The Pleasures of Saudade
A year in Lisbon teaches you more than how to select a decent vinho verde. An ode to the uniquely hopeful, desperate music that’s missing from the usual American fare.
Listening
A collection of 333 issues
No Take Backs
Four Tet is actually Kieran Hebden, a post-rock/electronic musician from London. Dubstep producer Burial, after a great deal of speculation, finally owned up to being William Bevan. Hebden and Bevan are mates, as they say across the pond, which is why they collaborated for the two tracks on a
Waiting for the Right Move
Less than a month has passed since up-and-coming Austin act VEGA, who were pretty well-received at SXSW earlier this year, allegedly stole Crystal Castles's guitar pedal, and yet we're all just barely getting over the conflict. Two full weeks later, the questions that remain are still
For a Bigger City
The Dirty Projectors sound weird. Not weird like never letting your children celebrate their birthday, or like an extensive collection of Beanie Babies. The Dirty Projectors are weird like people who refold their napkins when getting up from the table, if only for a bathroom break, or like a bunch
Free Music Archive
For those of you with a guilty conscience looking to sit out the battle between the record labels and the maniacally shortsighted (though preciously so) "everything should be free" people, look no further than the new Free Music Archive. Brought to you in large part by the guys
Thinking This Is Fun
Winning is hard, really for two main reasons: first, you have to win. The best winners make this look easy, but it never is. The second reason concerns what happens after you win. All the striving and dedication to your craft has paid off, but it puts you in a
Buke and Gass
It's always a special thrill to see a band that forces itself to do more with less. Not only do they end up finding all sorts of ingenious backroad ways to arrive at their music, but their shows seem to radiate with this funny, inspirational charm. It'
One of the Beautiful
"Regarding our absence, sometimes one needs to disappear in order to regroup; situations change and human beings are swept here and there by the marvelous ebb and flow of culture." Such is the explanation--noticeably void of definitives, of real cause and effect--posted on the Voxtrot website. This is
Dance Til You're Dead
Under most circumstances, a tonal shift in a band's entire sound is a signal of desperation. Perhaps they are past their prime, perhaps they aren't selling out the same venues they used to. But sometimes it's the sign of a truly restless creativity, one
Xylopholks
Last week, amid a crush of evening commuters, I stood slackjawed on the L train platform and witnessed what I could only assume were two grown men, one in a blue Cookie Monster-ish costume, the other a pink gorilla [turns out it was Jon Singer and Bridget Kearney--ed.], playing rollicking
We Are All Made of Stars
You don't realize how far you've come, how insignificant you are, until you look up and remember--oh yeah! There are things called stars! Two hundred stars are born every second, filling me with the sort of hope too big to be printed across a nation. Stars
Ram On
As anyone who's been to the movies recently, or listened to a radio, or watched another stale episode of supposedly edgy satire (SNL? Family Guy? Fill in the blank?) has surely noticed, our cultural arts could now persist for eons untold in a state of half-wakefulness, cannibalizing the
Empire for Ashes
A thousand American Idol winners singing through a thousand autotune modulators will never make a Voice, a singer to be reckoned with, instinctually appreciated, and surrendered to. Very few of our musicians could just as easily go by the title of singer alone, which is what makes Neko Case and
Hauntology
Two musicians, elegant and focused modern powers, continue in guise, obscuring their true form, for their respective new releases. Bonnie "Prince" Billy and Bat For Lashes sooth us, flowing through our guts with a folk inspired hauntology and electric flourish. Will Oldham, in character as Bonnie "Prince&
Melting the Mind, Washing the Soul
It was sad to hear Silver Jews call it quits, but heartbreaking to hear founder David Berman reveal, a few hours later, that his father is the high-profile corporate lobbyist Richard Berman. David Berman Such comparisons bring souls crashing to earth. We must remember that music's power is
The Bloomed Hill Impasse
Remember how it was all supposed to be? And how the distance between that supposed and that of your here and now is the breadth of the America you inhabit? Imagine all that distance and the places in between which are passed through--once, twice at most--but never lived. Have you
Entertainment Hierarchy
The dimensional hierarchy of artistic mediums usually goes like this: Written Word < Music < Video < Music Video < Opera < Virtual Reality. Too often this is mistaken for a hierachy of quality, where movies are always better than books, music videos are always better than novelizations of music
What's Your Face
Apparently this band, Fight Like Apes from Dublin, has been around, recording, and touring Ireland and the UK for a couple years now. As much as we rely on the internet to fill us in on these things, we've only recently heard them and that was largely due
Carla Bley & Charlie Haden
How I became a literary omnivore remains as much a mystery to me as having the same predilections in the musical realm—I have always gravitated to music and musicians whose influences were an ever-expansive wellspring of sounds and composers: Charles Mingus, early Frank Zappa, Harry Partch, Tom Zé, and
Up Anchor!
If you've misplaced the Knife in all the mist, turn back and find their best half in a new guise as Fever Ray. Karin Elisabeth Dreijer Andersson nurtures her solo beats and breaths with great care, giving cavern ghosts a black-hole heartbeat, a beat and pace that LCD
Out With the Old
For so long we've seen decline, dissolution, and departure. From our vantage here in the middle of winter we've seen Nature itself stripped of life and leaf, but memory serves to remind that these are merely cycles within a greater cycle. The days' arcing sunlight
SXSW 2K9
The Academy of Indie Rocks and Cultural Science People has released its official list of candidates for consideration during the Academy's annual Spring bacchanal in Austin, TX. Among these nominees, one winner will be chosen to win the grueling South by Southwest Showcase competition, thus earning the title
Wish in One Hand
This Friday past, peeps over at the Hype Machine finished up their year-end Music Blog Zeitgeist 2008, which uses data compiled by the search results and bookmarked favorites of registered users to determine what were the most popular artists, albums, and songs (in those three catergories) of the past year.
We Will Fall
It would be remiss not to mention the recent passing of Ron Asheton, guitarist for Ann Arbor's most acerbic contribution to the late 60s garage rock scene, The Stooges. As reported first in the Ann Arbor News on Tuesday, Asheton's body was found by police in
Animal Collective
Animal Collective have a new album and we have a new year. It'll take a while to get to grips with both, so I'm jumping in, spread-eagle, and soaking it up; hesitation and caution are bad resolutions. "My Girls" is all purple lightening, Koyaaniqatsi
Diamonds From the Trough, Part 3
Enguarde! Ole! Here here! In the second part of our end-of-year mini-series searching for forgotten gems in the best-of-list, Erik got down dirty with year-end lists and caught some tasty morsels that almost slipped through our nets. Let's continue wrestling with the lists--there's a lot of
Diamonds From the Trough, Part 2
In every effort to outdo Mike's first entry in this ad hoc series, I've gone about collecting those lapidary listens from the past year's releases which, though somehow managing to miss my attention, became firmly lodged in the collective consciousness of list makers the
Diamonds From the Trough, Part 1
Heaving in another year's haul, diamonds gradually reveal themselves as I trawl through lists and lists of the year's best music--people distilling a year of high energy and much distraction. It's being summed up with usual swish, swash, and style by Said the Gramophone
Blood Bank
Man goes to the woods, builds fire, thinks, records album, wins huge, deserved praise in end-of-year list gatherings. Justin Vernon, Bon Iver, will soon be back with Blood Bank EP. Less snow, presumably less contemplation--he had all winter to record his previous work--though the layers continue to pile on as
They All Got It Wrong
The supposed end of the world, the last amplifier. No great crescendo, just the open air, desert breeze, a bright white light. Or is this the end for us all? Like the Titanic's unflappable violinists, the end of the world isn't all post-rock--it can be dipping
Music Blogovision
Every once in a great while, a thing comes along which is more or less some things you've already been using diligently for that same while, and suddenly you're experiencing those things in a new form and wondering how this new composite thing couldn't
Feeling for Iceland
I feel for Iceland. They've got supermarket flags flying over their parliament, they've spent way too much money. It's economic meltdown for real. You wouldn't blame them hibernating til spring, emerging with hope that the glacial movements of recession have retreated back
Larkin Grimm
Before, Larkin Grimm sung folk for the forests--see her myspace for country chanting, etc. Now, she rides out of the trees on great magical horses--like a Tolkienian spaghetti western. Years back, Larkin Grimm persuaded a crowd and I to lie on the floor and engage in some astro-traveling. She walked
What the Kids Don't Stand
It's become difficult to remember the hazy epoch that was last year, when the musical contents of a simple CD-R became an epidemic. The songs of Vampire Weekend were everywhere, which made the official "release" of their "debut album" in January of this year
Message to Mitch
Early Wednesday morning, Mitch Mitchell was found dead in a Portland, Ore., hotel room. Most notably, he was the last surviving member of the ridiculously beloved Jimi Hendrix Experience, Hendrix's most famous and prolific trio, responsible for such incredibly favored songs as "Hey Joe," "Purple
Make of That What You Will
Just as a cat meows or a man who graduates with a Psych or Liberal Arts degree will most likely keep working at whatever service industry position he was holding prior to graduation, not only because he doesn't really have any great prospects at the moment but because
When a Stunt Pair Is Not
Stunt pairings come in all forms, be it award presenters, buddy/actionflicks, or commercial endorsements. And who can forget those irascible "maverick" twins of way back before the election? I know, it seems like ages ago now. When it comes to music collaboration, however, the question must be
We're All In
Last week saw the U.S. debut album release, titled Na Na Ni, of yet another group of almost disgustingly talented and natural-sounding Swedish indie poppers. According to their MySpace page, the members of Fredrik carry on the traditional first-name-use-only rule as set forth by their brilliant predecessors and countrymen
Beach House Take a Break
Beach House's spooky and warm lo-fi pop music continues to breeze past. Beach House pause for thought and take a literal, not musical, break from woozy synths and a steady heartbeat drum-machine pace. I'm inclined to sit, drift and reconsider their dark and spiritual sounds. I
Motel De Moka
When I get stuck, when I'm uninspired and want surprise I check in with a music blog like no other. Motel De Moka wakes you up from your mid-afternoon daze, throws water on your face, then tells you their thoughts on back porch blues or the philosophical dance
Calling It a Day
Bands break up. It's a fact of life. Sometimes it's a blessing (ahem, Creed); sometimes it's an unfortunate loss that everyone chooses to blame on Yoko. In the case of the Long Blondes, it was a tragic necessity. In June of this year, lead
Fucked Up!
Herein lies hardcore rock. The flutes that open Fucked Up!'s latest album loosen up all the muscles you'll need to react swiftly to an unexpected delivery of sweaty new heroes. Fucked Up! recently played a 12 hour show where even Moby was involved--not so punk rock.
