Elliott Smith fans who have cursed the fact that they never got to be friends with him take note: the troubador is the subject of an upcoming book from Smith's friend, photographer Autumn de Wilde. Titled Elliott Smith, the book features interviews with some of Elliott's closest friends and collaborators, including Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard and Chris Walla, Nada Surf’s Matthew Caws, Quasi’s Sam Coomes, producers Jon Brion and Rob Schanpf, Heatmiser’s Neal Gust, some speaking on record...
As far as GC is concerned, Midlake is allowed to change their name to something more productive like Roscoe or Steve or even King Ferdinand of Spain if they want to. That's because The Trials of Van Occupanther is easily one of our favorite albums of the millennium, so anything they do is fine by us, as long as we get more music. While there's not yet any word of a follow up, we can console ourselves with the news...
Everyone's favorite actual brother sister duo (well, second favorite. Let's face it, the loss of the Carpenters hurt us all) is hitting the road, and hopefully not each other. Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger, along with their assorted compatriots that make up the Fiery Furnaces, will be hiting the road this fall in support of their forthcoming album. The record, Widow City, hits on October 9th courtesy the kids over at Thrill Jockey, and thus far, I haven't heard any of...
Sounding like the result of a fetish party turned filthy orgy between The Beastie Boys, Bitch and Animal, and Luscious Jackson (who carried the baby is anyone’s guess), Northern State’s sophomore effort expands upon the wildly eclectic flow of the trio’s debut and starts throwing in a bunch of new sounds for good measure. On Can I Keep This Pen?, Northern State take elements of 80s girlie pop, a la The Bangles and a little Donnas-esque punk crunch, and mix...
Ground Control Radio listeners were in for a big treat as L.A. band Amateurs visited the Little Radio studios to talk about their new record, Speak Easy, and played a semi-acoustic set featuring reconfigured renditions of songs like "Atlantis" and "Six Days." You can stream the entire album on Amateurs' site, and don't forget to listen to the podcast of the evening here. Check out the Amateurs...
The Echo is a strange little dimension of the Los Angeles nightlife. Certainly unmatched for its people-watching prospects, the tiny venue sits directly on top of an adjoined venue, the Echoplex. On August 4th, the night that I’m about to discuss at length, two shows occurred adjacent to each other in this building. On the bottom floor, the Echoplex, the FerdieFest benefit for 400 Blows’ drummer Ferdinand Cudia whose bout with chicken pox racked up an enormous hospital bill. FerdieFest...
Come on, who honestly out there doesn’t like Shout Out Louds. Even the heaviest of metalheads would have to admit that these Swedish indiepopers know their stuff…well maybe not metalheads… In any case, in honor of their sophomore full length Our Ill Wills, Shout Out Louds will be touring all across North America this fall. The tour will kick off October 6th at the LA Weekly Detour Festival and run through November 3rd in Dallas, with two nights in New...
Billy Corgan must be pissed. The Pumpkin’s new album is receiving bleh reviews as it falls from the charts and, to add insult to injury, Corgan’s “triumphant” return is being stifled once again by none other than his old adversary, 90s rocker, Dave Grohl. The new Foo Fighters album is already receiving fabulous reviews and it doesn’t even get released for another month and half. The Foo Fighters' "The Pretender," the first single from the band's sixth studio album, Echoes,...
It’s no surprise that a songwriter as legendary and prolific as Frank Black, aka Black Francis, aka Charles Thompson, needed to put out a greatest hits record. Undeniably one of the hardest working and original musicians on earth, the man is a songwriting machine. Frank Black’s greatest hits CD set titled Frank Black 93–03 is only on 2 CDs. Disc 1 is composed of 22 tracks spanning 9 albums and disc 2 contains 9 various live tracks. If I had...
(Last month I explained how the punk rock explosion of the late 70s shaped my musical taste for years to come. It wasn't just that I developed a liking for loud, aggressive music, although that did happen. The early days of punk were notable for a broad experimentation, and I grew to love and search for that innovative spirit. This month I'm going to explain how a change in my living, and therefore musical, situation caused me to open my...