Goodness I’ve been out of action for awhile! I’ve got a few reasons, and a couple more excuses, but I’ll save that for a much larger post that I’m planning.
I’ve been keeping my eye on the remixing scene during my absence, and it’s been pretty slow. No major activity by Soulwax or any other big name, and no real key albums dropping to remix.
Simply: it’s the slow season for remixes.
So let’s just take a moment to relax to some Beach Boys shall... Read Full Story
When DOOM released Born Like This earlier this year, his first record in four years, the rapper formerly known as MF Doom dished on anarchy, violence and homophobia. In short, the project stunk of hatred and pessimism. Unexpected Guests, a collection of Born b-sides, remixes and other oddball tracks, couldn’t be more different. It’s shorter, more diverse and mercifully goofy.
Guests is structured as a scattershot mix tape, a medium that suits DOOM better than the full-length. Songs dissipate... Read Full Story
One of my favorite songwriters of the past several years has been pretty active the past few months and I just realized that I had failed to make mention of him here on the blog. Alex Brown Church has been making some of the best and most inspired indie rock music under the pseudonym Sea Wolf. I highly recommend his 2007 debut, Leaves in the River. But today I want to point you to what he has been up to in 2009.
First he offered up a free sample, with the single “Stanislaus”, t... Read Full Story
This weekend, I visited a church with a ham-fisted drummer. He played busily when the song required a skeletal beat. He ignored song structure and any notion of dynamics with a toothy grin. And just as the chorus of a beautiful hymn prepared to soar, he played an entire bar of gut-wrenching hi-hat fills.
Despite the obvious fact that he was new to the instrument, a stranger thought irked me. Something about the clumsy beats was disarming, even appealing. The drummer’s mistakes lent th... Read Full Story
Fun has just released their video for their catchy single, “All the Pretty Girls,” off of their brilliant debut album Aim & Ignite. They have been busy riding the success of their Aim & Ignite all across the country. They spent the summer with Manchester Orchestra, who also had a stellar album released earlier this year, before starting their first headlining tour earlier this fall. Right now they are on the backend of a short little stint with Taking Back Sunday and th... Read Full Story
Julian Casablancas, lead singer of the Strokes and leather jacket enthusiast, lost his cool. It may have happened when his popular group splintered into a collection of guitar-focused side projects or when he married a few years ago. But Phrazes for the Young, Casablancas’ debut solo album, lacks the detached breeziness of the singer’s previous work.
This is only natural. Hip, young angst has nothing to do but cool down, from Catullus to Bob Dylan to Kanye West (impending). Hindsight strips ... Read Full Story
So after listening to Brady’s Autumn Shuffle last week, I was inspired to create a seasonal playlist of my own. I didn’t put quite as much thought into my list as Brady, rather I simply chose to create a list of songs and albums that I feel both musically and lyrically fit the mood of the season. Let me know if you have any songs or albums that you really fall for this time of year. I hope that this playlist makes your ears bleed til winter comes.
matt pond PA
I really love this... Read Full Story
“Autumn wins you best by this its mute appeal to sympathy for its decay.” – Robert Browning
There’s nothing like the majestic melancholy of autumn. The cooling winds, wood smoke and mosaic of sunburned colors make for a truly magical few weeks, tainted only by a quiet apprehension of winter.
Maybe it’s the slow fade of fall that makes me nostalgic, but every October, I’m reminded of the autumns from years past, and specifically, what I was listening to in those times. Here’s a hint: the timb... Read Full Story
The deluxe edition of this New York based trio’s electronica/dream pop debut, Alpinisms, was released about 2 weeks ago and has been in surprisingly heavy rotation since then. The single “Iamundernodisguise” somehow manages to lodge itself in my head everyday, which probably creeps people out as I constantly chant the chorus under my breath. The rest of the album is equally as hypnotic, with lots of emphasis on rhythm and layered vocals. This duluxe edition includ... Read Full Story
Spike Jonze has taken a 10-line children’s picture book and turned it into a full-feature film. Which is quite a feat in and of itself, but I think that he does so successfully, even if it doesn’t really translate into a movie that kids will want to sit through.
They did a great job developing this little 10-line plot into a pretty fascinating full-fledged story. They did a great job of inviting the reader into the world of the “Wild Things” and I quickly found myse... Read Full Story