Songs of the Sacred Harp
Folk music isn't all bearded backwoodsmen and bohemian activists. Traditionally, American folk music has been a joyous and mesmerizing thing--beatniks and '60s folk revivalists take note. Sacred Harp is a type of Southern spiritual music in the folk tradition, named after the sole sacred instrument used in
No Censorship Age
Election years tend to put a strain on the relationship between the media establishment (at least its old-school incarnations) and entertainers/artists (to say nothing of the strain between the media and the candidates, or between entertainers/artists and the candidates). The executives for the major television networks, especially, may
Attracting Strange Midnight Snowflakes
Buffalo's own Mercury Rev is the latest band to jump on the increasingly popular trend of making recording industry executives cry by giving away great material absolutely free. On September 29, while simultaneously releasing Snowflake Midnight--a proggy, shimmery, mostly electronic album--the band also released Strange Attractor, an instrumental,
From Our Own Correspondent
I do not enjoy unarmed combat with the irrepressible background noise machine that the media starts up at every opportunity; nine pundits on one screen, immediate and inevitably colorless analysis, instant positive/negative approval graphs. That's why "From Our Own Correspondent," a BBC podcast and radio
Quoi de Neuf
Beautiful pianist, singer, and New England Conservatory drop-out Casey Dienel is only 23 and she's making better music than you or I probably ever will. She's also not trying to make a big deal about it. She recorded her first album on a lark in a
Smile Down Upon Us
Listening to Bjork's entire back catalog early this year, I met five hours of pop music, experimental sounds, lots of magic. After years of shallow appreciation, immersion provided the best, most proper introduction. This summer I've been giving Smile Down Upon Us a lot of my
The Sons of No One
Last week Rhino Records, proud purveyors of our pop cultural history, released CD reissues of the Replacements' four Sire/Reprise releases spanning 1985 to 1990. Those years sadly saw the decline of the group, and while the music becomes increasingly uneven toward the end of their time together, the
Rusted, Golden, Aged
TV on the Radio's first two efforts were rough and sharp: There was a lot of spirit but a lot of weight in those works. Though, to call them "efforts" is unnecessary as they were always cruising, doing something very special between shoegaze and rock music
Story Songs
I was looking over a recent copy of The Believer (the annual music issue) and was much pleased to see there was an article on singer/poet/songwriter Gil Scott-Heron, once of the long-ago Last Poets, who were known for their anthemic “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.” About this
A Stern Mouth- and Earful
Shortly after the release of her first album early last year, Marnie Stern was featured alongside Kaki King in a New York Times article for, essentially, being a woman who plays guitar really well. It's hard to estimate how accurate the Times's assumption is that virtuosic
Another Word for Fiddlesticks
Nearly every day another part of my adolescent self is beaten into further submission. Where vitriol and bombast once reigned, now softness and grace are slipping in. This has been hastened by the recent resurgence in the popularity of folk music, now called "indie folk," so we don&
Re-Appropriating Appropriation
In the past week, two major music blogs (Stereogum and Gorilla vs. Bear) have featured Malawi's Esau Mwamwaya along with leaked tracks from his highly anticipated debut release produced by Radioclit, the British DJ/production duo with a naughty name. Mwamwaya was also featured on the cover of
Ambient Religious Jam
The words "folk," "pastoral," and "Tropicalia" ensure I read the whole piece and listen to whatever music is being pushed my way--"Tropicalia" references the hazy, Brazilian psychedelica to which Deerhunter side-project Atlas Sound are often compared. "Jam session," in
And We All Drone On
The music of James Blackshaw, 12-string guitar virtuoso, elegantly drones and is perfect for drifting--in and out of the room, in and out of concentration, between the city, silent trains, and the ocean. "Infinite Circle" is really about these sorts of grand and complete movements. Derek Walmsey of
King's Lead Hat
Fresh off of a tear of high-concept and highly touted publicart projects, David Byrne has also been busy finishing up Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, his first collaboration with Brian Eno since 1981’s My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. Where music on its predecessor was dissociative and
SoCal Decay
Southern California is a dark and foreboding place. People commonly associate it with the Beach Boys and Gidget, but that was from a long time past when you could still swim in the ocean without having to bathe in disinfectant afterwards. Now it’s better known as the home of
Krautrocker Glory
Brighton's own Fujiya & Miyagi will release their third album, Lightbulbs, in early September. The band has been cited as owing a debt not only to electronic music of the early ’90s, but to the so-called “Krautrock” acts that made that music possible, specifically Neu! and Can. These
Engaging the Fans
One of the chief concerns of the digital age is the problem of getting people to pay for music. Of Montreal, the super-popular psychedelic funk freaks of our time, have devised a new marketing strategy to entice fans into buying digital downloads of their upcoming album, Skeletal Lamping: offering specially
Field-Tested Dub
It took a visit to New York and the combination of disorientation and fatigue to allow me to really enjoy the recently unmasked British musician Burial. I think you really have to listen to his music in the right place, in the right frame of mind, to enjoy it properly.
Is a Revolution
Dan Deacon has garnered notoriety in some circles for his particular brand of electrostatic beepcore (coinage mine), and for, if nothing else, proving that Baltimore can produce relevant artists in our time (an honor he shares with Wham City and David Simon). So proud is Deacon of his Baltimore colleagues
Joyous Descent!
The only words I can make out are “all day holiday” and “parachute”—Shugo Tokumaru sings the rest in Japanese at great speed. Tokumaru’s “Parachute” offers neither serene floating nor salvation; it is a fast-thinking, multi-instrumental, standing-to-attention kind of song. Bells, guitar, glockenspiel are all played quickly and causes
Still Here
Talking about Girl Talk, The New York Times feels it's necessary to explain that hip-hop uses sample loops, but then throws down “At times the album sounds like a cleverly programmed K-tel compilation.” Aren’t more readers familiar with how rap works than the TV compilation album parent
Monkey: Journey to the West
For those of us practically dying of anticipation for whatever Damon Albarn releases next, our desperate longing since The Good, the Bad & the Queen (less than two years, really) is nearing its end as Monkey: Journey to the West will be made available for digital download on Aug. 18.
Danny Callahan
It used to be easy to write off Bright Eyes and, by extension, all things Conor Oberst several years ago. Not only were his music and lyrics very cloying in that way that terribly cloying, sophomoric, “serious,” music tries to be, but he was being championed by the most annoying
A Crutch or a Cradle
Pony Up is an all-girl group from Montreal that released its first album, Make Love to the Judges With Your Eyes, in late 2006. Though the band hasn’t released anything since, it did put a new song-in-progress on its MySpace page, which suggests there may be a new album
Medications
Let’s just get this part over with quickly: Bad Brains, Fugazi, Dischord, harDCore. There, much better. It’s best to purge those words as soon as possible rather than continually dwelling on their importance in perpetual, middling adolescence. I wish I could say the same for a large portion
In the New Year
A new album from the Walkmen, called You & Me, will officially be released on Aug. 19. However, the entire album is currently available from the band’s online music store for just five bucks. All sales of the album will go to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, where a
Alphabets
As one of the founding members of the Wu-Tang Clan, GZA (sometimes Genius) has meaningfully contributed to what many will always consider the biggest and best hip-hop group of all time. Though he doesn’t get the credit as a producer that RZA does, the movie roles that Method Man
Playing With Fire
The biggest music news from the past week has to be that ABKCO Music & Records, Inc., holder of the Rolling Stones’ publishing rights, is suing Lil Wayne and his label for copyright infringement for borrowing a chorus melody and title from the Stones’ hit “Play With Fire” for Wayne’
Ran
Hailing from Calgary, Azeda Booth has just released In Flesh Tones, its first full-length album. On its web site, the band describes itself as “too skittish for space rock, too hot for IDM, too concise and charming for glitch-core.” I know, right? The furor this band has currently unleashed in
Glorious Ballad of the Ignored
My familiarity with Pas/Cal has largely been based on a precious few songs heard over the years as well as a few concert posters in a friend’s apartment. The songs are usually above average, and the posters are great. As you can see from their web site, they
The Geeks Were Right
“I like the Faint.” That was my introduction to the Nebraskan New Wave five-piece, a four-word description on a friend’s Amazon wish list years ago. I don’t know if she still does, but after hearing 2001’s phenomenal Danse Macabre, I was hooked. Not only is their music
Church Under the Stairs
Broken Social Scene don’t make albums anymore. No, that Canadian group hug now presents, or at least one of their members presents them—gives them a formation, arms them, and sends them out to battle. Last time out it was Col. Kevin Drew organizing the troops, but this week
So Fast
“So Fast” is well-punctuated, well-announced, and sufficiently well-thought of that it is the first track on Julie Doiron’s reissued Loneliest in the Morning. Ten years after the release and much more than a decade since she left noise-pop outfit Eric’s Trip, Doiron’s subtle and acoustic meditation on
The Old Days
This matinee performance relies on the stage disintegrating, tumbling, torn down by actors who demand something sleek and so un-Dr. Dog. From a just-out fifth album, the lament of “The Old Days” is the final protest in the final act, and it’s a damn rousing song. I was yesterday
Stay Positive
One can’t help but get swept up by it all. This is a rock n’ roll life-affirmer that’ll last for months, way past the stadiums where we sang, past gutters that you fell you into. Things change, but we’ll keep singing, we’ll keep falling, and we’
Antibodies
Thank God for dance music. And guitars. “Antibodies,” from Poni Hoax’s new album Images of Sigrid, is like that workout tune LCD Soundsystem penned for Nike. It pumps hard and wants to to motivate you, keeps you out when you are either out of it at 12 miles gone,
When We Embraced
When I was in jail last night it was dark, raining, and roofless—with an abundance of cell-phones. I woke up from this dream with a hangover, glad not to be in jail. Micah P. Hinson spent some time in jail in his youth; this rebellious hangover could have suffocated
Knowing Me, Knowing You
I’m sorry to be the one to break it to you, but ABBA will never tour again. Mamma Mia!, the musical and upcoming film that samples heavily from their back catalog, will keep them happy for the next few years—we can only assume. If there were any life
Gold, Tan, Peach, and Grey
I rarely find music I (wrongly) assume to be indie rock so stirring and spirited. Said the Gramophone find that in “Gold, Tan, Peach, and Grey,” wherein Bodies of Water “…starts shouting the colors and I can see them right there. I kind of listen to this music the same
Kevätrumpu
Dusty and spiritual, Finnish duo Paavoharju represent Scandinavia with something churned up and surreal in “Kevätrumpu.” Pavvoharju don’t just wander and drift amongst their collage of noise, they work hard to carve an identity during what sounds like some sort of ritual ceremony led by a beat of bells.
