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19 May 2010 20:40

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Music: The National looking hot, but can’t get out of Justin Bieber’s shadow

  • good The National, everyone’s favorite indie band, got up to No. 3 on the Billboard charts with “High Violet.”
  • bad It was one of the lowest-selling weeks for the Billboard, ever, and Justin Bieber still beat them. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 May 2010 21:46

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Music: Andy Rooney of “60 Minutes” officially the oldest man alive

  • “How come I don’t know any of the bands on the Billboard chart? Who’s Lady Gaga?  Where’s my oatmeal? Get off my lawn! And change my Depends!”
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06 May 2010 23:00

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Music: One-word album reviews: The Hold Steady wavers a little bit

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06 May 2010 22:24

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Music: Non-expert opinion: Hip-hop icons who talk big game

  • Disclaimer: We know as much about rap as we do about gardening. We can tell you what a flower looks like, we can tell you if it smells pretty, but we sure as heck suck at putting seeds in the ground and making them grow. That’s kind of the idea behind this new occasional feature, where we try to explain things we don’t particularly understand all that well. Next week: Quantum mechanics.

  • he knows he’s arrived Drake has more buzz than any rapper this side of his inmate buddy Lil Wayne, and with “Over,” he doesn’t underestimate his abilities nor does he pretend that there isn’t a dark side to the fame. It’s kind of refeshing – like Kanye when he used to be headier.

  • The comeback kid Lupe Fiasco’s album sales haven’t matched his cred as a hip-hop artiste, but he doesn’t let the haters get to him. “I’m Beamin'” is a great I’m-still-awesome comeback anthem. (Disclosure: Our good friend Rob Simmons did the visual effects on this awesome video.)

  • too full of himself Diddy hasn’t done anything of note with his music career in about a decade, and even then, he was kind of seen as a sell-out. It’s with that image of him we show you this teaser to a blog that doesn’t even exist yet. Kanye already has the hip-hop blogging game won, man.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Apr 2010 16:34

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Offbeat: Making beats, bouncing balls, smashing glass, breaking TVs

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30 Apr 2010 08:28

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Music, Tech: Lala is shutting down. Oh God, we need a moment. *SOB*

  • We’re currently out a song-sharing host. OK, we knew this day was coming the second that Apple bought them out, but we didn’t realize it would happen so suddenly. The company is no longer allowing new playlists or web songs to be sold. Is an iTunes equivalent of Lala coming next? We can only hope, guys. This was the only music service that got it right. Being able to sample music – in full – was a revelation. (P.S.: Does anyone have any recommendations for services that we could use for our Saturday Mixtape in the future? Lala was nice because we could stay legal AND share new music. We’ve officially lost that, as of now.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 4 Comments • Permalink

24 Apr 2010 19:12

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Music: Saturday Mixtape: Delorean, Dom or Dum Dum?

  • 1. Dan Snaith’s Caribou has consistently pleased the critics with the variety of ideas it brings with each album. Last time, it was ’60s sunshine pop. This time? Disco. In a good (though somber) way. “Odessa” is definitely a catchy, danceable song, but it feels like a bit more dejected than your average dance record.
  • 2. Feel like MGMT blew it with their second album? Consider switching to Dom, who’s a little more low-rent in their overall sound but hit all of the same pleasure spots on “Living in America” as “Time To Pretend” did three years ago.
  • 3. Delorean sounds like it was pulled out of Ibiza on “Real Love,” and with good reason – they’ve gone a long way to embrace the sound, but not the parts that made the Spanish island the subject of jokes around 2005 or so.
  • 4. Thought Vivian Girls had a good idea but thought the music sucked? Good thing we have Dum Dum Girls as a solid alternative. Like that band, the angle is poorly-recorded twee pop from an all-girl group. The band even has Vivian Girls’ former drummer. Unlike that band, it’s led by singer Dee Dee, who shines brightly on “I Will Be.”
  • 5. Hunx and His Punx seems to be the other side of the coin from Dum Dum Girls. A girl-group approach to gay-themed pop songs, complete with overly sweaty album cover. It’s a dynamic twist that works surprisingly well, actually.
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21 Apr 2010 23:52

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Music: One-word album reviews: Caribou’s music as good as their coffee

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17 Apr 2010 18:48

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Music: Saturday Mixtape: Starting points for The Tallest Man on Earth fans

  • New Dylan, shmew Dylan. It’s easy to pigeonhole The Tallest Man on Earth as a straight-up Dylan acolyte, except Swedish. But we argue there’s a lot more going on with this guy. Kristian Matsson, who’s already released two very solid, evocative folk albums, is way more exciting than, say, Jose Gonzalez. Here’s our best attempt to analyze his sound through the guise of early folk.

  • 1. Somehow, The Tallest Man on Earth feels incredibly fresh, despite being loaded with elements that suggest early Dylan or (at the very least) a guy who’s been listening to way too many field recordings. It’s to Kristian Matsson’s credit that he transcends strereotype, and his guitar has some amazing voicings which Dylan never touched.
  • 2. While most under 30 probably best know Kurt Cobain’s amazing cover of this song on MTV’s “Unplugged” in 1993, Lead Belly made the traditional tune popular, and it’s a song the ex-con is most known for today. Definite strains of this rawness in The Tallest Man on Earth’s sound.
  • 3. While Pete Seeger doesn’t always wail on his guitar the way Matsson does, on “John Henry” he’s incredibly vigorous, if maybe more lyrically direct than Matsson ever gets. Seeger’s clean, authoritative voice definitely strikes a different tone from Matsson, but we’d argue they have more in common than they don’t. (Fun fact: Seeger’s still kicking at 90.)
  • 4. Phil Ochs, a protest singer to the end, was a raw and evocative performer and a key voice in the protest music scene during the mid-’60s, and probably the guitarist who Matsson most reminds us of. Both Ochs and Matsson powerfully wail away at their guitars, even if their endgames (political change vs. metaphor) are completely different.
  • 5. On “The Wild Hunt,” Matsson directly references Bob Dylan’s “Boots of Spanish Leather” on highlight “King of Spain.” Ultimately, the era of Dylan he takes most influence from, “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” is merely interpreted. Dylan’s lyrical voice, rich in metaphor, has a lot in common with The Tallest Man on Earth, but you always feel like “The Wild Hunt” is on the edge, ready to tip over at any time.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Apr 2010 12:10

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Culture: False advertising: Your Nike shoes won’t be as awesome as these

  • Unfortunately, the blurb that goes with this Nike commercial gives some devastating news: “The NIKE FREE RUN+ is absolutely a running shoe. Shoes sold at retail will NOT make music when bent or twisted.” So, don’t get your hopes up that your shoes can double as a beat machine.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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