I don’t know much about this tune, but I like it:
I love this new tune from British combo Desperate Journalist. It’s a postmodern pop tune with a slight Smiths feel, as if Morrissey and Marr were both in the delivery room when “Control” came aborning. This band consists of two girls and two boys who have bonded in the abandoned wilds of North London. Jo …
Saturday night on a warm spring evening in January I made the long pilgrimage out to the boondocks that is Arlington, WA. There I discovered a lovely little club called Mirkwood where I would see my beloved Skablins play. I haven’t seen them in over a year, but also on the bill were It Gets …
Jill’s indoor gardening tip #1 – To protect your large plants from becoming a kitty liter box, take a cheap plastic saucer and cut a slit to the middle then a circle in the middle for the plant. Jill’s indoor gardening tip #2 – Fruit fly death trap. Sweet white wine drinkers tend to bring …
Powerpacked, feedback-overloaded, garage-born Seattle blues rock dynamo, My Goodness, has released a new video for the tunes “Bottle” and “Say You’re Gone,” which you can see below. The video features a mature man who looks a little like East Portland Davey. The old coot strips down to his boxers and takes a bath in a …
The town of Stateburg, South Carolina, looks ordinary at first glance. It is just north of Highway 76 about halfway between Interstate 95 and the state capital, Columbia, and most travelers would not think to stop there without prior knowledge of the place. Like many small towns on the East Coast, however, it has had …
On Tuesday night, January 13 I joined hundreds of others outside Seattle’s Federal Building to join hands and surround the building in protest of the Keystone Pipeline that was recently passed by the new republican controlled congress. President Obama has said he will veto the bill, but this protest was enacted to make sure he …
Last Friday I saw The Imitation Game, the recent movie about British mathematician Alan Turing and the breaking of the German Enigma codes during World War II. It has been out for a while, but it was released only recently in my part of the world. It was panned a bit in The New Yorker, …
The documentary “Life Itself” shows film critic Roger Ebert in a less than flattering light. In a society that celebrates youth and vitality, some might find it shocking that we see Ebert’s face ravaged by cancer. We see shots of his final days when he’s unable to walk or talk. Yet he was able to …
With peppy electro beats and wistful vocals, Brooklyn-duo Surf Rock is Dead (SRiD) presents blissful tunes that hit you like a bittersweet wave of nostalgia, kind of like that last hangover of the summer. Loading up on fun and laid back California vibes, this washed out duo is releasing an effervescent new single, “Equinox.” Inspired …
Chosen Few’s Jenny “La Sexy Voz” and megastar Arcangel prove to be a dynamic duo in the song “Los Blueprints” unleashing their lyrical prowess over a melodic and catchy beat. Critics and fans alike have dubbed the single one of the realest reggaeton records in years and the video one of the most zaftig of …
El Rey’s Miami Vice marathon continues… of course, Vice and Phil Collins are eternally linked, from the very first episode. I don’t know too many people who care for Phil anymore, especially amongst my musician friends. I know, I know, he (and Genesis) wound up spreading the cheese pretty thick. I know, I know, Phil’s …
Not only the best LP to come out of the massive Flying Nun / Kiwi stable (which had much good to great talent, but few who delivered complete albums as consistent and captivating as this one), but amongst the best indie albums anywhere by any group in the second half of the 80’s. – Pat …
Joe Cocker was one of those guys that my pals liked to mock and was fun for John Belushi to parody. But at his peak, Joe was “thee song interpreter” of his generation. Most famously, he was one of the first and best to really rework a Beatles song into something new, different and most …
When we shop for toys for the loved ones on our list, we like to think the kids are learning something. Books help children associate those squiggles with objects. Puzzles help them solve problems. Dolls engage the imagination. In eighth century Francia, the setting for my novels, the nobility had their own version of age …