Chemtrails
Beck’s latest album, Modern Guilt, is ambitious but it sees his sound reduced, filtering out some unnecessary digital noise from his previous work, 2006’s The Information; cell phone rings that were good, clean fun inspire little except the desire to not party. The vagueness of “Chemtrails,” however, hints
Bruno's Torso
After signing to Sub Pop back in ’06, Brooklyn-based Death Vessel was expected to release something shortly after. Now, two years down the road, the label debut is slated for mid-August. The music, which calls to mind the Shins’ more stripped-down work, is folksy, droney, and twee, and the vocals,
666
There will probably always be a foolish, rebellious, adolescent part of my consciousness that will try to act out by imploring me to slam dance, play with fire, and tempt the forces of evil. Though my staid, responsible, adult brain is unlikely to give in to these impulses anymore, thankfully
Sunshine Kid
While perusing Radiohead’s Dear Air Space blog the other day, I came across an entry by someone calling himself “Colin,” who implored readers to seek out a new album by someone or something calling themselves “One Little Plane.” After a brief and painless amount of research, I discovered this
One of Us
Known as one of the most influential bands to emerge from the British punk scene in the late ’70s, both for their music as well as their Situationist politics, Wire has done what few of their contemporaries could manage to do: They stayed together. A little over a month ago,
Oh! You Pretty Things
If you’re anything like me, you can’t get enough David Bowie. Except of course for the whole Tin Machine thing. What was he thinking? Whatever. A new covers album called Life on Mars—each song hand-picked and approved by Bowie himself—will be released on July 8. Already
African Scream Contest
In Africa, they’re just getting around to publishing essential psychedelic compilations that should have been out eons ago. Few know a name outside of Fela Kuti or King Sunny Ade. If there were any justice in the world 50 Cent would take the offer from Taco Bell to change
3rd Planet
I really wanted to love bluegrass; I really did. It helped me think I didn’t actually avoid country music, just commercial country music. Or electric country music (or some other arbitrary distinction). That was before the Washington, D.C., N.P.R. affiliate would play 12 straight hours of
The Secrets of Iceland
From what I can tell, Iceland is on a breakneck pace to make it seem like a place called “Iceland” is a sun-drenched adventure land. They don’t use gasoline, produced Björk and Sigur Rós, and race around naked to their hearts content. It’s all part of a giant
No Pause
Kids seem to love these mash-ups. It appeals to their dual desires of flaunting copyright laws and hearing lots of songs all at once. It’s a short-attention-span, intellectual-property-law jamboree. And this latest Girl Talk album is a sampling bonanza sure to boggle the minds behind any copyright claims. They
Better
The legend is true: The infamous, ill-fated, Guns N’ Roses album Chinese Democracy has been leaked after 14 years of recording and scads of record-company dollars down the four-track. I had hoped it would be the greatest peak in maddening celebrity indulgence, like a thousand Golden Throats records combined into
White Winter Hymnal
Hailing from Seattle and signed to the cred-dispensing Sub Pop label, Fleet Foxes not only has a really cute name that’s fun to say, they have current and former members of such noteworthy indie groups as Crystal Skulls and Pedro the Lion. What’s better, they hate hippies. Which
Dr. Carter
At the tender age of 15, Lil Wayne was already becoming something of a trump card in Cash Money’s hand, and Wayne’s Hot Boys group produced some of the more popular singles from the label (cf. “We on Fire” and “Project Chick”). Ten years later, Lil Wayne has
Ghost Town (Pt. 1)
Only recently was I clued in to Parts & Labor, a Brooklyn-based noise-pop outfit playing at this summer’s Siren Festival at Coney Island. Luckily I heard about the group just in time to find out about member Dan Friel’s solo work, which is mostly instrumental noise pop. Linked
Good Enough
I’m a sucker for a good cover, and this week’s honorable mention goes to the Acorn, a Canadian group that recently contributed a cover of Cyndi Lauper’s “Good Enough” for a Coke Machine Glow podcast. Their version softens Lauper’s already nonchalantly pop masterpiece, but the highly
Go for the Exit
After calling Guided by Voices quits just four short years ago, Bob Pollard, the quits-caller, has released about eight solo albums, plus various EPs and albums with side projects (e.g., the Takeovers, Keene Brothers, Circus Devils, etc.). To call him prolific is nearly an understatement, as it’s hard
A Truer Top 40
We all know the Billboard Top 100 is a sham; it’s a meaningless list of vacuous posers and pitch-shifted payola. The bands, singers, and studios that make it to the top of their Singles Charts, Hot Canadian Digital Singles Charts, or even the Bubbling Ringtones Chart, only got that
Toe Jam
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
Gobbledigook
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 í Eyrum
Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?
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 make
Little Bit
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
Bo Diddley
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,
Time to Pretend
When leaving the apartment the other night, I was stopped in my tracks by a strange noise emanating from our living room. Or rather, it was the source that was strange. The TV was on, and behind some whiny teen drama on the CW (Gossip Girls?) was “Time to Pretend,
Make it So
Daedelus has pulled an increasingly common move to promote his upcoming album, Love to Make Music To: If you release the remix, they will come. The new single, “Make It So (featuring Michael Johnson)” has become irresistibly dance-worthy in the hands of Spank Rock’s XXXchange, who have yet to
Lemurs and Foals
The Foals may be the most prematurely remixed indie band ever, thanks mostly to The Lemur, who I recently encountered on a net surf-ari. The Lemur Blog was host to a pair of Foals remix competitions that yielded dozens of results of varying successes. That’s a whole heck of
Let's Get Physical
The Black Ghosts are also the subject of premature hypulation. They’ve been generating heat since the release of their EP last fall, and are now releasing exclusive music videos (on Big Stereo and Missing Toof) for every track on their self-titled debut before it’s out on July 8.
Shiller
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 provenance. Which seems
The Greatest Man That Ever Lived
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 set forth
Lovecraft in Brooklyn
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 album
Razor Tongue
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 to a
No Hiding Place
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
The May 2008 Leak Report
I was considering using a malaprop of sorts to introduce this month’s collection of leaked music by conflating the popular adage of “April showers” with these “May leaks,” but then I thankfully remembered that I don’t hate any of you anymore than I’d want you to hate
Ulterior Music
Relatively Clean Rivers, “Hello Sunshine” (download) I’m not sure how many people recognized the reference to Relatively Clean Rivers in the stories a few months back about Adam Gadahn, the American who joined al Qaeda. Gadahn’s father, Philip, was the lead singer of the amazing, obscure psychedelic folk
The TMN Summer Fest
With South by Southwest already a fading memory and the glory of spring officially upon us, fans of live music across the country are turning their attention to the gigantic summer festivals looming in the distance. Artists are being added to lists every day for juggernauts like Bonnaroo, the Pitchfork
Meet Classical Music
Usually, when I meet new people and they find out I host classical music on the radio, they ask one to three of the following questions: * Do you talk really low and over-articulate every word? * Do you actually listen to classical music? * Do you think guys meet you and find
The Great Angry White Hope, or the New Loud Sounds From Way Out
Right now there are thousands—nay, millions—of disaffected youths out there yearning for a music that speaks to the anger welling up inside—but without devolving into something that’s just loud, screamy, and stupid. What I’m saying is that hardcore, that originally American Art Brut, like jazz
The April 2008 Leak Report
It’s genuinely hard for me to say which of this month’s album releases I’m most excited about. Well, I’m not really excited about any the following, since they’ve all been leaked, but picking a favorite would prove difficult. Several major artists have highly anticipated releases
Mp3 Bio: Steve Winwood
Born in Birmingham, U.K., in 1948, Steve Winwood started playing guitar in his father’s band at just eight years old. Growing up in Birmingham’s rhythm and blues scene, he had plenty of opportunity to network, and by his early teens Winwood was playing in pick-up bands for
Keep It or Delete It
Ah, spring. The season for cleaning is here again, and much like Kenneth Grahame’s Mole, I find myself taking inventory of everything down in my dusty hole in the ground. My clothes could use a good once-over, as there are several shirts I haven’t worn recently, even a
South by Southwests of Yore
South by Southwest, that bastion of independent music, Web 2.0 crowdsourcing folksonomy panels, and drunken mid-level industry types, hasn’t always been such an established tradition. It took a good 20 years for that magnificent phoenix to rise out of the ashes of the late ’80s underground, through ’90s
The March 2008 Leak Report
Cursing the gods of New York City weather—those that taunt us with a day or two of warm sun and clear blue sky between sloughs of ice and wind—I desperately look forward to the month ahead. I can’t remember whatever that groundhog Phil’s official decree was
Going Steady With the Singles
Richard Ayoade said it best on an episode of Time Trumpet as to why, every day, he was compelled to watch an ape being savagely raped on television because “he had to take the pulse of the nation.” Truer words have never been spoken. And right now the pulse of
Deconstructing Valentines
Less than a week since Valentine’s Day, the investigation of a unique and more or less distinct shared set of cultural ideologies recognized as post-Valentinism is appropriate and well overdue. Much like the precessional relationship of Modernism to post-Modernism, especially pertaining to the fields of songcraft, semiotics, and critical
The February 2008 Leak Report
Although it’s formally considered his side project, Bradford Cox has been involved in Atlas Sound far longer than he’s been recording with his better known outfit, Deerhunter. Started as an ongoing project with best friend Lockett Pundt in the sixth grade, Atlas Sound (named for the karaoke machine
New Histories for New Bands
Anyone can sit you down and tell you what they know about popular, highly influential musicians. It’s easy, just sitting there, telling. Which is what makes our occasional forays into strident disinformation about little-known, up-and-coming musicians so special. Obfuscation like this takes serious effort. Once again, let’s have
Mainstreamers Become Soundtrackers
As much as the dead silent stretches generate an unnerving sense of foreboding tension in Paul Thomas Anderson’s new film There Will Be Blood (which, if you haven’t seen it yet, seriously, whose milkshake are you drinking?), so too do the exquisitely dissonant string arrangements of the accompanying
Holes in the Year-End Best-of Lists
While everybody else was fighting for attention to get their year-end lists in by the 31st, I was lying in wait, culling the extremes, the ins and outs, to strain through the finest opinionated cheesecloth, so what’s left is only the purest top-10 filtrate possible before snorting it all
The January 2008 Leak Report
Happy New Year, everyone! Wasn’t 2007 nuts? Now that’s out of the way, let’s get to the business at hand: 2008 is going to be a banner year for music, despite all the doomsayers of the supposedly dying industry. To wit, here’s a look at some
An Unholy Christmas Soundtrack
The rigidity of Christmas tradition is most evident in the ubiquity of its music. As unsavory as I find so many other aspects of the season—the false sentiment, the terrible TV programming, the hyper-commoditization—it’s the music that has become truly inescapable. It begins a week or two
Those for Whom What's Laudable Is All That's Audible
Throughout the history of the written word and the recorded sound, there’s been a large discrepancy between what people listen to and what actually gets written about. Critics need something to write—there are columns to fill and ink to use, and two-word reviews are hard to write (e.
