AltWeeklies Wire
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
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
Air Apparents Zero 7 Veer Away from Their Downtempo Rootsnew
Five years after being described by Rolling Stone as "Air without irony," Zero 7's Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker are still amazed by the persistence of comparisons to the French electronica duo.
Colorado Springs Independent |
Bill Forman |
12-03-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Chill-Out, Eska, Henry Binns, Martha Tilston, Sam Hardaker, Simple Things, Yeah Ghost, Zero 7, Air
Evol Intent Ruptures the Walls of Drum 'n' Bassnew
These three guys originally from Atlanta produce and play galvanic, kinetically de-tuning, glitch-hop-tinged drum 'n' bass, influenced by everyone from N.W.A. to Squarepusher. And they are popular in a genre that doesn't get much press but that is loyal and long-running.
Baltimore City Paper |
Tony Ware |
12-01-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
No Subject is Sacred for Vic Chesnutt, Including JFK's Sexploitsnew
All great artists are misunderstood in one way or another. When Vic Chesnutt is considered at all, it's often as a tragic figure whose past missteps continue to haunt him. But throughout his work a salty sense of humor can be found alongside much tenderness, rage, and self-doubt.
Seattle Weekly |
Brian J. Barr |
11-30-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Baltimore's Rapdragons Smoke Up and Breathe Firenew
"This band could never have started on some Craigslist thing like 'Hey, do you wanna play music?'" says Nick Often about Rapdragons, the hip-hop duo he co-founded with Greg Ward earlier this year. "It's really out of the fact that we're friends, that's what feeds it."
Baltimore City Paper |
Al Shipley |
11-24-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Rapdragons, Ten Stories High
Kim Deal Talks About the Pixies' 'Doolittle' Anniversary Tournew
"I like albums and I’m kind of a geek anyway, so starting something from the beginning and then doing every song in order is appealing to me."
New York Press |
Adam Rathe |
11-19-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
With Neon Indian, 21-Year-Old Alan Palomo Makes Roots-Pop for the Internet Agenew
Psychic Chasms explores a landscape of romantic loss and betrayal rendered as authentically as any acoustic pop ballad. Still, the sonic diversity of that landscape stretches, mashes and digs beyond the known universe.
Tucson Weekly |
Linda Ray |
11-18-2009 |
Reviews
Tags: Neon Indian, Psychic Chasms
Quack! Media Plans on Complete Musical Success in This New Recession Economynew
In an era when the bloated infrastructure of the music industry as we have known it for the last 50 years is imploding, it's refreshing to see a back-to-basics approach succeed, as in the case of the Ann Arbor multimedia company.
Metro Times |
Chris Handyside |
11-17-2009 |
Music
Kenny G on Weezer, Barack Obama and 'Wayne's World'new
Kenneth Gorelick, the man who has moved more than 48 million records -- one of the most satirized men in pop culture -- recently gave us a call from Puerto Rico before a gig.
Seattle Weekly |
Chris Kornelis |
11-16-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Kenny G, smooth jazz
Big Star's Former Bassist Doesn't Regret Leaving the Influential Cult Band for a 9-to-5 Lifenew
Andy Hummel, now living in Texas and working at Lockheed Martin, says he's happy with his 9-to-5 and playing music on the side.
Dallas Observer |
Jesse Hughey |
11-16-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Andy Hummel, Big Star
Solid Gold's Fantastic Voyage: From Twin Cities Band to National Treasurenew
The band's slow and steady climb doesn't seem to surprise any of the members of the group. For Solid Gold, this latest leap onto the national radar is just part of their master plan that started at the beginning of the decade by a couple of party boys in Madison, Wisconsin.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
Andrea Swensson |
11-11-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Bodies of Water, Solid Gold
