AltWeeklies Wire
Devendra Banhart: 'What Will We Be'new
After making the transition from his early ramshackle folk into the bombastic shape-shifting of 2007's Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon, Devendra Banhart attempts here to appropriate his entire career, with mixed results.
Tucson Weekly |
Michael Petitti |
12-10-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: What Will We Be, Devendra Banhart
Cold Cave: 'Love Comes Close'new
On Cold Cave's debut, the music works as minimalist dance pop, but everything about the way it's contextualized is awful. The title song, essentially a morbid exaltation of love and death set to disco beats, nicely distills the band's lack of imagination.
Tucson Weekly |
Sean Bottai |
12-10-2009 |
Reviews
Candye Kane's More Than 20 Years of Blues, Country, Roots Rock and Jazznew
The singer's most recent challenge was the discovery that she had pancreatic cancer, an illness she has since overcome. The healing process inspired her to create her ninth album, Superhero, which was released earlier this year by Delta Groove Records.
Tucson Weekly |
Gene Armstrong |
12-10-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Superhero, Candye Kane
Reviewed: 'The State vs. Radric Davis' by Atlanta MC Gucci Manenew
Many have tried, but no other rapper quite matches Gucci’s reckless bravado and goofy charm. He’s got an uncanny ability to make light of the dazzling, chaotic storm that is his life.
Washington City Paper |
Ben Westhoff |
12-10-2009 |
Reviews
The Farm is No Place for Coversnew
When a last-minute cancellation opened up a time slot at The Farm on Nov. 24, local band Where the Hell is Stacie Jones jumped at the opportunity — not knowing that the management would stop the fledgling group before they ever got the chance to play.
Las Vegas Weekly |
April Corbin |
12-10-2009 |
Music
Pete Rock, DJ Premier and the Praise of Disciplesnew
Hip-hop producers Pete Rock and DJ Premier remain among the most musically and culturally important in hip-hop's lifespan. We talked with five area artists (two of whom will perform Saturday) whose careers have been influenced by Pete and Primo.
INDY Week |
Eric Tullis |
12-10-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
'Chinese Democracy,' the New Guns N' Roses Album: Not Badnew
It seems like thousands of truly twisted guitar solos decorate the riffs, attacking from all angles as Chinese Democracy's songs twist, break down and morph. Even the album's bad parts boast something interesting.
Watch Wieden+Kennedy's Portland Music Documentarynew
Anytime you make a documentary on the Portland music scene, a few common topics are brought up. Portland is cheap. Portland has lots of basements. Portland is creative. And, of course, the biggie: it rains ALL THE TIME. But there are a lot of stories that haven’t been told.
Willamette Week |
Michael Mannheimer |
12-09-2009 |
Music
La Santa Cecilia, an 'It' Band and L.A.'s Next Big Genre-Bending Latinonew
Every couple of years, a Latino band emerges from this area who match their neighborhood and times, who transcend Latino L.A. to become a regional crossover hit. La Santa Cecilia is next.
Kansas City's Hip-hop Wants a Piece of Hot 103new
Jaz Brewer has engineered albums for some of the biggest names in Kansas City rap. Some songs that Brewer has produced have made it to the city's only commercial hip-hop station. The vast majority, however, have not, and it's not because they aren't up-to-par productionwise.
How a Designer Found a Niche Packaging Music in Something You Can’t Downloadnew
Byron Kalet has been applying the basic conventions of popular song—rhythm and tone—to an audio magazine he calls the Journal of Popular Noise. Recently, he released Residential, a collection of tracks by Foscil that is limited to 300 copies.
Seattle Weekly |
Brian J. Barr |
12-07-2009 |
Music
Q&A: Jay Farrar on Kerouac, 'Big Sur'new
Son Volt frontman Jay Farrar has been reading Jack Kerouac since he was a teenager. But writing the music and lyrics for the soundtrack to One Fast Move or I'm Gone, a documentary about Kerouac's semi-autobiographical novel Big Sur, provided plenty of firsts for the songwriter.
Seattle Weekly |
Chris Kornelis |
12-07-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Bill Callahan Balances Uncertainties on His New Albumnew
With an eye for such tragic ironies as Cain's ignoble fate, Callahan has written toward various shades of darkness and light, from pitch black to only slightly dim.
The Memphis Flyer |
Stephen Deusner |
12-07-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Califone's Multimedia Funeralnew
There's always been something cinematic about Califone, but not in the traditional Hollywood widescreen sense.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
12-07-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Made of Metallicanew
Robert Trujillo, who joined legendary heavy metal band Metallica in 2003, talks about the on the past, present and future of the famous band.
Boise Weekly |
Amy Atkins |
12-03-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