The December 2007 Leak Report
This week, a new monthly feature in the Mp3 Digest, provided the RIAA’s black ops don’t take me under cover of night to an undisclosed location for all sorts of beastly torture. We’ve scoured the corners of the internet to bring you songs leaked from the coming
A Suspect Copy of the New Lupe Fiasco
On Nov. 14, Lupe Fiasco released the tracklist to his sophomore effort, The Cool. The tracks themselves will remain in a tightly guarded lockbox until the album hits stores Dec. 18. Or will they? Over Thanksgiving break, I got my hands on nearly half of Lupe’s precious material. It
Everything's Gonna Be All Right
The holidays have arrived. Thanksgiving is tomorrow, Black Friday looms imminently on the other side, and then it’s a mad dash to whatever your religion or creed suggests you celebrate at one of the highest spiritual points of the year. Since I’m sure everyone is going to hear
Long Live the File-Sharers
As the recent loss of OiNK sits heavy in our hearts, I’d like to take some time out to think about the other file-sharing applications that have come before us and made the world a better place. Not the cold and utilitarian Napsters or the sleazy-yet-reliable LimeWires that spit
Lovelesses
My Bloody Valentine’s shoegazer-defining Loveless still finds incredible favor among critics and listeners alike and is generally assumed to be one of the best albums ever. The dudes at Pitchfork even give it a second-place spot to Radiohead’s OK Computer on their best of the ’90s list. No
What's in a Band Name?
What’s in a band name? A meaningless handle dreamt up after throwing enough random adjectives together, or some obscure drug reference/street name/sexual maneuver that will only mean something to the other band members? Or could it in fact be part and parcel of the overall pathos conveyed
Questionable Band Bios
While I usually try to share true and pertinent information about the bands featured here, this week I’ve scoured the web for songs I like from bands I’ve never heard of. (And please, there’s no need for any of that childish “Man, I can’t believe you
The New Re-Appropriation of Hip-Hop
A few years back I tried pushing this concept to DJs called “the new re-appropriation,” wherein they should take rap away from the mumbling, punch-drunk death threats it’s become by removing the vocals, leaving only the backing track and R&B fill-in, and then distributing it. Also known
The State of Mashmixes and Remashes
About a decade ago it became common to say about new movies that were good, but not that good: “I’ll wait for it to come out on DVD.” If they were that good, it’d be worth it to deal with the inability to lay in front of the
Mp3 Bio: the Traveling Wilburys
To some, I’m sure I sound like a raving madman when I say there was ever such a thing as New Coke or Cassingles. Thanks to the internet I can usually prove that such marvelous things did once exist, but there seems to be only so much the uninitiated
Hunting the New Agitprop
We had just come back from a trip to Tower Records and sat down to play a couple tracks from what we had bought, with plans to skip around and listen to the rest later. The first track on one album, by whom I don’t remember, started out like
Catching Up With T-Pain
Almost exclusively, I listen to the song “Bartender” by T-Pain. When I moved back to Texas, my grandfather gave me his old car. It’s just turned 10 and in the two months I’ve had it, things are declining at a worrisome rate. A taillight jumped ship in the
The Creole You've Been Waiting For
What I try to tell all of the black nationalists, white identity groups, and Polynesian isolationists I meet—we have a weekly potluck—is that cultural integrity is a musical dead-end. It’s your fringe cultures that are responsible for the majority of creative output. Cohesive group identities don’t
How to Win at Relationships
While I can’t personally relate to “a mescaline freakout at an off-Broadway show / in the morning,”* there’s something familiar and friendly about Luke Temple’s “Saturday People.” Its folksy feel and tripped-out lyrics make you want to gather on a big ol’ front porch in the country with
Wherever You've Been, We Missed You
When you really think about it, a vampire weekend sounds either incredibly lame (as in hanging out in the cemetery with a bunch of goths, drinking cheap red wine, and reading aloud from Anne Rice novels) or absolutely horrifying (as in spending a few days trying to escape thirsty hordes
The Haçienda Must Be Built
From “Formulary for a New Urbanism” by Ivan Chtcheglov (Internationale Situationniste, October 1953): AndyouforgottenyourmemoriesravagedbyalltheconsternationsoftwohemispheresstrandedintheRedCellarsofPali-Kaowithoutmusicandwithoutgeographynolongersettingoutforthehaciendawhere the roots think of the child and where the wine is finished off with fables from an old almanac.Nowthat’sfinishedYou’llneverseethehaciendaItdoesn’texist The hacienda must be built. Before—A Factory Documentary During
What Was Once Was Lost, Now Is Found
MTV owes me my youth. Most of my ’90s memories are a hazy blur of Lenny Kravitz videos, Mountain Dew commercials, and news about Madonna that will all come back to me in a giant rush of Dutch Schultz jump cuts on my deathbed. I’ll never recover that lost
Mp3 Digest: August 1, 2007
Pop music is at it’s best when it’s not actually pop music, but a teeming, cacophonous, and experimental diversion from pop book-ended by an otherwise unassuming, jaunty indie-pop song. Or so out-of-and-back-into-nowhere Danish band Kirsten Ketsjer makes me believe. The song is moving along innocently enough, sounding something
Mp3 Digest: July 25, 2007
Apparently Daft Punk is currently touring the U.S. with what some are calling “the best show they’ve been to in their ENTIRE LIFE.” (Emphasis Daft Punk nut.) Since just about the rest of the tour is sold out, however, your best chance to catch them may be in
"This Ain't No Fado Part II," guest-edited by Philip Graham
Did you know the Portuguese Empire lasted from 1415 to 1999? I sure didn’t. I sure do miss the Portuguese Empire. Philip Graham will too, as his year abroad in Lisbon will soon be coming to an end. And of the many things he’ll need to declare at
Reviewing the Week in Pitchfork Reviews
Pitchfork continues to be one of the most popular and polarizing music review sites around, even 11 years after it first began. In fact, calling them a “music review site” is something of a misnomer: They’ve branched out considerably over the past decade, and this weekend’s second annual
A Personal History of Audiophilia
In the long summer days around high school, we used to get stoned and wander into the local hi-fi stereo showroom. Without a car, it was the closest thing we had to a record store. We’d stroll through, pretending that we might actually purchase a $10,000 quadrophonic laserdisk
Crepes vs. Enchiladas
As mentioned in last week’s features, “Sacrifice” and the first “Letter From Paris,” TMN chiefs Andrew Womack and Rosecrans Baldwin are currently traveling away from New York to their other loves, Austin and Paris, respectively. As an exercise in sharing their new homes with each other—cities that the
Now That's Cult Music!
Religious cults tend to get a bad rap for the organized murders, weapon stockpiling, brainwashing, and mass suicide—but nobody focuses on the good they do. For example, nobody ever mentions the musical output. If you’re going to be stuck on the same compound with brainwashed denizens for long
Shaking Down the Used Bin
Two weeks ago I went to see the new Lars Von Trier movie (by the way, it’s hilarious) with my friend Matthew. After the movie, while walking back toward Union Square, we took a detour into a certain record/island chain’s “megastore” just to see if there were
Driving Me Backwards
Riding New York subways for so long, I long to drive cars again. I love the part in Raising Arizona when John Goodman’s convict character, behind the wheel and having just kidnapped Nathan Jr., turns to his little brother and says, “I loooove to drive,” to which his brother
"This Ain't No Fado," guest-edited by Philip Graham
My roommate my first year of college had spent the preceding summer traveling across Europe and buying albums by artists who never had a hope of getting distribution in the U.S. Was this invisible blockade yet another example of American cultural imperialism? Of the closed-mindedness of Western audiences? Yes,
Hate Thy Neighbor
The word “scene” makes me retch something awful. As in “what about the scene, man?” It’s right up there with “society.” Besides being vague and meaningless, it carries with it the unwritten rule that, independent of quality or substance, you’re supposed to appreciate your local band before all
What's the last song you heard?
We emailed our staff: “What’s the last song you heard? Respond immediately.” They wrote back: “Some Starbucks shit.” And then they wrote back some more. “Building a Mystery” by Sarah McLachlan XM radio is always on where I work. And more often than not it’s set to the
Departure Journal, Volume One
I have reason to reminisce. My tenure of living in New York City is ending, and in the weeks before I move, I’m starting to forget what I dislike about New York. More on that later. But how easily music conjures memories. I think I was turned on to
Our Quarterly Review
The book’s closed on the first three months of 2007, which makes now as good a time as any to take stock of the quarter that’s just ended. Here are our favorite tracks from the year thus far. * * * Rosecrans Baldwin “Fake Empire” by the National The digital revolution
Americana Obscura
Essentially, a “song cycle” is a glorified term for a concept album. It’s a jazz-rock odyssey on folkier instruments, but when done right, adds an overarching, operatic theme to what would ordinarily be a random mix of great songs. While most song cycles are held together by small thematic
Looking for What Hasn't Been Done Before
It was only a couple years ago I remember some friends lamenting how out of touch they were with the music of today. At the time I could scoff at them; they lived in an isolated world that didn’t include Lightning Bolt or Tussle. It was OK—they didn’
A Crush Admitted
Spring is taking its time this year, teasing us with a few warm days. When the weather’s nice, I want to listen to HOT 97. My finger’s drawn to the pre-programmed rubber button on the hood of my radio. And three times in the last two weeks, when
Addendum, Errata, and Lost Recordings
That dueling guitar sound I previously mentioned, where two people play rhythm guitars in the same key, is actually called weaving, something pioneered by a number of older blues players, as well as the Rolling Stones’ Brian Jones. » Listen to outtakes from the Rolling Stones’ Their Satanic Majesties Request at
The Swinging Sounds of Modern Industry
Let’s not be hasty and rule out anything that sounds like the construction down the street. First off, it’s painting with a wide brush. You’ll block out too much and eventually paint yourself into a pleasant, drowsy corner with Norah Jones. Second, it’s too escapist. These
Band Bashing and Guitar Smashing
That new Arcade Fire album sure does suck. Like you, I got it when it leaked, downloaded it while I was listening to other leaked music. (The next Arcade Fire album sucks as well, by the way.) So yeah, I listened to it in my iTunes a couple of times,
Dueling Instructions
I’m a sucker for dueling guitars—or any dueling instrument, for that matter. Whether it be Allman Brothers’ solos, Bach’s Goldberg Variations, or the soundtrack to an ‘80s videogame played by dueling electric violins, they all have that intertwining golden braid I can’t resist. One player goes
Summer Jams for Winter Storms
It was one month ago to the day that I was wondering, “Why can’t it be colder?” Seventy degrees in January seemed excessive. I asked myself, “Where’s that comforting isolation that comes with mid-winter cabin fever?” Without four proper seasons my biological clock goes haywire; my voice gets
Mood Music for the Old-Fashioned Set
I have a soft spot for mood music, particularly songs that can be played quietly and help me focus on work instead of on the sounds of two construction projects down the street. Jack Blackfelt, “your generation X-Y JaZz Guy,” has a great early-to-mid 20th century jazz show on East
Gallic Gutter Punks
I had always thought punk rock was mainly a British phenomenon, if for no other reason than its ruling party was composed of people who looked as if they might drop their monocles at hearing the use of profanity. It seemed more anti-establishment in a Three Stooges way. I’ve
The One Song That Defines Life, for a Week
Masters of the musical universe who put songs in singers’ mouths, I am just sick about this track—thank you for this artist, this song! My window is open and the neighbors are torturing their cats just to have something else to listen to. As of this scribbling, iTunes reports
Terrified of New Music
Right now there are a number of upcoming albums that have the mp3 bloggers blogging up their lunches in excitement. And anticipation-wise, I’m no exception; however, ever since the Stone Roses’ Second Coming let down the entire world (I’ve reversed my position) and played no small role in
Music Inspires Memories
Four short memories of youth inspired by music randomly selected from the Hype Machine’s most popular tracks, January 10, 2007: “Black Wave, Bad Vibrations,” the Arcade Fire I left for college determined to be a new person: smarter and more interesting. Behind me I’d leave the corpse of
Hard-Workin' Music From Musicologists
OK, forget all of these new bands with their false haircuts and arbitrary affectations. There’s a reason people are nostalgic for the music of a bygone day and age without video games—where you spent most of your life toiling at soul crushing work and the rest realizing the
Our Favorite Tracks of 2006
Rosecrans Baldwin’s Favorite Mp3s of 2006 “Ain’t No Other Man” by Christina Aguilera I think I’ve several times performed dance routines to this song. » Listen to “Ain’t No Other Man” “Smile” by Lily Allen Why don’t other seasons get songs? The summer afternoon party anthem.
