Brian Wilson’s Smile was the best album of last year. Hands-down. The performance of Smile, accompanied by his 18-piece band, at Denver’s Paramount Theater last October was absolutely fantastic. So it pains me a little bit to portray Brian in anything but a genius light. But his interviews are such a […]
I don’t know what to make of this. Today, Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins, Zwan) took out a full-page ad in the Chicago Tribune with the title “A Message to Chicago from Billy Corgan.”
For over 17 years I have been proud to represent Chicago as an artist through my words and music, and […]
I always wonder how the occasional bluegrass band gets the attention of the indie press when there are about a hundred other comparable bands vying for the spot. It would be nice to think the band is just plain awesome. But it’s more likely a matter of label connections, personal connections, and, well, […]
Everyone’s favorite Duluth, slow-core, Mormon, husband-and-wife duo Low were interviewed last week on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross. Alan and Mimi thoughtfully talk about the intellectual origins of the band’s sound, Alan’s recent emotional instabilities, and their family relationship. It’s an interesting interview, but Terry (arguably radio’s greatest interviewer) lacks her typically […]
Is there no end to the goodness over at EMusic? The royalty-free paid download service continues to add the most critically acclaimed releases of 2005, including the recent additions of Bloc Party’s Silent Alarm, Architecture in Helsinki’s In Case We Die, and Antony & the Johnson’s I Am a Bird Now (the fourth highest-rated […]
How does an unsigned band from Denver find national critical and radio coverage? Denver’s world punk outfit Devotchka has figured it out - put out vibrant, interesting music and live the “hip unsigned band” honeymoon as long as possible.
The eclectic quartet performs an energetic mix of Eastern European and South American music […]
I really don’t like receiving press kits in the mail. I view the press kit as an expensive carrier for one thing: the band’s web address. In our connected, electronic world the heavy folder / glossy b&w photo / shrink-wrapped CD package seems like a complete waste of everyone’s resources. So, in […]
I’ve never quite figured out what qualifies a CD for the explicit lyrics sticker. Case in point: Modest Mouse’s excellent Good News for People Who Love Bad News, whose “Black Cadillac” repeatedly drops the f-bomb in its shout-along chorus, managed to avoid the sticker. Meanwhile, Bloc Party’s recent Silent Alarm gets the sticker […]
Psst… Some random person on the street pulled me aside and let me listen to the still unreleased Fiona Apple CD Extraordinary Machine. And I have to say: it’s fantastic. The ominous violins and cellos of opener “Not About Love” draw you in and the rest of the tracks never really let up. […]
Rolling Stone’s David Fricke recently gave Bruce Springsteen’s upcoming Devils & Dust CD a whopping 4.5 stars. Gasp. I have not heard the CD, but given what I’ve read about it this seems a bit generous. (Maybe they were just turned on by “Reno” in which the Boss explicitly recounts an […]