AltWeeklies Wire
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
Floetry May Be Over, But the Floacist Goes Onnew
Sometimes you just have to face the music. You have to bite down and come to terms with the truth, no matter how painful or unbelievable it may be. Most recently I had to finally accept what I’ve been denying for a while now: Floetry has, indeed, broken up.
Philadelphia Weekly |
Craig D. Lindsey |
01-26-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Better Off Led: Mockstars Are the New Rockstarsnew
Ironically, through performing the music of Led Zeppelin, almost-famous Paul Sinclair is closer than ever to grasping rock 'n' roll's elusive brass ring. He's gone from rockstar to mockstar and back again. And in this day and age at least, the difference is becoming more and more slight.
Philadelphia Weekly |
Brian McManus |
01-26-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: tribute bands, Get the Led Out
Leaving Camp: Antony & the Johnsons 'The Crying Light'new
Antony Hegarty sings earnest torch songs for the natural world.
Chicago Reader |
Noah Berlatsky |
01-26-2009 |
Reviews
Pop White People Like: Andrew Bird's 'Noble Beast'new
Precious anachronisms, whistling, the approval of both NPR and the Gray Lady — what’s not to like about Andrew Bird?
Chicago Reader |
Miles Raymer |
01-26-2009 |
Reviews
Anarchy in the Ozarks: A Hardcore Punk Scene in the Missouri Backwaters?new
Springfield and Joplin once served as Missouri's primary nexus for punk. Those relatively populous cities harbored the region's most popular bands and, despite their remote locales, national touring acts considered them a perfect stopping point while driving from, say, Chicago to Dallas.
Riverfront Times |
Ben Westhoff |
01-23-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
How Silk-E Established Herself as Bay Area Rap's 'Hit Woman for Hire'new
Erica Reynolds grew up singing in the church choir in Richmond, fell in love with hip-hop as a young girl, and began rapping under the stage name Silk-E. She's managed to balance the rigors of parenthood with a vocation that requires her to have an iron-hand demeanor, just to keep from getting burned.
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
01-23-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
After Five Years, Brent Randall Returns With His Magnificent Pineconesnew
Randall's ideas and motifs, with their kinship to British psychedelic pop and the classic mid-'60s American version, remains intact, as does his band, which Randall believes will deliver these big songs in a way to make pop royalty proud.
The Coast, Halifax's Weekly |
Sean Flinn |
01-23-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
The Polka Dot Lives on for Animal Collectivenew
Animal Collective make music that’s sometimes discordant garage rock, sometimes more like the most unrestrained Beach Boys, sometimes nothing like rock or pop at all. Their albums are a welter of found sounds and instruments, each treated and warped and rolled inside-out until they’re unrecognizable. But there’s beauty and joy and life there, too.
Los Angeles CityBeat |
Trinie Dalton |
01-23-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Chomp and Circumstance: Crocodiles Escape Their Pastnew
If there is hope of getting the elusive second chance that so few performers ever do, Crocodiles might have a shot. The deconstructed punk duo parlays their newfound appreciation for melody into a kind of modern-day Suicide, complete with a minimalist rock sound saddled with doomed electronics.
The Portland Mercury |
Ezra Ace Caraeff |
01-22-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Our Troubles Are Over: The Tender Punches of the Walkmennew
When you hear that your favorite band is using strings and horns on their new album, you can pretty much assume the salad days are over. But when the Walkmen employed strings and horns on last fall's remarkable You & Me, they did it in the most subtle way conceivable, and it seemed to open up a door to a warmer and fuller sound.
The Portland Mercury |
Nick Jaina |
01-22-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Charlie Louvin, Aging Legendnew
Despite some help from some big names, Charlie Louvin's two new CDs are for trad-country completists only.
Tucson Weekly |
Jarret Keene |
01-22-2009 |
Reviews
Wistful and Youthful: Musée Mécanique's 'Hold This Ghost'new
This debut CD by the Portland-based chamber-pop group evokes feelings of a childhood world in which fragile perceptions, melancholy and benign spookiness mix in beguiling ways.
Tucson Weekly |
Gene Armstrong |
01-22-2009 |
Reviews
Obfuscatory and Fine: A.C. Newman's 'Get Guilty'new
Lucky for us, A.C. Newman's brief tryst with Mischa Barton is really just the tip of the iceberg in terms of his contributions to contemporary pop-rock.
Tucson Weekly |
Sean Bottai |
01-22-2009 |
Reviews
Playful Design: Obi Best Is All Dressed Up With Everywhere to Gonew
Obi Best invokes the usual suspects--'60s and '80s pop, indie-rock preciousness and musical theater--but make no mistake: Lilly is a talented songwriter and producer who can craft a song with focus, precision and an incredible attention to detail.
Tucson Weekly |
Annie Holub |
01-22-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