Friday night in Seattle, less than a week before Christmas, and all through the house (called El Corazon )it is packed to the gills where X and the Blasters played a double bill. Seattle’s own Girl Trouble opened. All three bands are perfectly blended. The Blasters are traditional roots rock while X have their roots …
Los Angeles jazz organist Brian Charette has released his new single, “Time of the Season,” a cover of The Zombies’ 1968 hit. This supercoolish vamp is the latest from Charette’s full-length album, Good Tipper, which was released November 2014. When not recording or performing, Charette teaches master classes all over the world and is on …
The Joseph of the Nativity story is a cipher: one of those New Testament characters whose very blankness seems to invite us to step into their sandals and ask what we would do if we were witness to such strange events. It wasn’t until I became an adoptive father that I suddenly (if narcissistically) saw …
Friday night December 12, I once again made the long drive south to Tacoma, Washington to see yet another great show at Jazzbones. This time it was Nekromantix with Angie & the Car Wrecks opening. I’ve lost count how many times I’ve seen Nekromantix, but this was the most fun show I’ve seen them do. …
For me, this 1970 LP is the best “holiday” album. Why? Laura Nyro wrote all the songs, except one, which Carole King did. Felix Cavaliere and Arif Mardin produced it. The backing band are the Swampers from Muscle Shoals – plus Duane Allman AND Alice Coltrane play on it. What more could you want? – …
Friendly Canadian indie-rock trio Zerbin is spreading holiday cheer with a free download of its latest EP. Premiering on Pancakes & Whiskey, the new release features Christmas classics with a modern pop twist and two never before heard remixes of the band’s hit song, “New Earth.” The free download is available via NoiseTrade. Formed in …
After spending the last few months working on new music, Australian songwriter Anna O is excited by the release of her latest single, ‘Symphony.’ The track is brought to life by the artist’s warm, soulful vocals, which glide over a landscape of dreamy synths, strings and an overall sense of intrigue. It’s this unique layering …
For me, the soundtrack of the late 80’s and early 90’s, the definitive ‘indie rock’ artist, was Barbara Manning. Her ethereal vocals over the top of a 1960s English folk / 70’s Krautrock / 80’s Kiwi Flying Nun blend was not only unique, it was transcendent. Sonic Youth, Yo La Tengo and Robyn Hitchcock sang …
As a Christmas gift for you, Red Sleeping Beauty is releasing “Merry Christmas, Marie,” their first new song in 17 years. Red Sleeping Beauty is a semi-legendary Swedish bedroom pop band. They released two albums and numerous singles on classic pop labels around the world between 1992 and 1997. Highly rated by pop connoisseurs, they …
Unless someone comes out with an excellent Christmas album in the next couple weeks, here’s my top ten of 2014: St. Paul and the Broken Bones Half the City The Budos Band Burnt Offering Lee Fields and the Expressions Emma Jean Benjamin Booker Violent Shiver Prince Art Official Age Jack White Lazaretto Sharon Jones and …
Recently signed to Cherrytree Records/Interscope, seven-piece sibling band The Hunts, have been playing music together almost their entire lives. Ranging from ages 16 to 24, twin sisters Jenni and Jessi and their five brothers Josh, Jonathan, Jordan, Justin, and Jamison all learned to sing and play violin as young kids and spent much of their …
You need to see this: Frida! Bjorn’s Ovation Breadwinner! Frida’s satin hot pants and charmingly awkward dancing and blithe overconfidence! That video was discovered in an Internet breadcrumb trail—there needs to be a word for that experience (start with site A, which takes you to video B, which leads to chatroom C, etc.); maybe wormholing?—with …
Portland jazz artist Barbara Lusch is no novice to the heart and grit that fueled the 80s and brought about rock powerhouse numbers from Springsteen, Bowie, Bon Jovi and many other culture icons. In a creative attempt to underline the passion and emotive fervor contained in the lyrics of these rock ballads, Lusch and conductor …
I’m having fun with videos again. How old were you when man first set foot on the moon? I think we have little idea how deep an impact this monumental event had and continues to have on our species…….. – Betsy Youngquist https://www.dropbox.com/s/rooaz5lpx2zi118/Spaceships.mp4 BYART.com