Humbug
The holidays are when someone died. Or a grandfather got worse instead of better in the hospital, or a friend drank too much and had a car accident while driving home from a party. The phone call comes on a weeknight. There’s a long silence after the news is
Out With the Old, in With the New
Maybe Bill Drummond is right. Maybe we are inundated with a glut of music nowadays via mp3s and too much of it is nostalgic. Rather than obstinately avoiding all music for a day, we should instead be aiming for more current sounds to widen the cultural breadth. Sure there’s
Getting Over Music Hang-Ups
I feel like at every point in my life I’ve had some arbitrary musical exclusion only to have it whittled down over time. It’s true: There’s always been some section of music I refuse to associate with. At first it was classical music, mainly since that was
Choosing Music for Storms and Whatever Comes After
It’s November, and it’s raining in Brooklyn. Unlike almost every other day, music didn’t feel quite right on the way to the subway. At least none of what I scrolled through on my iPod. Of its many extrasensory qualities, something profound about music is its ability to
Picking Genres From a Dictionary
Music genres come and go by the dozen, from emocore and screamo to nemocore, but what new genres lurk on the horizon? Will there be more amalgamations of current styles and trends (emoscreamonemocore?) or something so completely original and mysterious that it belongs in a class all by itself? * * * Swedish
As Reviewed by My Mother
We occasionally invite guests to review the best songs we’ve discovered that week while surfing around the mp3-blog universe. This week, I invited my mother. Ann Baldwin loves music new and old but doesn’t pay much attention to what the PR people are shilling. As she told me,
Everything But the Music
When Peter Saville created the artwork for Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasureshe’d never even heard the album now wrapped in what is arguably the work for which he is best known. He also claims he’d only heard a couple of their songs prior to that—and didn’t
CBGBs RIP
The history of rock may be written by the losers, but this week the losers will have some attention in their hands to point out the decline of Western civilization that’ll ensue when CBGBs closes this weekend. Some may be wistful, some will have moved on, and some might
Mp3 Digest: October 4, 2006
Having just seen the K Records Documentary, I can now say with authority that music critics do have a place in this world outside of keeping Yo La Tengo in clean spats. They can translate the rambling theoretical diatribes of musicians into actual comprehensible statements. For example, in the movie,
Mp3 Digest: September 27, 2006
I went to college in central Maine, a small school on a hill overlooking a rusted-over textile town where Richard Russo used to teach (the town’s river and shirt factory popped up on the cover of Empire Falls). The winters were long, the springs were soggy, and there seemed
Prog (Not Prog)
If you lived in Austin right now, you’d have every right to be angry. The reason: last weekend’s Austin City Limits Music Festival, which must be something like the opposite of South by Southwest, given its more mainstream lineup. (Howdy, John Mayer!) As a former Austin resident, I
Observing Expectations
In a college film class, we watched the opening to The Shining first with its soundtrack, second with the audio portion muted, third while a student turned off the television volume and used a boombox to overdub music a little more Disney. The point was even paranormal homicide can be
Seeking the Jam of the Summer
Now that Labor Day has come and gone, and summertime is officially over, and you’re regaling your friends with tales of Canadian girlfriends and Mexican boyfriends and getting tiny coffins sent to you in the mail, it’s time to ask: What was the jam of the summer? First
The Week in Music, guest-edited by Sasha Frere-Jones
A Remnick addition to the New Yorker’s masthead, pop music critic Sasha Frere-Jones must have been the first person to sneak the phrase “inscrutable batphones” into the magazine (as in, “not all musicians below the age of 30 are getting tattooed with runic symbols and sending viruses to each
Mp3 Digest: August 23, 2006
Every Christmas morning, my mother would construct elaborate treasure hunts—one for me and one for my brother. We’d get a riddle whose solution would lead us to another spot in the house (or when she got elaborate, the subdivision), where we’d find an envelope that contained another
Dread and Fire
Last night a pothole exploded on our street. Or so we think. No one I talked to on the block is positive about what happened. Here’s what we know: Around eleven last night, the lights in our apartment dimmed to brown and there was a massive explosion; our landlady,
Funeral Rider
Available at the service to all attendees must be a compilation of the below songs, as specified by the deceased. The music should be distributed in whatever format is deemed appropriate in that era of technology. On a space tape, or whatever. » Hear “Time Thief” by the Pale Saints at
A Mix for the Heat
I just spent two and a half weeks submerged in the woods and there wasn’t much music besides frogs and a neighbor’s chainsaw. Radio stations were few; the local NPR broadcast was locked in a fundraising drive; my iPod wouldn’t talk to the tape deck in the
Not-Quite Cover Versions
Would the opening sequence in The Royal Tenenbaums have been as effective set to the Beatles original recording of “Hey Jude?”—as Wes Anderson first imagined it? I’d say no way: Mark Mothersbaugh’s instrumental version, prepared especially for the movie, though very much like the original, engineers a
Mp3 Digest: July 12, 2006
Last weekend, my wife and I had two perfect New York days. We had friends over for dinner and stayed up late. We saw a very moving Douglas Gordon survey and ran around Manhattan. We visited with more friends, we had dinner in a restaurant, stayed up late and slept
Mp3 Digest: July 5, 2006
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson is dead at 52. I want to dig a hole, erect a church on top, play her “Handel Arias” on repeat, and eat shirred eggs. Her Handel Arias are their own cathedral. I never saw her sing in concert. Tomorrow I will disappear, track down Martha Argerich
Mp3 Digest: June 28, 2006
Austinist has an excellent interview with Red Hunter of Peter and the Wolf, which may or may not comprise 18 members. For those OK with the informal thing, it’s a musical collective, and that means they all shower together. Hey, that’s where you write your best songs, isn’
Maine Accent Chairs
My great-aunt Mary lives year-round on an island off the coast of Maine and still smokes while she watches the tennis or enjoys a nightcap. It’s given her an amazing speaking voice: her register’s permanently cracked from the cigarettes, with bass-y wobbles, but her Maine accent so often
Mp3 Digest: June 14, 2006
It was Bauhaus’s cover of “Ziggy Stardust” that turned me (and I suspect many others) into a David Bowie fanatic. I’d heard their version of the song long before Bowie’s, and in fact still prefer it to the original. The urgency in their pacing, the extra push
Strangers on the Doorstep
Two nights ago, our buzzer rang at around 11 o’clock. We weren’t expecting anyone. On the stoop stood a tall guy with a backpack, staring through the front gate. I unlocked the interior door and asked him if I could be of any help. “Man, I’m hoping
Mp3 Digest: May 31, 2006
It’s well known how you blow up a computer: You give it conflicting information until it can no longer process what you’re saying, until its motherboard eventually fries up and explodes. “Ain’t Nobody Straight in LA” does the very same thing, only to the human mind—see,
Trend Cycles
How often, as you get older and no longer go to shows, can you swallow fantastic new bands and actually digest them? My friend and deep music head Chris has sworn off new bands altogether. I hear two a week and feel gassy. I’m not at the point, yet,
Mp3 Digest: May 17, 2006
Canada’s Bedouin Soundclash should be the bearers of a new wave of pop reggae, but that’s not a wave we’re going to see anytime soon, is it? That doesn’t change how terrific their newest work is; note, in particular, the wildly off-kilter bass lines that wrap
Coachella, MySpace & the Octopus Project
The single greatest problem our country faced throughout the 1990s, the summer music festival, was responsible not only for 90 percent of infections in 18-24 year-olds, but also for Live’s Throwing Copper going platinum eight times. Thankfully, the vast majority of music festivals are now confined to the Chicagoland
Menacing Chamber Blues
Sometimes I just have to gush. I don’t know much about the Candy Bars (MySpace page), but I do know they’re a new-ish trio from Tampa. I’ve never read an article about them, I’ve only heard that they were great at SXSW. What I have heard
On Morrissey and Career Arcs
This month it’s been 18 years since Viva Hate, Morrissey’s initial solo foray. That’s right—and that means it’s been over 18 years since the breakup of the Smiths, one of the two most important guitar bands of the 20th century (next to the Beatles), the
How My Chemical Romance Will Save the Record Industry
Depending on whom you ask, the business of buying and selling music is or is not in the toilet. I propose that not only is it down there, but that we go ahead and yank the handle. The argument goes that many people treat file-sharing services as listening stations, and
On the Secret Machines' New Album
Since their 2002 debut EP Brooklyn-via-outer space-via-Texas rock trio the Secret Machines have led a charmed life. The group’s rise has been meteoric: rescued from seedy Williamsburg loft parties, knighted by Warner Bros., and anointed in Hedi Slimane suits, the Secret Machines appear in every aspect to be here
New Order, Waiting for the Sirens’ Call
Except for 1985’s Low-Life and 1986’s Brotherhood, New Order has never been a band to release albums too frequently. Since their last proper release in fact—2001’s Get Ready—it’s been about three-and-a-half years. And before that? 1993 and Republic, before which they hadn’t brought
British Sea Power, Open Season
In 2003 the boys in pith helmets released their debut album, The Decline and Fall of British Sea Power, which, in this reviewer’s opinion, was the finest album of that year. Naturally, this has had some of us a little antsy about what might show up as their follow-up
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, Worlds Apart
This review is two weeks late. And I know that there could be many very believable reasons for this, but this is the truth: Typically, when reviewing a record, I’ll listen to it as I compose the review. It’s an obvious thing to do, really, but in the
The Tears, Live in Heaven
In 1992 Suede was hailed by the notoriously excitable Melody Maker magazine as “The Best Band in Britain”—before they even had a legitimate single out. The appraisal, almost unbelievably, was frighteningly accurate. They were extraordinary to see, thrilling to hear. Not since the Smiths had a band combined such
Sonoma Aero, Sonoma Aero EP
This stunning debut EP from new-ish New York Band Sonoma Aero features waves of tough, confident guitar-bass-drum combos reminiscent of Swervedriver and Unwound, but they’re obviously onto something altogether their own—there’s something very special here. Deft, lazy vocals waft over a cauldron of intense rhythm-driven melodies, to
The Arcade Fire, Funeral
A predictable choice? Fine. It’s the name on everybody’s lips…even the band’s own: Lead singer Win Butler quipped, “Hi, we’re Flavor of the Month,” at the band’s show last week at Mercury Lounge. So everyone’s currently nuts over the Arcade Fire, and with
Two Lone Swordsmen, From the Double Gone Chapel
Isn’t this supposed to be techno? Er, electronica or whatever? And yet it sounds so un-manufactured. So handmade and crafted, these dark, brooding anthems that seem (intentionally) barely held together by tinny wire and sheer concentration. Throbbing digi-bass riffs and paralyzed vocals recall something Joy Division-y or Bauhaus-esque playing
Heligoland, Shift These Thoughts
If you are one of the people who can imagine music that’s a precise combination of His Name is Alive, the Cocteau Twins, and It’ll End in Tears-era This Mortal Coil, then there’s a good chance you have a 1993 Vaughan Oliver calendar on your bedroom wall
The Cure, The Cure
After a decade in the wilderness, mired in irrelevance, the Cure, at last? After misconceived covers of Bowie and the Doors, after multiple flits through a revolving door of band members, after so many questions from fans of whatever happened to them…where did it all drop so suddenly away?
