Past Due
New Yorker
Andrew Womack
Xiu Xiu, Fabulous Muscles
Known as much for its abject refusal to bend to the rules of pop music as for its ability to so easily create wonderful ‘pop,’ Xiu Xiu has always presented a conundrum, a mystery to expectant listeners around the world. With its latest release, Xiu Xiu may have redefined what
Houseplants
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week we catalog many popular houseplants, from bulbs to succulents, explaining which would be the best choices for your particular interior décor and style.
Ratatat, Ratatat
A two-man dueling-guitar and beats instrumental combo, Mike Stroud and Evan Mast (who’s also known and loved as electronic percussion wunderkind E*Vax), have finally released their long-lusted-after debut album. And their technical brilliance, sense of bravado, and solid songwriting skills will ensure their name
Big Loser
After one too many Pepsis and a rash of difficulty choosing a song to download from iTunes, I decided to post my second winning cap number here, free, for anyone who wanted it. I only asked that whoever redeemed it tell me what song they downloaded, and why. Fun for
More on Winning
Despite my hopes of collecting enough free iTunes songs to score a full album, I simply can’t drink that much Pepsi. I half-gave up after browsing for albums I might want, and eventually settled on a single song to trade my cap number for: Cheap Trick’s ‘Auf
Lansing-Dreiden, The Incomplete Triangle
Considering Important Geometry Or so says the packaging for Lansing-Dreiden’s incredible debut album, The Incomplete Triangle, a title that may be as much a riddle as the ‘band’ itself. Not just musicians, but also an art collective, a publishing house, and a ‘company that sees no distinction between
Big Winner
At long last, with Diet Pepsi stained teeth and a week of trouble sleeping, I’ve bought (and consumed) enough bottles to finally win an iTunes song. ‘One in three wins,’ right. That may be true when they leave the factory, but my personal calculations tell a far sadder story.
Phoenix, Alphabetical
Four years ago Phoenix released their debut album United, a partly ironic, partly dance-y, altogether fascinating Gallic amalgam of funk, pop, and electronica (three gross music words that go well together) that impressed everyone from critics to trainspotters to heshers alike. The sheer range of musical styles seemed more
Short-Term Memory
Recently I was faced with a crisis. Not a major crisis, but one where skill and memory were of utmost importance. This steak is supposed to be cooked to temperature, but the thermometer reads 40 degrees, though it’s cooked, ready, even, even edible, possibly. What! What? The thermometer is