Amoeba’s ‘What’s In My Bag’ With Marshall Crenshaw
Last summer, singer songwriter Marshall Crenshaw visited California with The Bottle Rockets and he had the chance to haunt my favorite place in Los Angeles, Amoeba Music, for an episode […]
Dengue Fever At Amoeba, Sunday March 1st 2015
They are a grand ensemble, playing music with a lush and ample orchestration, using a lot of instruments, saxophone, small trumpet, keyboard and flute beside the usual guitar-drums-bass classic rock combination, and they could be one of the most diverse rock bands I have ever seen, on the human as well as on the sonic levels
You Won’t Probably Never Listen To This Wu-Tang Clan Album
The rap band has decided to defy the idea as the album is housed ‘in a custom-made nickel-and-silver box in a Moroccan vault’, and last year they said they wanted to take the single edition on tour, charging people to hear it on headphones with heavy security around… again crazy idea!
Smoke Season, Tapioca And The Flea At The Sayers Club, Saturday February 28th 2015
Smoke Season’s sound is a bit mysterious and hard to exactly pinpoint as it brings to mind a blend of psychedelic electronic pop haunted by an Americana flavor,… but they simply define their music as ‘dustbowl soul’ on their Facebook page. Whatever you call it, the band has a formidable energy on stage
Kanye West, This Crazy God’s Vessel
joke about Kanye West all the time, but he must be the most divisive musician ever, people either love him or hate him, he sure polarizes people, however I just don’t get the coverage that this guy can receive. He comes up with the most trite title and everyone is talking about i, when it is just a name
‘Salad Days: The D.C. Punk Revolution’ Documentary
The myth of the D.C. Straight Edge is another thing the movie should clear up, it just started as a reaction against venues with age restrictions due to alcohol consumption, and punk teenagers just wanted teenagers to be able to attend gigs. Despite the fact that MacKaye has never wanted to be a movement (that would have been very un-punk) the term has pursued him to this day, to his greatest aggravation.
No Björk Vulnicura On Spotify… Does It Even Matter?
It’s funny how a veteran like her admits ‘to make it up as it goes’… doesn’t she have years of experience in the business? It’s true that the business has changed a lot and now artists get paid pennies for millions of streams, so I can understand the decisions of artists of her caliber.
Listen To Will Butler’s Three Last Songs For The Guardian
‘The words to today’s song are taken from Psalm 137. It’s a song of sorrow and rage from the mouth of a refugee whose city has been destroyed. The sorrow portion of the psalm is extremely famous and often quoted – ”How can we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?”
It’s A Kid Rock-Beyonce War: Can Someone Punch This Racist Sexist Idiot In The Face?
People are like, ‘Beyoncé’s hot. Got a nice fucking ass.’ I’m like, ‘Cool, I like skinny white chicks with big tits.’ Doesn’t really fucking do much for me. Not liking her music is one thing but…
The Airborne Toxic Event At Amoeba, Wednesday February 25th 2015
They did a mix of old and new numbers as it is always the case in these shows, but they played them with the same overflowing and joyful energy and over-the-top rocking bombast.
How To Dress Well, Swimm At Sayers Club, Wednesday February 25th 2015
Krell showed wearing a very sportive outfit (a white tank and two long shorts), and he seemed much more ready to play tennis than sing his poignant music, but somehow the whole thing seemed to fit his original and lovable persona. If the music often culminated to some insane emotional apotheosis, he constantly cracked jokes between songs and abundantly chatted with the crowd all night long.
In Search Of The Ghost Of The MP3
Ryan explained that the format decided what should be excluded from the final audio file and that tests, determining which sounds were more important than others, were designed ‘by and for western-European men, and using the music they liked’. European men? What a surprise!
Are You Ready For A Brian Wilson’s Biopic?
