American-Chilean musician, Nicolas Jaar, turns 22 today. His first LP, Space is Only Noise, came out in January of last year and was one of the 33 albums that were in the running for the Top 11 albums of the year. He may Continue reading
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Happy Birthday, Nicolas Jaar!
10 JanLessons in Post-Rock, Episode Three: Pelican
4 Jan
Pelican is one of my favorite bands of all time. In fact, my long and torrid love affair with heavy instrumental rock began with this band. I was listening to ISIS, whose lead singer is also one of the owners of the Hydra Head label which Pelican was on (until they made the switch to Southern Lord).
Earlier Pelican leans toward long song structures that focus on building up to heavy driving metal riffs. In a musical genre where it’s difficult to get to know the names of songs, I know Continue reading
Album Reviews and This Year in Music…Pending
30 DecI figured I might write a disclaimer for those of you who may or may not be waiting for a “This Year in…” article from me. Every god damn blog has their year end articles. I will be releasing the Top 11 Albums of 2011 before the end of this year. I promise. If I don’t, nightly self-flagellation (with a whip, that is) and turkey bacon for a whole year.
I’m very meticulous when it comes to rating albums. I have a formula; seriously (please see my article on spreadsheeting). If I’m reviewing an album by itself, I listen to it no less than 10 times in it’s entirety. For this article, because of the volume of music that I’m attempting to speak intelligently about, I have made at least 5 (usually more like 7) listens in an album’s entirety obligatory.
Let’s do some math. Supposing that your average LP Continue reading
Lessons in Post-Rock, Episode Two: This Will Destroy You
20 Dec
When this band was first described to me, at one point I heard the term beardgaze, which actually ended up being a pretty apt description. This Will Destroy You tries to get away from the post-rock label by venturing further and further into outer space. There are a few things that TWDY do that few of the other bands on this list do, like use drum machines and record tracks of nothing but ambient feedback and reverb.
They’re not my favorite band, but I do feel that they merit mentioning. They have this kind of “fuck you and your categorization of musical genres” attitude, which Continue reading
Lessons in Post-Rock, Episode One: Red Sparowes
14 Dec
I hate calling it Post-Rock. Not in a self-important “categorization of art kills it” way, I just don’t think it really captures what it is. Other people might call it experimental metal, post-metal, instrumental metal, metalgaze, but I just call it what it is: contemplative experi-instrumental post-metalgaze.
This is part one of six, where I will be examining one band per post. I would recommend using headphones when listening to these bands (or any music for that matter) and, in most cases, cranking it. Sure, I’m probably Continue reading
Tycho – Dive
12 Dec
My friend Andy recommended this album to me calling it a “solid effort.” If I were in the business of writing two-word reviews, I could have stopped there.
Tycho (Scott Hansen) is a San Francisco based producer, graphic designer and musician…a sort of modern day, electronic renaissance man. “Dive” is Tycho’s second LP and evidence of his range of talent. Aside from gorgeous cover art, the songs themselves force you to Continue reading
The Black Keys – El Camino
5 Dec
I was introduced to the Black Keys in college in 2004 right after the release of “Rubber Factory” by a girl who was trying to court yours truly. Like a modern-age Duckie, she decided that burning a copy of her favorite new album would win the key to my heart. Instead, I listened to the album, liked it a lot, and then stopped answering her texts like a total jerkoff. She was wrong about me being cool, but she was right about the Black Keys.
The Black Keys have been going strong since 2002 and have set themselves apart from Continue reading
Indie Canon Inductee: Beat Happening
29 NovFor anybody that knows me, this should come as no surprise. I’m wearing a god damn Beat Happening t shirt as I write this. I stumbled upon Beat Happening in 2005 when I was looking at some rando’s list of the best albums of the 1990’s. Since then, they have become my most listened to artist.
Beat Happening has been an indie rock staple for the past 25 years and had an enormous impact on their musical peers. They took a typical rock song and boiled it down to its bare essentials: no bass, no overproduction, no complicated solos (most Beat Happening songs are only three or four chords). The band, which formed in 1983 Continue reading
the self-hating hipster 