Brooklyn Ski Club (Free subscription) | 06/11/2009
CMJ darlings Freelance Whales are playing Pianos tonight. This band was without a doubt my favorite discovery during CMJ.They're fucking adorable. They kinda sound like Arcade Fire but much more childish and I mean that in a good, no great, way. They sound like a kids version of Arcade Fire and look like a whole band of Matt & Kims, all smiles - all the time. When I first saw them I turned do my...
Sweeping The Nation (Free subscription) | 06/11/2009
Some songs have a structure and style that instantly defines them as ‘classics’. No doubt many end of decade lists will feature songs by The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, White Strips, Arcade Fire etc. All the kinds of songs that journalists wet themselves over and will discuss in future years in Q/Uncut/Mojo type publications. It’s pretty damn likely that Foundations by Kate Nash will...
Classic Rock and More (Free subscription) | 06/11/2009
Peter Gabriel is reportedly set to release an orchestral covers album. Called "Scratch My Back" the album is reported to be a "song swap" with a host of "extremely legendary artists" set to cover each other's material. "The songs are not simply covers," Gabriel collaborator John Metcalfe told BBC 6 Music. "They are major reinterpretations of some famous...
Circles of Concrete (Free subscription) | 05/11/2009
Christmas Fuller Project is an independent band based out of Fayetteville, AR. Three of the four are students at the University of Arkansas. They've been playing together for about four years and have a demo EP and a DIY full-length album under their belts, but their latest EP, Green & Lonely , is their first studio recording. Christmas Fuller Project’s primary influences include Radiohead,...
Veritas Lux Mea (Free subscription) | 05/11/2009
Forgive me for being the crotchety 28 year old here, but I don't get kids most of the time these days, what with their penchant for stars like Paris Hilton or music like anything you will ever hear on the radio, but at least there's some kids out there these days doing something that makes sense. Teenage quartet The Lower 48 is a new band comprised of an eclectic blend of classically trained musicians,...
Veritas Lux Mea (Free subscription) | 05/11/2009
The wife is sick and laying on the couch watching sitcoms so I'm relegated to my MLB.com audio subscription to listen to the World Series tonight. Hoping Pedro can keep the Phillies in it, despite the New York media's attempts to throw him off - we'll see. On the plus side, that does give me some time to do some blogging... Ounsworth and Flashy Python to open for Cold War Kids If you're heading out...
thus spake drake (Free subscription) | 04/11/2009
Weird to think it was five years ago that I started this mess of a blog. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times: Guided By Voices were on their farewell tour, Arcade Fire's Funeral was stuck on repeat, and GWB had somehow just been elected President again. That's what I ended up writing about, which was a distraction from what I thought the blog was going to be about -- the confluence...
Sweeping The Nation (Free subscription) | 04/11/2009
Funeral provides an interesting bisection in the decade. Before it: New Rock Revolution. After it: Fleet Foxes-fronted inclusive Americana, Modest Mouse and the Shins having US number one albums, the return of, to coin Mike Scott of the Waterboys' phrase, The Big Music. Hearing this some time in the second half of 2004 - it's easily overlooked now that they were as much a blog band as anyone - it was...
The Allmusic Blog (Free subscription) | 03/11/2009
Sufjan Stevens’ Illinois is the best album of the 2000s, according to a recent list issued by Paste Magazine. Bright Eyes, Radiohead, Kid A, Arcade Fire, and Wilco also occupy the top five. [PasteMagazine.com] Chris Brown has unveiled the futuristic cover art for Graffiti, the singer’s first release since his highly publicized attack on Rihanna earlier [...]
Idolator (Free subscription) | 03/11/2009
Yesterday, Paste released its list of the 50 Best Albums Of The 2000s, and the list was topped by none other than Sufjan Stevens' Illinoise , which honestly seems like it was released way longer ago, so established has he become in the indie-rock firmament. Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot , the Arcade Fire's Funeral , Radiohead's Kid A , and Bright Eyes' I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning rounded out the top...
CBC Radio 3 (Free subscription) | 03/11/2009
Rufus Wainwright & The Arcade Fire (x2) make Paste's 50 Best Albums of Decade list. Stereogum Get the tracklisting for John K. Sampson's new solo album City Route 85 . CMJ Bishop Allen announce new video + Vancouver show. Stereogum Listen to Beck & Charlotte Gainsbourgh cover "Heaven Can Wait". The Playlist [Photo: Rufus Wainwright @ the Ottawa Folk Festival, submitted by Roy Layer...
prefixmag (Free subscription) | 03/11/2009
Paste’s 50 Best Albums of the Decade list, out today, is a mixture of A-list indie rock standards and token hip hop and mainstream picks. These selections are mostly successful releases that cater to a white audience of semi-alternative persuasion. Even if this roster is more a reflection of who's reading than the music itself, though, at least they climbed the mountain -- and hey, the album...
Byrnesys Blabberings (Free subscription) | 03/11/2009
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2009-11-1) : U2 (13) Jesus Culture (8) Coldplay (6) Fiction Fight (2) Arcade Fire (2) Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
Fluxblog (Free subscription) | 02/11/2009
Oh No Ono “The Wave Ballet” The singer — I’m not sure of their gender! — sounds rather like Geddy Lee, and the band makes the Arcade Fire sound like a very restrained duo. The song starts with a choral section, and builds to an arena ballad of symphonic majesty. Just so you know, that’s what [...]
Human Under Construction (Free subscription) | 02/11/2009
Quite spoofy Heyloween song with Karen O, Beck, some Rilo Kiley, some Arcade Fire and all the rest with proceeds going to Unicef .
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