The Thermals, Fuckin A
Punk rock, though its definitions vary, can be seen wherever a message determines its music. If that’s true, then the Thermals are very, very punk rock—which is hardly to say the tunes themselves suffer for it. In fact, the guitar-bass-drums-voice instrumentation is as gorgeous and melodic as ever,
Rhythm of Black Lines, Human Hand, Animal Band
From a world borne of one part heretofore-unimagined prog beauty and a little bit of Austin, Tex., comes the latest release from Rhythm of Black Lines. This isn’t prog that’s simply been Relay-ed, either; it’s a redefinition of progressive music that transports like truly nothing else can.
The Charlatans, Up at the Lake
The lead singer of the U.K.-based Charlatans, Tim Burgess, has lived in L.A. since 1998. The band’s two most recent albums have met a lukewarm reception by both critics and the public alike. It’s long been rumored that the steam’s gone, the momentum’s
Morrissey, You are the Quarry
Morrissey has never seemed more relevant. The glory days of the Smiths are long, long gone, in fact are a preferred distant memory for the Moz himself, given recent court battles with ex-bandmates Mike Joyce and bassist Andy Rourke. And as we all know: When bands hit the barrister’s,
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
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 is heard wide and
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 art
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 like
Tulsa Drone, No Wake
The instrumental explorations of Richmond’s Tulsa Drone spread across a stark, moody landscape that equally recalls the prog rock of the mid-’90s Chicago scene and the later moments of Dead Can Dance—the hammered dulcimer playing as large a part as it does. That said, Tulsa Drone are
The Elected, Me First
The Elected makes a kind of beautiful, traditional pop music that jumps deep into your heart and lives with you, maybe forever, with delirious Beatlesque melodies, all heavily rouged with Elliott Smith-ness. (An interesting side-note: The band recorded the album on leftover, free time at Smith’s Van Nuys, Calif.
Decibully, City of Festivals
Formed from parts of The Promise Ring and Camden, and with a history that’s too confusing to even attempt recounting, Milwaukee’s Decibully oozes the kind of damaged beauty that would be right at home at the end of a dark cul-de-sac, late Big Star and Elliott Smith the
The Secret Machines, Now Here is Nowhere
Crunching and pulsing with some sort of covert messages from a cold, dead star, The Secret Machines are back. What they wrought forth on their 2000 debut EP, September 000, would give anyone a difficult reputation to outshine. The band, once prone to extended psychedelic jams—the best you could
Suede, Dog Man Star Live at the I.C.A.
Though not an official release, last September’s shows in London were so spectacular that they deserve to be. Until these tracks are tacked onto a box set or some-such, we’ll just have to make do with what we have. One-time Britpoppers and glam-rock revivalists, and according to Melody
Lying in States, Most Every Night
The debut LP from this Chicago quintet reveals a band with more than a fair share of ability tucked under its wing. And all over Most Every Night they use it to maximum effect, inspired in their hooks, devastating in their compact, intense syncopation. Rock riffs abound in the vein
Belle and Sebastian, Dear Catastrophe Waitress
One could be forgiven for missing out on Dear Catastrophe Waitress. After all, it seemed Belle and Sebastian’s star had set for good; their last formal effort (disregarding the 2002 soundtrack for Storytelling) was 2000’s Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant, the main drawback of
The Charlatans, Tellin’ Stories
Rob Collins, 1963–1996. That’s what this album meant to a lot of people. That organ sound, it’s what made The Charlatans at the beginning. It’s the sounds that defined them. That organ. And the death of organist Rob Collins signaled what for the band? They’d
Explosions in the Sky, The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place
Austin’s Explosions in the Sky continue their foray into intricate, driving instrumental mayhem and glory with The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place, their third full-length, and with a title that seems abbreviated in comparison to 2001’s extraordinary Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who
Winfred E. Eye, The Dirt Tier
This is the kind of music the punk-rock farmhands make when they head back to their quarters for late-night jams, tall tales, and corn whiskey. It’s slow, grinding, Depression-era rock. Tin Pan Alley with a Hammond organ. Things that shouldn’t match up, but really do. And it’s,
The Shins, Chutes Too Narrow
Oh, oh, oh, Oh, Inverted World was nothing short of mind-blowing, which means the follow-up from The Shins, Chutes Too Narrow, is going to be under some pretty serious scrutiny. Does it deliver? Oh, oh, oh, yes. Track by track, note for note, each song is magnificent: ‘Kissing the Lipless’
TRS-80, Shake Hands With Danger
Part One TRS-80 is a band, not a computer! Part Two Actually, it used to be a computer, and it looked like this. Prior to hearing this album, my primary experience with anything at all called ‘TRS-80’ was pretty bad. It was at computer camp one summer sometime in the
The Badger King, Break Up + The Showering Dragons
The Badger King broke up? Nope, but they got four new songs along with two new remixes of songs off last year’s triumphant Tongue and Tooth EP. The new songs stay the pretty much the same course you already know and love, albeit much shorter (not a one comes
The Emerald Down, Aquarium EP; A Study in Her, Auto-Amputation
Not in Oxford (OX4, for some of you), not in Reading, not anywhere in the U.K., in fact, but in Toledo, Ohio, is the where the new shoegazing (Ride, My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, et al) movement lives, courtesy of T-Town record label Honest in Secret, well-proven Ohio s’gazers
Colder, Again
Colder is Marc Nguyen Tan, a Parisian producer and designer who, yes, probably has every single Factory Records album in his record collection. You guessed it – this stuff sounds a lot like Joy Division et al. But instead of being yet another love letter to Ian Curtis and post-punk stylings,
Stars, Heart
‘I am Evan and this is my heart.’ ‘I am Amy and this is my heart.’ ‘I am Chris, this is my heart.’ ‘I am Torq, this is my heart.’ And that’s how Heart, the newest album from Montreal’s Stars, begins. The overall effect of the album could
T-minus Band, Four Legs to Three
T-minus Band is known for three things: 1) that it’s a true DIY project if ever there were one; 2) that it’s all done by one guy in Alabama named Troy T.; and 3) that nobody’s actually heard of T-minus Band. The only reason we know about
Dead Meadow, Shivering King and Others
Dead Meadow is dirty, dirty psychedelic rock of the Blue Cheer variety. In fact, so much of the sound is so authentic that you’d swear it was snaked straight out of a ‘60s acid burnout’s record collection. To take the metaphor to more extravagant frontiers, we’ll have
Mercury Rev, Deserter’s Songs
I’ve long held a belief in the twin, astral spirits of Mercury Rev and The Flaming Lips. Maybe it’s not real, but I’ve always perceived this direct line between the two bands. And, certainly, why not? They share a producer, the visionary Dave Fridmann. And Jonathan Donahue
Sterling, Sterling
Chicago’s Sterling is a maelstrom of wonderfully technical, instrumental rock. Oh my, a ‘maelstrom.’ Yes, that’s what I said. But, seriously, that’s no kidding around. Across eight untitled tracks and a wealth of soundscapes, Sterling develops a mood that is positively otherworldly and powerful. Hardly soothing, there’
The Stone Roses, Second Coming
‘It sounds like tree frogs.’ ‘It sucks.’ ‘Did Ian Brown just spend the last five years making field recordings?’ ‘It sounds like they’ve been recording in a rainforest.’ That was me and my friends and our general mumblings about the then-new Stone Roses album. We, along with everyone else
Dif Juz, Soundpool
Dif Juz, however you’re meant to pronounce it, is music for music dorks such as myself. Soundpool presents the quartet’s first two EPs, Huremics and Vibrating Air, with their excellent contribution to the Lonely Is An Eyesore 4AD compilation, ‘No Motion’ (which may, although I have no proof
The Thermals, More Parts Per Million
The Thermals are from Portland, Oregon. The Thermals are Hutch Harris and Kathy Foster (Hutch & Kathy, the All-Girl Summer Fun Band), Ben Barnett (Kind of Like Spitting), and Jordan Hudson (Operacycle). The Thermals are on Sub Pop. The Thermals are a punk-rock supergroup, you could say. Like Blind Faith
Red House Painters, Retrospective
Mark Kozelek is arguably one of the greatest songwriters of all time. And most humorously self-effacing. Which may be why this two-disc retrospective of his band, the Red House Painters, features – not one – but two cover versions of KISS’s ‘Shock Me.’ I mean, whoa. But Retrospective will be a
The Pale Saints, The Comforts of Madness
The Pale Saints: they were kind of like a cross between My Bloody Valentine and the Wedding Present. No, maybe more like a mix of Cocteau Twins with, um…who is it? No, it’s the Cocteau Twins because of the voice and all. Yeah, except it’s a guy
The Rolling Stones, Aftermath
Last year’s Rolling Stones remasters gave much more than just an improved audio experience, they also showed stateside listeners the real difference meddling U.S. record execs made in altering audiences’ perception of the band’s U.K. output. While both the U.S. and U.K. version of
Calla, Televise
It’s only January and already there’s a contender for Album of the Year. And, yes, this is it. What does it sound like? Yes, a cross between Nick Cave and My Bloody Valentine wouldn’t be totally off. But in the interest of science and because that wouldn’
The Malarkies, 10,000 Back Doors
‘The packaging of each CD is unique. Hand-printed with linoleum block lettering, each step of the printing process took several days. The last step of the assembly was affixing a 4 1/2" square of red felt inside each cover.’ Source: press release for The Malarkies’ new album, 10,
Ride, Nowhere
shoegazing (n): to stare at one’s shoes, typically while (whilst) playing loud, effects-laden guitar pop; coined to describe the stage presence of early-’90s British band Chapterhouse, whose tendency to stare at their feet instead of the audience was for some reason notable. Ride never really stared at their
Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Yanqui U.X.O.
