Everyone who cares must have heard about the passing of Bo Diddley by now, and, quite understandably, he’s currently the most popular artist at the Hype Machine. As has been said, he was one of a handful of artists who helped create rock ‘n’ roll as we know it,
What is with all the incredible Swedish music coming out lately? I mean, is it the longer winters? The sunlit nights of summer? The blondes everywhere? Whatever the cause, the Swedish Invasion is in full swing, and a recent addition to their roster is Lykke Li. Her first album, Youth
Zooey Deschanel & M. Ward (or She & Him) have a good thing going, and they’ve just announced a summer tour to share it with the likes of us here on the East Coast. He is a well-accomplished singer/songwriter; she’s an indie film darling. Together they
Non-English singing, orchestrally driven, howling, post-rock giants are rarely considered for the whole “hits of the summer” racket so inevitable in news media this time of year, but I think I’ve found one that should be. Sigur Rós’s new single “Gobbledigook,” from their forthcoming Með Suð
Unstoppable artist, scenester, and icon of music David Byrne has just revealed his new art project, a building that is an instrument you can play. Of course to him it’s the most obvious commentary on the music industry, as its days are clearly numbered. I just dare him to
I’d hoped to mention Elvis Costello & the Impostors’ new album, Momofuku, for this month’s Leak Report, but at the time it seemed everyone in his cabal was keeping the album close; I couldn’t find a single leak. It was eventually released, a CD version made available
First gaining attention as the female vocalist on Tricky’s first four albums, Martina Topley-Bird has one of the most distinctive voices in trip-hop, an admittedly small group of artists. In a rare move in the music world, she cited creative differences with her collaborator and moved on
After collaborating on “Coffee” more than a year ago, the Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle and underground hip-hop champion Aesop Rock have reversed roles and the latter has played guest to the former’s host. Which is to say, Darnielle gave Aesop the tracks to “Lovecraft in Brooklyn” (cf. the
I’ve never really gotten over Matt Sharp’s departure from Weezer in 1998, and haven’t really paid much attention to their output since, except for deciding what singles I’ve heard were sub-par. Their third self-titled album (known as The Red Album, adhering to the tradition
According to the internet, last week New York-based electronic duo Ratatat quietly released a vinyl-only seven-inch (whatever the hell those words mean). One of the songs included is “Shiller,” which sounds like a film soundtrack scored jointly by Ennio Morricone and Angelo Badalamenti—so, clearly Italian in
