It is the rare soundtrack album that can stand on its own, independent of the film it normally accompanies. The Social Network soundtrack by Trent Reznor and Atticus Finch is one; it can easily be enjoyed by itself. The soundtrack to Rango, however, is not one. While it is enjoyable in its own right, seeing the movie certainly helps one enjoy it more. The first thing is that one needs to keep in mind is that this is a soundtrack,...
It's hard to believe it has been almost thirteen years since Queens Of The Stone Age released its self-titled debut album, but indeed it has. The band has finally cemented plans to reissue the classic record, and have hit the road to play it in its entirety. While I wasn't sure if it could still stand on its own after all these years, I decided to go and hear it for myself. I am happy to report that the songs...
The following is an open letter from The Stills to fans and supporters, announcing the band's dissolution after its decade-long existence. At this time the band does not wish to comment further.——————————- Dearest Friends of The Stills, How does one go about writing a message like this? I don't know, but I will do my best. We have been silent for many months now, discussing amongst ourselves how and when to announce this news, as we've needed some time to...
How ya doin' junkie?!Sorry I'm text yellin' but I'm excited about this week, ya know? The SWAG gods blessed me wit' a fine, fat bag o' shit ta lay on ya per usual but, this week, yer gettin' some o' the finest shine from some heavy hittin' names. Who takes care o' you? I do bitch, that's who! Le's get right into it. First an' foremost, I lifted the first good song Jane's Addiction has recorded in twenty-one years ('At's...
On Friday April 29th, Titus Andronicus fans all over New Jersey are invited to premiere the band’s new video for the song “No Future Part III: Escape From No Future” directed by longtime NJ resident and WFMU radio host Tom Scharpling. Titus is inviting everyone that lives in their home state of New Jersey to join in the premiere: whether….you have a video store in New Brunswick, you run a poker blog...
Which prominent Nineties band was the first to tour one of their classic records? Sonic Youth did some scattered shows playing Daydream Nation; Slint toured their seminal record Spiderland in 2007; The Pixies, who haven’t released a new album in fifteen years, seem to have been touring old material non-stop for the past six years. So, who did it first? Who knows! But Sebadoh jumped on the bandwagon this year to tour two Nineties favorites, Bakesale and Harmacy. Much like...
Tony Sly learned that, in order to survive in the music business, it's important to never stop moving. Since the guitarist first appeared fronting the seminal San Jose pop-punk band No Use For A Name in 1987, he has never really seemed to take any time off. Sly has built his name on his incredible, tireless work ethic which sees him starting a new endeavor almost as soon as he finishes the last one, and here's why: he knows that,...
Okay, let's get the painfully self-evident points about The Mountain Goats' thirteenth full-length release put to rest first. Yes, All Eternals Deck is the first Mountain Goats album released on a label other than 4AD since 2002. Yes, the cover isn't even passably interesting looking. Yes, the writing on the cover of the album looks like some sort of strange, unintelligible code that needs to be deciphered but that's impossible because there is no key so it just looks like...
What's a band to do when it finds itself not so much bumped out of the spotlight as had the spotlight bumped away from it? Such is the question to ask when considering Panic! At the Disco’s latest release Vices & Virtues. It has only been three years since the the band broke through with Pretty. Odd and unfortunately (for them) they (along with many other bands under the Fueled by Ramen label) have already begun to slip from popular...
When something's not broken, it's never advisable to mess too much with it. Such must have been the hard-won wisdom that producer Brendan O'Brien took to heart when he was asked to revisit Vs. for Pearl Jam's ongoing reissue series because, for the most part, (other than a couple of tracks included at the record's end) not a whole lot is dramatically different from a production standpoint; the difference between the original, 1993 release of Vs. and this reissue certainly...