AltWeeklies Wire
Signs of Life in the Dead of the Grammys Pressroomnew
No wonder print is on the ropes. We reporters are bores. A dying industry covering another dying industry, like a bunch of telegraph operators sending missives about a carburetor convention.
L.A. Weekly |
Randall Roberts |
02-13-2009 |
Music
Magic Marker Records Celebrates Year Number Tennew
Over the past decade Magic Marker Records has established a legacy whose impact resonates far beyond the Portland city limits.
The Portland Mercury |
Ezra Ace Caraeff |
02-05-2009 |
Music
A Wealth of Free Musicnew
Bigger crowds for bands, higher sales for bars, and cheaper nights for fans: So why aren't all shows free?
Tags: live music, economic issues
Hip-Hop and the Obama Effectnew
Nas, Young Jeezy and others don't think Obama's presidency spells the end of hip-hop.
New York Press |
R.M. Schneiderman and Ray LeMoine |
02-05-2009 |
Music
Tags: Barack Obama, hip-hop
Comeback Kids: 2009 in Santa Barbara Musicnew
A new year brings with it plenty of artists ripe and ready to crawl out of the woodwork and back onto the stage. So far, it seems like 2009 is no different than those years that came before it, with a boatload of old favorites preparing themselves for another round of musical takeover.
Santa Barbara Independent |
Aly Comingore |
02-02-2009 |
Music
Tags: live music, Santa Barbara
Viva la Vinyl: Local Bands and Labels Propel the Resurgence of an Old Formatnew
More than one hundred years after the invention of the gramophone, twenty years after major labels tried to kill records with compact discs, and ten years after Napster incited the age of digital music, vinyl is making a comeback.
East Bay Express |
Nate Seltenrich |
01-28-2009 |
Music
Tags: vinyl, media formats
The Finer Points of Outstaying Your Welcome, Starring Scott Weiland and The Gamenew
Rock 'n' roll wraith Scott Weiland and embattled gangsta rapper The Game have one thing in common: Each has overstayed his welcome but continues to enjoy mainstream success by luck, or by the grace of God. In terms of both studio alchemy and tabloid foibles, neither brings anything especially crucial to the cultural table.
Baltimore City Paper |
Raymond Cummings |
01-27-2009 |
Music
Used CDs: Indie Retail’s Secret Weaponnew
The compact disc is the new cassette tape, a highly disposable and inferior format for music. And all signs point to it being wiped out for a variety of reasons. But because of a spike in the number of people looking to sell off their CD collections, the used market has been a glimmer of sunshine.
Seattle Weekly |
Brian J Barr |
01-26-2009 |
Music
Tags: recording industry, compact discs
A Soundtrack To Sweat Tonew
Most New Year's resolutions involve exercise, but what will you listen to?
East Bay Express |
Kathleen Richards |
01-15-2009 |
Music
Glen David Andrews is Preaching to the Choirnew
The brass band stalwart's new Walking Through Heavern's Gate is gospel music infused with New Orleans street style.
The Best Tribute Bands to Never Existnew
What of the many acts that, for one reason or another, will never merit the tribute-band treatment? Let's travel to a thoroughly unhip parallel universe and check out the greatest tribute bands to (hopefully) never exist.
It's Hard to Assign Blame in Seattle Club Shootingsnew
Whether blame was being aimed at Chop Suey, Big Kountry Entertainment, the city's lack of attention to a purportedly growing gang-activity problem, or the music itself, grief quickly manifested itself as cries for culpability. Few viewed it as a failure of club security, but many theories abound when looking closer at the root of the tragedy.
Seattle Weekly |
Hannah Levin |
01-12-2009 |
Music
Mayor Urges Public Support to Help Save The Orchestras of Pasadenanew
Pasadena has always had a rich tradition of providing a home for fine orchestras. But today, with the country's teetering economy, something that residents have pretty much taken for granted over more than eight decades may be lost as tough economic times take a heavy toll.
Pasadena Weekly |
Carl Kozlowski |
01-12-2009 |
Music
Jazz Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard Diesnew
Hubbard, who died on December 29 at age 70 after suffering a heart attack in late November, remained almost peerless for 50 or so years with his chosen instrument.
Los Angeles CityBeat |
David Cotner |
01-09-2009 |
Music
If Full-Length Albums are Dead, Why Do So Many People Still Want Them?new
Rather than a dying format, the album is perhaps more like the novel or feature-length film -- a good idea that has weathered and will continue to weather technological trends. It's already survived numerous physical products: the vinyl LP, the 8-track, the cassette tape, and the compact disc. Who's to say that it won't survive the digital download?
Washington City Paper |
Brent Burton |
01-08-2009 |
Music