I like to say that I’ve been trying to spread the gospel according to Godspeed You Black Emperor! for the last three years: students, colleagues, girlfriends, and family members have all heard me give witness to the nine-piece apocalyptic post-rock juggernaut from Montreal. But the truth is that the
Sigur Ros, ( )
If Godspeed You Black Emperor! looked out the window and said, ‘You know, maybe the world isn’t a vast, apocalyptic shit-hole after all,’ they might sound like Sigur Ros. Sigur Ros is out of Iceland. They toured with Radiohead a couple years ago, released an album called Agaetis Byrjun,
Beck, Sea Change
‘I’m sorry, sir, but you can’t board the ship now.’ ‘What do you mean? I have a ticket.’ ‘Very good, sir, but I’m still afraid you’re too late. You’ll have to wait for the next one.’ ‘But it hasn’t even left yet. Come on—
The Beach Boys, Pet Sounds
My brother, easily the most knowledgeable scholar of Beatle lore I’ve ever known, introduced me to Pet Sounds long, long ago. And this under the pretense that the Beach Boys’ 1966 album was what inspired the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Paul McCartney, apparently, saw in
The Kinks, Something Else By The Kinks
‘Waterloo Sunset’ is one of the best songs ever recorded by anyone ever. And of course that’s an overstatement. Nevertheless, it fizzles in as you’re scanning the radio stations, its number comes up on the jukebox, it swirls overhead in its Muzak-ified incarnation at the grocery store—and
Three Mile Pilot, Another Desert, Another Sea
Pete: And how do you take your coffee, Agent Cooper? Cooper: Black as midnight on a moonless night. Pete: Pret-ty black. It’s an exchange from an episode of Twin Peaks, if you didn’t already guess. And it’s a pretty good descriptor of this album, too: Black as
Interpol, Turn On The Bright Lights
Four terms this column will not use to describe the album: ‘Joy Division,’ ‘Ian Curtis,’ ‘New Wave,’ ‘Eighties.’ One that it will: ‘one of the finest albums of the year.’ Yes, Interpol may never shirk its reputation. After all, there’s that voice. It’s a strong, booming voice singing
The Badger King, The Tongue and Tooth
Don’t be fooled: yes, the first track of the EP, ‘The She Trilogy,’ begins just like The Who’s ‘Baba O’Riley.’ It’s got all those synthesizer arpeggios. You know the bit. This sounds just like ‘Baba O’Riley,’ you’ll say. And then—GOOD GOD—this voice.
David Bowie, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
The 30th anniversary of the release of David Bowie’s glam-rock magnum opus—and the album that defined the genre—is commemorated with this two-disc special edition, released last week. The album proper, should you have not heard by now, is required listening. It’s everything everyone’s ever said
Hot Snakes, Suicide Invoice
Full-throttle, straight-up Rock and Roll. Blow-your-mind, wreck-your-house Rock and Roll. This is Rock and Roll. At least, what we think of when we say ‘Rock and Roll’ these days. That’s to say, no—it’s not Elvis. Nevertheless, if I put this album on and looked over at you,
Sonic Youth, Murray Street
Sonic Youth’s new album—their sixteenth—is named after the block in Lower Manhattan where their studio is located. Murray Street is also where a jet engine landed on September 11. This album, however, seems to have little to do with any of that. Produced by Jim O’Rourke
DJ Shadow, Private Press
This, the long-awaited follow-up to 1996’s monumental Endtroducing…, was worth it. Worth every month, worth every day. It’s catchy, it’s spontaneous, it’s gorgeous. (Again) Shadow generates tracks that utterly defy categorization. It’s definitely more mature and there are a number of instances where the genres
Xiu Xiu, Knife Play
This is a very personal album. A look at singer Jamie Stewart’s message on the cover sticker says it immediately: ‘When my mom died I listened to Henry Cowell, Joy Division, Detroit techno, the Smiths, Takemitsu, Sabbath, Gamelan, ‘Black Angels’ and Cecil Taylor.’ Nothing held back here. No real
Interpol, Interpol EP
Three new songs from New York City’s Interpol. Their recent signing to Matador has definitely given them access to higher production values, and it’s immediately apparent, right from the first track—the re-recorded ‘PDA.’ A well-written song any way you cut it, it’s had new life breathed
The Mere, The Mere
Athens, Georgia’s The Mere is Jacob Flint. Oh, the name? It’s because he ‘wanted a band name that was short and said nothing about him at all.’ The Mere? Yes, and it’s among the best new music you’ve likely never heard. The Mere sounds like a
Moviola, Rumors of the Faithful
Dirty, soulful pop reminiscent of Alex Chilton, The Byrds, and Neil Young. Kind of. Okay, no—here’s what it’s like: all of Big Star and Crosby, Stills, & Nash get liquored up and go out to the country for the weekend. Wait, maybe Jeff Tweedy’s along for
Skywave, Don’t Say Slow
Soaring, searing noise-pop reminiscent of The Jesus and Mary Chain’s best moments, this EP from up-and-coming Virginia band Skywave is eminently listenable and ultimately rewarding for those willing to dig deeper into the sound. The lead-off, title track grinds steadily along beneath a riff of pure distortion. The vocals
Unwound, Leaves Turn Inside You
This, the most recent Unwound record, is among their finest work—and that’s saying a lot, given their history of creating challenging, enthralling music. This two-disc tour de force is almost unthinkably brilliant, and surprises at every turn, all the while bursting through the carefully constructed wall of—not
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, Source Tags & Codes
Long renowned for their incendiary live shows and penchant for violently, physically tearing through the perceived wall between stage and audience, the Trail of Dead offer the future, not of rock ‘n’ roll, but of something altogether more inspirational and engaging in Source Tags & Codes. Every track is extraordinary.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, The Boatman’s Call
‘Poignant’ may be an overused word. Poignant books, poignant movies, poignant moments. But nothing is as poignant as this album, its ability to pierce your soul, so directly, with its unrelenting simplicity and forthrightness. The whole of the album is a full, horrible, beautiful experience. A somber invective against a
Cocteau Twins, Heaven or Las Vegas
Crisp, ethereal beauty, from the masters of the field. The Cocteau Twins’ so often take great steps in differing their sound from whatever its previous incarnation may have been, while still retaining an aesthetic that was always and only theirs: gibberish lyrics (poor diction mixed with made-up words, according to
Interpol, Precipitate EP
Raw, inspiring arrangements and memorable, unique methods of song development make Interpol's debut EP the finest release from an NYC band in some time. These songs are deceptively simple—in structure and instrumentation; repeated listens prove a satisfying way to discover this. The bizarre, near-brilliant lyrics are perfectly
Soviet, We Are Eyes, We Are Builders
It could be argued that NYC’s Soviet are part of the city’s current fascination with all things ‘80s. And that would be a gross misevaluation, given their undeniable (and proven) ability to write really good songs and perform them really well. Over the whole of the album, the
The Emerald Down, Scream The Sound
The Emerald Down harnesses an obvious love for the shoegazer scene of the early ‘90s, matching it with more modern songwriting possibilities. Truly, these songs sound much like Slowdive, et al, but are far, far more structurally interesting and developed (see especially ‘7AM,’ which twists and morphs to utter disbelief
Stina Nordenstam, This is Stina Nordenstam
Swedish chanteuse Stina Nordenstam surprises with an eclectic mix of musical styles and influences, aided to unforgettable effect on two tracks (‘Trainsurfing’ and ‘Keen Yellow Planet’) by Suede’s Brett Anderson. This album is a mystery: underneath each, seemingly very simple, hardly written song, is a bona-fide gem, standing solidly
Tarentel, The Order of Things
Disruptive, foreboding, (and mostly) instrumental, The Order of Things (a reference to French Structuralist Michel Foucault?) is often a somber affair. Taking this into account, one should not steer away from this finely crafted album, the intricateness and depth of which absolutely astounds. Transporting. Favorite tracks: ‘Adonai,’ ‘Popul Vuh,’ ‘Death
Rhythm of Black Lines, Set a Summery Table
Rhythm of Black Lines makes invigorating, sweeping Prog, as elusive as it is enchanting, with guitar, bass, and drums individually—and uniquely—pushing the limits of your comprehension. This is Prog that evokes the classic strains of Yes and Genesis, not the neo-Prog of the Thrill Jockey set: look for
David Bowie, Station to Station
Because his cocaine use at the time was so heavy, David Bowie does not remember 1976, the year this album saw release. I suppose it’s just as well, since much of Station to Station sounds like the work of someone in a very unique place, much as this album
Polvo, Today’s Active Lifestyles
Awkward and backwards, North Carolina’s Polvo surprises at every turn. ‘Is this the part? No, wait, here it comes.’ Repeated listens won’t deter the confusion, but the songs always sounds good, and Polvo knew when to keep the good bits going, and when to cut the meaningless meanderings
Yes, Fragile
Prog rock at one of its finest moments, though perhaps not at its most ambitious (and that should probably be seen as a good thing), Fragile sees Yes expressing restraint in its endeavors, with a keen eye toward expanding the parameters of an, erm…eight-minute pop song in ‘Roundabout,’ with
My Bloody Valentine, Loveless
A mind-searing epic of beauty, 1991’s Loveless is an album that, in itself, spawned thousands of bands, and changed the face of music in so very many ways, in so many ways to have reached an undeniably legendary status. Songs that can somehow compress no fewer than forty separate
Bedhead, Transaction de Novo
At one point I was a fanatic for the lazy, droning sounds of Bedhead, and I went to every show they played. Then one time I saw them and decided that either they were the most boring, pathetic band imaginable or I’d just gotten a whole lot more exciting
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, Relative Ways EP
The first offering from the Trail of Dead since 1999’s Madonna, the Relative Ways EP shows a band further tempering an awesome penchant for violent energy with an unmistakable pop sensibility. Tracks: ‘Relative Ways’ gives us a mature, chiming guitar riff and the catchiest Trail of Dead song to
Sonic Youth, Daydream Nation
Sonic Youth’s 1988 magnum opus is, indeed, one of the finest albums ever recorded by anyone. Not necessarily a concept album, although a strong musical theme carries across the whole of it, Daydream Nation bursts at the seams with surprisingly catchy (?), engaging songs, while never losing sight of the
Mogwai, Young Team
This 1997 LP was the first Mogwai record I owned, given to me by a friend who bought it for the cover and then couldn’t stand the music. Four years later it sounds just as moody, crisp, and vibrant as the first time I heard it. The now-classic ‘Mogwai
The Prima Donnas, Drugs, Sex & Discotheques
The Austin by way of Sussex (uh, right…) Prima Donnas—Otto Matik, Niki Holiday, and Julius Seizure—took our world by storm in the late nineties with their decidedly nouveau-New-Wave pop anthems. Alas, they are now defunct, but their music has inspired an entire movement in modern music—the now-pervasive
Explosions in the Sky, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forev
Instrumental bombast, everlasting beauty: a truly unforgettable album from what will certainly be an unforgettable band. While Explosions in the Sky recreate a sound oft-explored by the likes of Godspeed You Black Emperor! and Mogwai, they choose to leave out all the soft-soft build-up—instead focusing on the loud-loud crash-in,
T-minus Band, Technostalgia
Pure, precious pop: Alabama’s T-minus Band, consisting solely of songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Troy T., offers a delightful slice of all the music you've ever liked: psychedelic, electro, glam, rap, goth, arena rock, trip-hop, country, mod pop…and the list goes on. If there’s a cohesive message here,
Fridge, Happiness
This is delicate music—and perfect electronic/acoustic pop. A very direct comparison might be to Durutti Column, although Fridge create a more balanced, more far-reaching soundscape. Yet, somehow, it all comes across very simply; in fact, the song titles tell you exactly what to expect: e.g., ‘Melodica and
Chris Lee, Plays & Sings Torch’d Songs, Charivari Hymns & Oriki Blue-Marche
Showing more maturity and self-assurance than the self-titled debut of last year, Plays & Sings Torch’d Songs… shows an overt sense of confidence: some tracks are multi-layered, with relaxed horns, vocal harmonies, extra keyboards or guitar; others are strong and simple, just bass, guitar and Lee's voice.
