While much ado has been made about his background since appearing in 1996, it’s difficult to believe that Eels frontman Mark Oliver Everett, a.k.a. Mr. E, wasn’t born in the wrong place; there is simply no word or expression present in the English language that neatly and clearly defines or qualifies the music he writes. Everett has been known to pen songs like “Going Fetal” that revel in schadenfreude – German for the pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others....

When we last heard Long Beach’s Paperplanes on 2006’s self-released Volcanoes, they had just taken their first baby steps into the alt-country wilderness, adding elegiac strains of steel guitar to their jittery, Velvets-infused sound. With Rhinestone Republic, however, the ‘Planes have eschewed the “alt” prefix, driving deep into real country territory. Here, twangy Bakersfield guitars, honky tonk rhythms and heartfelt lyrics of loss, escape and addiction coalesce into something undeniably authentic—and...

So this would be the first installment of Random Shit. I have another column that mainly focuses on sites that offer a grip of complimentary mp3s, mostly from intelligent labels that understand that offering free music will lead to more money because they have a better chance at attracting new fans. Anyway, that could be another Random Shit altogether. My point is, that column has always limited me because I could never just get inspired and write something because I...

The title says it all, but for y'all who clicked without reading… Barsuk Records is pleased to announce that we will be releasing the Steve Fisk / Benjamin Gibbard original film score to the motion picture Kurt Cobain About A Son digitally on February 19th (coinciding with the DVD release of the film by Shout! Factory), and in a limited-edition hand-numbered double vinyl pressing this spring. The impressionistic images of the film are set to an original score by noted...

Cynicism aside, this bit of news is quite exciting. This Mardi Gras (February 5th), OK Go is releasing You’re Not Alone, a five-song digital EP featuring New Orleans brass band Bonerama. All proceeds from this project, available exclusively at iTunes, will benefit members of New Orleans’ music community. People who are continuing to struggle to rebuild their homes and lives almost three years after the levy failures that followed Hurricane Katrina. Admirable, to say the least; proceeds from You’re Not...

For a musician as notoriously reclusive as Eels frontman Mark Oliver Everett, the idea of a collection of outtakes and discarded ideas is an incredibly salacious one. Eels records have always been disarmingly candid to begin with so presumably anything the singer initially deemed inappropriate was either too personal (if such a feat is possible) or so far out in left field as to be laughably improper (if such a term even fits). At its core, both of those things...

Distinguished. That is the best word to describe the band and the audience that showed up Tuesday night in San Francisco's classiest venue. Well…aged, mature, ripened, not too old to rock and roll, young at heart, and lovers of some of the best rock and roll from 30 years ago still out there are some other terms I'd use too. The full house at the Great American Music Hall—predominately 40-50 year olds that were dressed to kill sort of blew...

L.A.’s Low End Theory weekly event at The Airliner definitely tips a hat towards the avant garde receptivity of 1920s Surrealism. Low End is notorious for being a musical experimenter’s Mecca. Rock, hip-hop and electronic groups merge in a whirling dervish of sorts as their music is juxtaposed with live art and video projections. It’s no surprise then that the ascot-wearing gentleman producer/artist known as Daedelus chose to release a live album from his July 2007 appearance there. The IDM...

I remember a friend playing De-Loused in the Comatorium on his car stereo, wowing at Bixler-Zavala’s high-in-the-sky vocal range. I didn’t take the notion all too seriously because this friend was more into the B-52s and show tunes. The Mars Volta fled into a whirlpool of forgotten musical recommendations. I don’t exactly recall what brought me back to them. It could have easily been the press that oh-so-emphasized their fashion-forward-looking-backward 70s-super tight jeans. When I eventually gave them a second...

Listening to any Eels record feels like going for a cup of coffee with the friend you’ve got that always makes you laugh because they’re remarkably bitter and cynical. While they have the ability to make light about those things when they’re in your company, you know that those are also the things that they agonize over in private and keep them up at night. You, for your part, laugh too at the time—but when that friend isn’t in your...