This time it is Brian Wilson’s turn, played by the brilliant Paul Dano. I like this guy so this upcoming movie can’t be a total mess right? ‘Love & Mercy’, directed by Bill Pohlad (‘The Tree of Life’) from a script by Oren Moverman and Michael Alan Lerner, will be released on June 5th in a theater near you. The movie, which narrates the career of the Beach Boys and their rise to the top of the world of rock & roll, has a new trailer
Colleen Green At Amoeba, Tuesday February 24th 2015
At Amoeba, she sang her hook-filled tunes with a soft and dreamy voice, strongly contrasting with a loud and almost sludgy punk guitar, and she could be a sort of Best Coast with a harsher side, or a female-version of Weezer with simpler songs.
Will Butler’s Second Guardian-News-Inspired Song: ‘Waving Flag’
Butler wrote the song after reading about the repatriation of the body of anti Apartheid hero Moses Kotane from Russia to South Africa. Kotane was a great influence on Nelson Mendela and he was also a communist, which first confused Butler
Will Butler’s First Guardian-Story Song: ‘Clean Monday’
‘I’m rooting for Greece. I mean, broadly, who the hell isn’t rooting for Greece? Even if you’re super right wing, or super German, or super capitalist you probably don’t want Greece tumbling out of the Euro and defaulting on its debts.
Kanye West Wants To Make A Video Game About His Mother’s Trip To Heaven
So right now I’m working on a video game for ‘Only One.’ The idea is, it’s my mother going through the gates of heaven and you have to bring her to the highest gates of heaven by holding her to the light. We’ve been working on it for like six months.’
Air + Style Festival At The Rose Bowl, Sunday February 22nd 2015
Sunday lineup included Steve Aoki, The Flaming Lips, Edward Sharpe and Magnetic Zeros, Deap Vally, Sleigh Bells, Cults, the Black and the White, Surfer Blood, Tennis System and I managed to see most of them. However, once on the field, I realized the organizers had made another big mistake beside not checking the weather, it was Oscars weekend!!
Arcade Fire’s Will Butler To Write A Song A Day About A Guardian News Story
I just wonder what subjects he will pick, it’s difficult to be optimistic about another ISIS beheading. Take any headlines on the Guardian website today, ‘South Sudan gunmen kidnap at least 89 boys from village near Malakal’, ’14-year-old Palestinian jailed for stone-throwing maintains innocence’ ‘Jewish magazine in Germany to be delivered in plain envelopes’ … ouch!
Goodnight, Texas At The Silverlake Lounge, Friday February 20th 2015
Americana-folk putting banjo and mandolin center stage with uplifting choruses? How could anyone resist? Plus I detected some subtle waltz-y pulses on some songs, going in indie wistful territory, as well as a few whipped Cash rhythms for everyone’s joy
Scarlett Johansson’s Supergroup Debut ‘Candy’
‘The idea was to write super-pop dance music written and performed by girls,’ Johansson says in a press release. ‘I love Grimes. And I love the Bangles. And I love the Go-Go’s. I wanted it to be like those bands: ultra pop but also a little ironic, a little in on the joke.
Forebear, Nick Greer, Hidden Charms, Barbarian At The Lyric Theater, Thursday February 19th 2015
The music was explosive to bombastic with a dose of distortion and their big sprawling sound, served by layered vibrating guitars, a Korg organ and Andrew Mills’ deep vocals, had a very muscular foot-tapping side. They were going from dark anthems with steady drumming and ascending repeats to post-punk dance-floor numbers, installing a powerful mood
Starbucks To Stop Selling CDs At The End Of March, But Who Cares?
A definite sign of the times, we won’t be able to get your CD with your favorite coffee anymore! Yeap, Starbucks will stop selling CDs at the end of next
The Flaws Of Our Stars
currently see a trend, people imagine their pop stars like flawless goddesses and at the least imperfection revealed there is an internet drama,… and in both cases it was not a reaction from the stars but a reaction from the fans themselves!