Fugazi, Repeater
This record is highly recommended—inspiring, heartfelt, profoundly intense. Fugazi’s pleas for social responsibility and the devotion with which they approach their cause ring loud and clear on every song. Favorite tracks: ‘Turnover,’ ‘Repeater,’ ‘Sieve-Fisted Find’
New Order, Get Ready
New Order make a triumphant return with Get Ready, their first record since 1993’s Republic. They’ve definitely tweaked their setup a bit (more guitar—a lot more), but they've retained their distinctive sound and, in many ways, have improved upon it—especially in ‘Primitive Notion,’ which
The Faint, Danse Macabre
Do I hate to make another Faint album the album of the week so soon? No—not when it’s this good. Intricate, engaging songs make the follow-up to their strong Blank-Wave Arcade a thoroughly good listen, over and over again. Goth? Pish-posh. And so well-thought-out; so much to digest
Public Image Ltd., The Flowers of Romance
Tribal, synth-laden—oh, and you better believe it’s avant-garde—this 1981 release from PiL is a head-trip of violence and beauty. John Lydon’s lovely sing-song lyrics carelessly riding atop the stark instrumentation only add to the fun (?). Definitely not for everyone, but certainly a necessity for many. Favorite
Vitesse, Chelsea 27099
Bright, persistent synth-driven pop—just what’s needed to get us all (those in New York, anyway) out of this rain-fueled slump, though the skill with which Vitesse craft these apparently simple, yet misleadingly elegant songs is reason enough to hear this album. Yes, Vitesse owes a debt to The
The Fall, This Nation’s Saving Grace
Abrasive? Anarchic? Just nuts? I don’t know and I don’t think they ever knew, either—or cared—and in that may be what makes this 1985 release such a worthwhile listen: it’s wholly original. Quite seriously, in an age of reprocessed/recycled culture and music (that being,
Chris Clark, Clarence Park
Warp Records wunderkind Chris Clark will change the way you feel about experimental electronic music. Though continually pushing the envelope, Clarence Park never loses sight of being listenable. Clark's debut album showcases his ability to run a wide gamut of emotion: sometimes bleak (‘A Laugh With Hills’), occasionally
New Order, Technique
Right now it’s really hot in New York. Really hot. Something about the vacant, tropical, acid-house sound on this album makes it perfect for what we’re all sweating through here. Recorded in (where else?) Ibiza (upon, reportedly, a legendarily massive load of drugs), this 1989 release strikes a
The Lies, Resigned
In this album San Francisco’s The Lies have crafted an intense, lovely, soaring effort that touches so many different levels of emotion and influence that this seems almost to be in a field all of its own. Keep an eye on what they do next. Favorite tracks: ‘Accident &
Adult., Resuscitation
Detroit’s Adult. (always written with the period) is detailed, nuanced, modern, electronic music for every activity that comes to mind. Hard to describe, except in that it features pervasive vocals, extremely well-written songs, and an impeccable sense of the drama it creates. Favorite track: ‘Hand to Phone’
Air, 10,000 Hz Legend
For the stutter beat in ‘Electronic Performers.’ For the chorus of ‘How Does It Make You Feel?’ (and for the lights). And for everything about ‘Sex Born Poison,’ this, Air’s newest release, is the album of the week. This isn’t fashion music, it’s not photo-shoot music, and
Lowercase, Going-Away Present
Dark, driving punk rock sewn from the same fabric as Unwound. But it’s different, mind you: this is death-wish music. Oh, yes, and then comes the screaming. Might want to make that stop, though. Favorite track: ‘The Open Sea’
The Faint, Blank-Wave Arcade
They played two shows here in New York last weekend—both sold out and I didn’t get into either one. It’s a shame, too, since I saw them last year at what was one of the most impressive shows I’d seen in a long, long time. This,
A Silver Mt. Zion, He Has Left Us Alone But Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corners of Our Rooms
This Godspeed You Black Emperor! side project featuring Efrim shows a more focused version of the music for which Godspeed has become synonymous. Here you will find a much more distinct utilization of leitmotifs, the ever-present brooding, percussive strings, and, happily, vocals(!). I passed this by when it first came
Suede, Sci-Fi Lullabies
A two-disc collection of b-sides from Suede (AKA ‘The London’ Suede, for legal reasons…) is a beautiful idea, in that it could easily be argued that no band has ever put so much thought into their single b-side releases, almost treating those three-song releases (one ‘a’ song and two ‘b’
Bjork, Selmasongs
The only way to ‘get’ this album is, I would surmise, to watch the film, Dancer in the Dark, for which this music was composed. And if you like the film as much as I did, you’ll want to hear this music again and again. Especially the brilliant, orchestral
Spiritualized, Pure Phase
It is, apparently, mixed separately by channel. Which, certainly, means you should listen to it with headphones. And it’s brilliant, through heartbreaking delicateness to devastating chaos and back again. Never mind…it’s impossible to describe. Best track: ‘Feel Like Goin’ Home’
Daft Punk, Discovery
I first heard this album last week and it’s purely coincidence that this record is today’s top review on Pitchfork: really, I swear. Okay, so you don’t care, because you know what a great album this is. Anyway, I, too, think it’s a fantastic album (and
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Peel Sessions
In case you didn’t know, OMD is not just about ‘If You Leave.’ And this compilation of Peel Sessions from 1979 to 1983 highlights their songwriting ability, focus, and technique by stripping all the songs to their essentials…especially notable on ‘Enola Gay.’ This edition also includes their brilliant
Max Tundra, Some Best Friend You Turned Out to Be
No kidding: it takes a while to figure it out (even vaguely), but once you do there's probably little music that will make you (as in ‘persuade you to be’) as happy to hear as what Max Tundra’s put together here. It’s definitely chaotic, but not
Elliott Smith, Elliott Smith
Elliott Smith’s 1995 self-titled album is the album of the week for one reason: the song ‘St. Ides Heaven.’ Yeah, the rest of the album is fantastic, classic Elliott Smith (beautiful vocals, fingerpicking, near-perfect song structures), don’t get me wrong. But it’s ‘St. Ides Heaven’…that’s
A.R.E. WEAPONS, A.R.E. WEAPONS
New York Muscle: Equal parts Throbbing Gristle, Suicide, Grandmaster Flash, and, well, A.R.E. WEAPONS, this is a gritty, challenging debut album from the much-loved DJ pair from D.C. Thick, rough synth rhythms built for dancing. [ purchase ]
The Tindersticks, Curtains
Brooding and sensual (probably not the first time those words have been used to describe this album), Curtains is magnificent, heartbreaking, and simply grandiose. The songs on the album are at once brash and delicate, sincere and crass, self-assured and insecure—but always riveting. And, I’ve always felt, somehow
Television, Marquee Moon
A perfect record from beginning to end, Marquee Moon is one of the best albums ever (ever) recorded. If you’ve heard it, you know what we’re talking about; if you haven’t, maybe it’s time you did. Soaring, woven guitar melodies from Richard Lloyd and Tom Verlaine,
The Charlatans, Up To Our Hips
This album is brilliant in the way it plainly looks you in the eye and tells you to fuck off. Few albums have ever shown so little apparent regard for anything or anyone. It’s just cool. Absolutely. And what makes this such a great album to listen to is
Mirwais, Production
Production is brilliant, although we’re not sure exactly why. Every song on the album is good, that’s for sure, but a lot of the work would be difficult to call ‘groundbreaking.’ Instead, this is music that is well-crafted and studied: every beat, every sound…everything is in the
Brian Eno, Another Green World
Easily one of the most compelling, distinct (and best) albums ever recorded, Another Green World marks an important turning point in Brian Eno’s career (and, truthfully, perhaps the whole of music), showcasing the perfect glam(ish)-pop gems for which Eno had prior been known so well alongside moodier,
Depeche Mode, 101
On Saturday, June 18, 1988, Depeche Mode played the final show of their Music For The Masses tour. The show, their 101st of the tour, was played to a sold-out Rose Bowl—approximately 80,000 people—in Pasadena, California; this double album documents that night. The live renditions of such
Phoenix, United
This is the final album of the week for 2000 and, as such, it seems appropriate that TMN say that this album is our favorite of the whole year. No top-ten lists here, just a top-‘one.’ But what is there to say about this album? You’ve already heard
Joy Division, Substance 1977-1980
Compiling early raw material and a number of later singles and b-sides, Substance 1977-1980 is a fine, impressive collection not exclusively for Joy Division/Factory completists, but really for everyone, which is an uncommon effect in singles and b-sides collections, really; this often, in fact, seems like an intended album.
Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Lift Yr. Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven
The first LP was groundbreaking; the EP took that momentum and displayed a tightness that was teeth-shattering; and now (actually, last October, when this record came out) Godspeed You Black Emperor! must certainly be at the height of their powers: full-on walls of sound (that never fear veering straight into
Mercury Rev, Yerself Is Steam
It’s a far, far cry from Deserter’s Songs, most definitely, and this is where it all began for Mercury Rev. Exploding on the musical map like (and we’re quoting here) a dorm-room bong hit, Mercury Rev made no apologies and offered no explanations for an album that
Jonathan Fire*Eater, Wolf Songs for Lambs
The short, tumultuous career of the D.C. quintet Jonathan Fire*Eater culminated in the 1997 release of their debut album, the quality of which may only be surpassed by their Tremble Under Boom Lights EP. Riding high on a wave of hype that was, in every way, utterly deserved,
Echo & The Bunnymen, Ocean Rain
One of the best albums Echo & The Bunnymen recorded and, certainly, their most ambitious. Three years before finally infiltrating American shores with their Doors-esque ‘Bedbugs and Ballyhoo’ (or their cover of The Doors’ ‘People Are Strange,’ for that matter), The Bunnymen astounded the music world with this beautifully orchestrated
Doves, Lost Souls
The most obvious reference point for this album, which has, in the past week, put Morning News staffers in their rightful place (and asking themselves why they hadn’t listened to this masterpiece before and thanking our friend Victor for making us do so), is a Britain in the early