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03 Apr 2010 21:50

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Music: Saturday Mixtape: What comes next after the split?

  • OK, they aren’t exactly hip. Doesn’t matter. The Barenaked Ladies are a fascinating band to watch right now. After lead singer Steven Page (who sang, among other hits, “Brian Wilson”) was arrested on drug possession charges in 2008, the band quickly started falling apart, which led to Page’s departure last year. The band continued on as a four-piece and just released a new album, “All in Good Time.” So what comes next for them, and other bands in their spot? We examine.

  • 1. Well, this doesn’t sound like the cheeky band that did rapid-fire hit “One Week” 12 years ago. The Barenaked Ladies sound like weary warriors, trying to get past the one truly controversial moment of their career. It’s traditional pop-rock, but not without bite.
  • 2. The Pixies: Greatest band of the last 25 years probably, right? Well, yeah, but one thing evaded them while they were together – an inescapable hit. Fortunately for Kim Deal, she had another highly-regarded band with her sister Kelley Deal, The Breeders, and they had a major hit right away with “Cannonball.” Frank Black probably wished he had a hit of this caliber after the break-up.
  • 3. Maybe Gorillaz is a better fit for Damon Albarn. After a falling out with Graham Coxon, Blur’s lead singer had to take the lead on the band’s “Think Tank,” an album which notably got a 9.0 on Pitchfork, a C+ in Entertainment Weekly and 2 stars on Allmusic. Albarn hasn’t made another Blur album since, with or without Coxon.
  • 4. At the Drive-in were looking like the great punk heroes of the last decade when, all of a sudden, they split. The love child from this divorce? The Mars Volta, a band which took the crazy, interesting parts of the band’s sound and held on tight. Oh, and Sparta. But nobody remembers Sparta.
  • 5. Jay Farrar’s career didn’t exactly live up to that of Jeff Tweedy’s, but the breakup of Uncle Tupelo sixteen years ago was a huge blow to the alt-country scene. Wilco’s first album, “A.M.,” was a lot of going through the motions, but Farrar’s band Son Volt hit it out of the park with “Trace,” a true classic which they never replicated. Wilco is now a stadium act.

05 Sep 2009 14:09

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Culture: Banksy painted over: A famous work of art callously destroyed

  • We never wanted to make money out of it like many do – but it was a part of our lives. Now it’s gone.
  • Sofie Attrill • Who owns a building on which famous English grafitti artist Banksy painted a notable piece of art. The art, which showed up on the single for Blur’s “Crazy Beat”, was painted over by a local government. They needed her permission to paint it over, but sent letters asking for permission to an ancient address. By the time that Attrill caught the painters, it was mostly destroyed. Idiots. • source

15 Jun 2009 18:22

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Music: Dear Blur: Welcome back. We missed you. <3 Damon & Graham

  • The Britpop icons made their live re-debut over the weekend, and we couldn’t be happier clams. Sure, Gorillaz was good, but Blur is Blur. OK?source

11 Mar 2009 10:50

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Tech, U.S.: A lawmaker wants Google Maps to blur out a ton of buildings

  • He cites terrorism. Uh, dude … Joel Anderson, a California assemblyman, recently introduced a bill called AB-255, which would require map programs like Google Maps to blur out buildings such as hospitals, schools, churches and government buildings. You know, dude, if the terrorists really wanted to take us out, they’d just have to aim at the blurry spot now. You’re kind of an idiot, Joel. source