Sleater Kinney In Bob’s Burgers Fantasy
There is always something magical about seeing musicians in cartoon, it’s funny and cute and Carrie, Corin and Janet have never looked so powerful at what they are doing. They make the Burgers crew bounce, kick and jump to the riotous tune, ‘A New Wave’, which is of course one song off Sleater Kinney’s latest release ‘No Cities to Love’
The Adolescents At Amoeba, Wednesday February 18th 2015, Reviewed
Tony Cadena, Steve Soto, Dan Root, Ian Taylor and Mike Cambra gave a good example of what they call vengeance, if they weren’t that extraordinarily dynamic on stage, the crowd was difficult to contain at some point, and Amoeba security guards were patrolling the rows non-stop
A Church In London Will Hung A Lifesize Pete Doherty Crucifixion Sculpture
Artist Nick Reynold, who originally made the statue in 2008, declared in a statement: ’When I created this work I saw Pete being crucified by the media and that provided the basis of my inspiration to make this piece’,
New Blank On Blank Animation: Lou Reed On The Beatles
When [bands] did try to get, in quotes, ‘arty,’ it was worse than stupid rock & roll. What I mean by ‘stupid,’ I mean, like, the Doors.’… ‘I never liked the Beatles, I thought they were garbage. If you say, ‘Who did you like?’ I liked nobody.’
Listen To Metz’s New Single ‘Acetate’
The song is their usual earth-shaking, head-banging, ear-bleeding party, as I said, they have an excellent recipe and they keep delivering new and improved versions of their powerful formula. ‘Acetate’ is a grungy distortion with massive dissonance
FOMO Fest At The Echo, Sunday February 15th 2015
I mean I truly have this fear of missing out all the time, and everyone has a DVR right? I ended up seeing 14 bands, which is quite a lot for the same afternoon/evening, and I will try to remember about all of them… Thanks god or whatever, I took notes!
The Best Of Kanye West’s Style Magazine Interview
‘One of my dreams was to be the head creative director of the Gap. I’d like to be the Steve Jobs of the Gap.’ Some ambitious thought there, although the Gap? Really Kanye? That generic, right-in-the-middle-of-the-road brand? I know what you are gonna say, these sentences are taken out of context, but really, does the context matter with Kanye?
Diplo Fights An Artist On Twitter, Sort Of Apologizes
Does he realize how stupid and sexist he appears when he tweets stuff like this? For some reason, people think they can be total dick on Twitter or Facebook, because I am sure he would have never said this to the woman in person, but his reaction is so immature… and may be he realized it and sort of apologized two days later on TwitLonger
Madonna Too Old For BBC Radio ?
Meaning, yeah, we used to play her a lot in the 80s, but she is definitively too old now, despite what a Radio 1 spokesman said: ‘Tracks are chosen on musical merit, and while around 40 per cent of the country’s 15 to 29-year-olds tune into Radio 1 each week, an artist’s age is never a factor.’
Death Cab For Cutie’s New Video ‘Black Sun’
a lot has happened in Gibbard’s private life and it’s probably not a coincidence if the album is named after a Japanese art which involves fixing broken things without hiding their scars, an obvious metaphor for his broken marriage?
Why It Is Important To Know How Elliott Smith Died
I don’t know where these people get their information, The Smoking Gun showing the autopsy report is still online but it’s true there is a lot of confusion in the media. Still, misinformation is one thing, and these are not the comments which bother me the most.
Beck May Have Won Two Grammys But He Is Still A Scientologist
Masterson thinks the documentary ‘interviewed eight people who hate Scientology’, and he ponders ‘I wonder if Sundance would allow a documentary of, like, eight people who hate Judaism’… Is it such an unfair and stupid comparison, does he know there are entire organizations which mobilize against Scientology in order to denounce the abuse and the isolation in which members of the church are maintain?
Buy Ian Curtis’ House For $180,000!
Remember, Ian Curtis’ kitchen table was also sold on eBay for £8,400, after over 65 bids on eBay, and this was highly criticized because the table was in the room where he committed suicide. Well now you can own the whole room, and the whole house!
Gun/Her, Dream Boys, Blood Candy, Stardeath and White Dwarfs, Jesus Makes the Shotgun Sound, The Warlocks At The Bootleg, Wednesday February 11th 2015
When seven bands are packed to play in a little bit more than 3 hours, you know you won’t be able to see everybody, but there is always this exciting feeling you are attending a sort of mini music festival in the middle of the week.
