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News, Slideshow

Gun Owner Tim McGraw To Play Sandy Hook Benefit

The thing about gun control is it makes more sense in suburban living, with miles between people, when, really, self-protection may be an issue. And while the “if there are stringent gun controls only the bad guys will have em” is a little on the specious side, please help me find the flaw.

Medium Cool, News, Slideshow

Medium Cool: Best Talk Show Hosts Week Of April 20th, 2015

With barely more than a month left till David Letterman signs off, it should be all David all the time although I really thing between the heart attack and the intern scandal, Letterman began to lose it, and I have found him nearly uwatchable for the past couple of years. The first time I watched Letterman, Marshall Crenshaw was appearing and Letterman ran late because of elevator races… oh to be youg, right? The end of an era, not the way Carson was, but nevertheless…

Interview, News, Slideshow

Best Coast Speaks,… But Not To Us

‘the two of us — me and Bob — don’t look like we belong together in the same band, which is something I’ve always loved. I’ll look at photos of us together sometimes and just be struck by what a strange-looking team we are. But that’s what makes us special.’

News, Slideshow

The Future Punx Is Here

a band that references Ray Davies may have a little more up their sleeve than Future Shock, and the lead singers robot in love vocal has a hint of qu’est que ce about it…. It’s a nice vibe and should take em far, and they are opening at Baby’s All Right on Saturday May 15th…

News, Slideshow

White Schoolgirls “Racist Rap” Reviewed

Though as offensiveness goes, this is a little on the pathetic side, it is worth noting that the Texas community in which Grapevine resides is quite wealthy (median annual income for a male is a healthy $55K) and 80%white (3% black) which might explain this story a little bit clearer.

controversy, News, Slideshow, Streaming

Indie Musicians Are Not Sold On Tidal And Its ‘New School Plutocrats’

We wouldn’t have joined it anyway, even if they had asked. We don’t want to be tribal. I think smaller bands should get paid more for it, too. Bigger bands have other ways of making money, so I don’t think you can complain. A band of our size shouldn’t be complaining. And when they say it’s artist-owned, it’s owned by those rich, wealthy artists.’

News, Slideshow

Why IS Music Less Important? Because People Are Older

The age of the average American in 1967 was 27 years of age, in 2015 it is 37 years of age. Since the average person dies at the age of 78, that ten years is something like a change of 15%. Also, the difference between 27 and 37 is the difference between first job out of college and married with children

News, Slideshow

Portishead’s Geoff Barrow Reveals His Streaming Income

The problem in the story is that we never know how much the labels get from streamed music of a specific artist, so we have no benchmarks. Why aren’t labels releasing the numbers? Because they are ashamed of them… If artists aren’t making money, Spotify isn’t still making any money, someone has to make a fortune

News

Sunflower Bean: Straight Outta A Brooklyn Loft

The EP has a youthful intensity and given the nobody in their twenties trio, Jacob Faber (drums) Nick Kivlen (vox/guitar) as well as Julia, that isn’t quite surprising. There is a sort of inquisitive arrogance to the band, who live together in a four room loft in Brooklyn like they are awaiting for the director of their reality show to shout action.

News, Slideshow

Did Lou Reed Die For Lady Gaga’s Sin?

Artpop’ was conceived in direct connection with the Velvet Underground, Gaga’s ‘Dope’ was the VU’s ‘Heroin’, ‘G.U.Y.’ was ‘Walk on the Wild Side’… ‘MANICURE’ was ‘I’ll be your Mirror’… oh poor Nico!… ‘Applause’ with the opening verse ‘I stand here waiting for you to bang the gong’, is Reed’s ‘I’m Waiting for the Man’, although they are not exactly waiting for the same thing… So, demos were sent to Reed in November 2012, and Reed didn’t answer, but when he did, he replied ‘I have no interest in any further involvement.’

Business, News, Slideshow

The Facility Charge: Petty Thieves

If I don’t want to buy a ticket to a gig, I am free to pass on it. And I am sure the world at large feels much the same. But even so, racking on a fee for nothing is upsetting, they are like a thieving bartender who short changes you a little because you won’t noice it.It is petty thievery, It degrades us both.

News, Slideshow

New Kanye West Demo “Midas Touch”: Ode To Hos Reviewed (Stream It Hear)

Nice beats and nasty attitude, the track is all freshness sex and hos and someone else with Rihanna, this was probably recorded during the Rihanna sessions that brought us “Fourfiveseconds”, the snarls and the haha s are pottering on self-parody, the “hahas” a growl and the beats almost his signature at the point.Apparently, he is referring his ability to make stars.

