construct to the fabric of humanity and the condition of it is the establishment of motivation. ‘Motive’ is the cornerstone for crime, punishment, change, virtue, vice and myriad other human endeavours but, most importantly, defining motives and qualifying motivation means articulating cause for the purpose of allowing others to understand outcomes and effects. Without that understanding—that relatable human element that everyone can find within themselves—people get very nervous. That was the instinct the...

Taiwanese extreme metalists ChthoniC—fresh from a tour of duty with Ozzfest and currently in the midst of their first-ever North American headline shows, which precede a brief tour with Cradle of Filth—have confirmed their first batch of fall European tour dates. For you non-international metalheads, ChthoniC are fresh off the international re-release of 2002s Relentless Recurrence and have been melting faces across America with their unique style of symphonic black metal….(yea, you read that correctly. In fact ChthoniC may...

Spencer Krug, he of Wolf Parade and Frog Eyes and Swan Lake (and, since he is Canadian, may very well be a secret member of Broken Social Scene. I think they all are, even my Canadian cousins from Alberta), is gearing up to release the latest Sunset Rubdown album Random Spirit Lover, out Oct. 9th on Jagjaguwar. Somehow, the man has found time to tour and show off his new pretty baby to North America. He's even hitting Saskatoon! All...

So once upon a time, The Gossip were going to put out a live album. That live album was going to hit streets in November, and the band was going to tour in support of said live album with The Long Blondes and Panther (not The Panthers, or Pantherz, but Panther. It's easy to get them all confused). But then the live album got delayed, so touring in support of a non-existent album didn't seem to hold too much water....

It can't be reunion time all the time. Sometimes a man like Mr. Black Francis has to take to the road and make sure everyone remembers life after The Pixies. And so, in support of tomorrow's Bluefinger, the bald gentleman will do fourteen dates up and down the west coast. Why the change back to the Pixies-era moniker? "I privately went back to the old stage name, if that even makes any sense, almost as a joke," explains Black Francis....

Yes, the double disc. Long the subject of great musical controversy and many a late-night beard-scratching debate, the double record is either an artist's magnum opus or their bloated excess. However, if there is one thing that can be agreed upon by both sides, it is that these dubious discs are connected by a unique kinship. Undoubtedly, it is this: "You know, man, this would have been way better as one record." Surely every double player has endured this criticism...