Kanye West Opens His Mouth Again
Every time Kanye opens his mouth, we reach another layer of Kanye’s mind and this is an endless source of entertainment. But why do people respect anything of what he says? This is a guy who admits to never read a book, to be God’s vessel despite contradicting himself at any occasion, so why giving him so much credit?
Prima Donna At Amoeba, Tuesday February 10th 2015
The attitude was sure bold, confident, tough, rising to the expectation of their moniker, with the aesthetic of a garage band really wanting to turn professional and even glam – just check out these matching black outfits – with cool foot-stomping tempos, a bluesy Stones-inspired background in mind for several songs
Joni Mitchell Speaks… But Not To Us
She also has strong words about being alone :’Why does it come as such a shock to know you really have no one? If you’re not ready for that, it’s meaningless. If you’re ready for it and you’re in that space, you’ll burst into tears, and actually, it’ll make you stronger. You’ll be able to accept that, accept your loneliness, when you’re ready
All Your Favorite Musicians To Celebrate David Lynch’s Music At The Ace Hotel
On Wednesday April 1st, another perfect fit for the place will be celebrated: David Lynch and his music with performances by Duran Duran, Jim James, Karen O, Moby, Angelo Badalamenti, Chrysta Bell, Donovan, Julee Cruise, Kinny Landrum, Rob Mathes, Sky Ferreira, Steven Drozd and Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips, Tennis, Twin Peaks, Zola Jesus
How Many Fake Twitter Followers Do Famous Musicians Have?
Taylor Swift (I couldn’t resist) 33%, whereas Beck (couldn’t resist either) obtains an excellent audit score of 95%. Other losers? 38% for Rihanna, 42% for Justin Bieber (only slightly better), 59% for Beyonce, 54% for John Legend, 45% for Lady Gaga, 41% for Nicki Minaj, 57% for Usher, and 35% for Katy Perry, whereas Paul McCartney obtains 77%, Madonna 81%, Annie Lennox 94 % and among the young generation, Lana Del Rey gets a good score of 82%, Sam Smith obtains 82%, St. Vincent 80% and Lorde 90%.
Not With The Band: I Wish I Had Chromesthesia
Some people are able to see colors when they hear sounds, it’s chromesthesia as synesthesia is a wider phenomenon which messes up with all senses and allow people to see words and numbers in colors or even associate a taste with words.
Beck’s Wikipedia Page Vandalized All Day Long By Beyonce’s Fans
Interviewed by US magazine, he reacted so politely it was a bit disarming: ‘I was just so excited he was coming up. He deserves to be on stage as much as anybody. How many great records has he put out in the last five years, right?’… ‘You can’t please everybody, man. I still love him and think he’s genius. I aspire to do what he does.’
When God Talks To Katy
‘I was praying and I got a word from God and he says, ‘You got this and I got you,’’ she declared to Ryan Seacrest on the Red Carpet before the Grammy Awards. ‘And then I was on top of the lion and a random guy looked at me with a headset that I’d never communicated with before, he looked me straight in the eyes and said ‘You got this.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, that’s God confirming I can do this!’’
Beck Wins Two Grammys, Kanye (Almost) Disapproves
Beck’s ‘come back’ album ‘Morning Phase’ won a Grammy for Best Rock Album Award and another Grammy for Album of the Year. Prince presented the last Grammy — that was so Midnight Vultures — and Beck was in competition with Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Pharrell and Beyoncé!
‘Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper’ Reviewed
I had avoided writing about it… not because it is a morbid album, it is just the opposite actually, but because it is a very busy and lively thing that may evolve like a living being in front of you, escaping your thoughts and ideas at each listen.
Minnow At Origami Vinyl, Friday February 6th 2015
Minnow is one of the most highly anticipated independent bands of 2015, and it’s gonna be again a hard one to pigeonhole, but one thing is sure, they were all about moody atmospheres mixing a curious nostalgia with a dramatic and wrapping sound.
Labels Or Spotify? Which One Is Getting Most Of The Streaming Money?
If you are like me, you may be a bit confused by the amount of bad press that Spotify receives… the streaming service is the bad guy, taking all the money, robbing the artist, this is what we were supposed to understand from the Taylor Swift story right? Well, we are totally wrong.