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Last Call: April 6th, 2015

Radios In Heaven – Plain White T’s – Here’s a question, when does an album stop? Is it the last song on the official or the deluxe version. Depends on the song, I figure, this is the last song off the official, a death song, and not a very good one, but absolutely the conclusion of an album – C

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That Was The Week That Was: April 6th, 2015

After losing a 19 inning marathon to the Red Sox, the Yanks couldn’t regroup the next day. I’d be shocked if we get 90 wins, and we will probably be something in the nature of 80. This does not feel good, but hopefully, something somewhere… The Rangers seem heading for the Stanley Cup!!! Nets about to make the playoffs.

News, Slideshow, Television

The Rocky Horror Show Coming To Fox

Now FOX are threatening to do to it what NBC did to “Peter Pan”, ergo not much. It is a sign of the times that they don’t think the Frank homosexuality (“it’s not all bad, it’s not even half bad…”) and indeed hereosexuality might not be questionable for prime time television.

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Hinds: Spanish Lo Fi And Ready For Their Close Up

All of this helps and while having four attractive women in a band might not be a ticket to success, well, it didn’t hurt the Bangles, who, in at least the deep melodic tangledness, if not the power pop, is an antecedent to these guys. I don’t know if they’re any good live (I missed the Mercury Lounge gig) but, geez, aren’t they adorable?

News, Slideshow

Taylor Swift And The Inability To Hide From Life

You can’t hide from life, get rich, get money, power, popularity, and it still can’t hide you from the mesmerizing wrecking ball that is lives in motion. It doesn’t matter what you think is going to happen, it doesn’t matter how hard you to try to shield yourself from absolute disaster; life is like this huge monster that hunts you and rips out your heart and leaves you and returns and kills you

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New Kurt Cobain Song?

If anybody has a right to ignore his wishes it is his daughter, who didn’t know, who, through his own selfishness, missed having a father. That’s pretty drastic stuff and surely Francis has every right to claim: “hey, you don’t want to be a famous rock star? Fuck you, somersault in your grave over this, chump”

News, Slideshow, Streaming

Time And Tidal Wait For No Man

I have never heard of a business enterprise whose main selling point was more money for the billionaire artists and not a thing for the consumers. What sort of business model is that? There are many things that might concern the average fan, but Beyonce not making enough money isn’t among them.

News, Slideshow

Jethro Tull The Rock Opera

Heavy Horses, Farm On The Freeway, Songs From The Wood sit alongside Aqualung, Living In The Past, Wind-Up, A New Day Yesterday, The Witch’s Promise, Locomotive Breath and other favourites – often with slightly re-written lyrics to better tell the tale.

Elliott Smith, News, Opinion

A Second Opinion On Elliott Smith’s Autopsy Report

Stabbing is a very painful way to kill yourself. Those who commit suicide by knife tend to have very deep personality disturbances. And it is more difficult to stab oneself through clothing, requires a lot of strength to do that to yourself (unless the clothing is a thin T-shirt). Being very depressed won’t make it any less painful. There WILL be hesitation marks.

News, Opinion, Slideshow

“Carrie And Lowell” Hits Awful Close To Home

That is a question that goes to the heart of our insecurities, it is the unanswerable, unequivicable question between adults and children. Do you love me? Really? Do you love me enough? How much? How often? Why? Why not? Carrie And Lowell has no answers for Sufjan or us, but it has the right questions, and the right concerns and that is so rare, so important. It illuminates who we are.

controversy, News, Slideshow

Miley Cyrus, A Good Trouble Maker For Once

She called Indiana governor Mike Pence an asshole on Instagram, because he passed a controversial bill on March 26th, prohibiting state and local governments from hindering a person’s right to practice their religion… Although the bill doesn’t specifically mention sexual orientation, many worry it will also make it possible for employers to discriminate against gay candidates

News, Slideshow

Jack Antonoff To Play Indiana

“They’ve been tweeting some pretty rude stuff at me, so I think there’s a sect of America out there that doesn’t like certain opinions and can really take their claws out when they don’t like what you’re saying.” though you voted

News, Slideshow

That Was The Week That Was: March 30th, 2015

The problem with Saints is there aren’t too many of them around and god knows John Lennon was more human than most so his sainthood is a little, how you say, disillusioning. When people speak of Lennon, they miss something: he was a serial philanderer, a wife beater, he neglected his son Julian, and he had a violent streak. But here is the kicker: he changed. The wife being beaten was Cynthia Lennon (and it was their child Julian being ignored). Cynthia died last week from cancer at the age of 75.

News, Opinion, Slideshow, Streaming

Let’s Take The Tidal Sound Test

There is a very simple test you can do on Tidal, it allows you to play five songs (you don’t pick the songs, and I got the Killers, James Blake, Daft Punk, the Eagles and the Dixie Chicks) using two sound sources A and B. You can switch back and forth between A and B during the short music sample, then determine which of the two is the high fidelity sound source. I was using my Macbook connected to a Logitech speaker system. I paid around $40 for them and they sound okay for me, but I did very badly at the test, I guessed 2 out of 5 correctly!! Not bad? Are they kidding?

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