We get a lot of emails and press releases these days.  The variety of stuff we have sent to us ranges from requests to cover projects by Slayer to Dakota Fanning and everything in between.  Even through trying to be selective, there often seems to be more to cover than we have time for.  It’s hard not to jump on those Pavement tickets (they’re still so good), but there’s nothing like discovering something new we’ve never seen before.  Sure, we’ve gotten plenty of contacts from acts who have no idea what our interests are or what we care about.  Sometimes they’re “wacky” pop-punk acts or maybe they just care more about acting and dressing like rock stars then actually creating something of substance.  I don’t feel too bad ignoring those type of contacts because, if you don’t know who the fuck we are, then why should I give a fuck about researching and writing about who you are trying to be?  Other times, however, I get that email that reminds me that the original goal was really to help bring attention to quality artists that often get overlooked.  That’s how we discovered some surprising talent that we’ve covered in the past, like Untied States and Edison; through receiving random emails.  Sometimes we get a really nice personalized direct contact that introduces us to someone like stencil artist Paper Monster.  Sometimes it takes quite a few emails before we wise up and realize that we’ve been ignorantly overlooking something amazing, as was the case with one of my favorite newer acts, NURSES.  All too often, I know that timing gets in the way and/or there are just things being lost in the chaos.  A new Brooklyn quintet calling themselves Quiet Lights, has fallen into a mix of a few of these circumstances with us. (more…)

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Thank you and hello again, everybody.  This week our pop-spotlight song of the week comes from a young Los Angeles, California trio calling themselves WAVVES.  Essentially a project of San Deigo native, Nathan Williams, the first two releases from the lo-fi punk outfit were recorded behind the home of Williams‘ parents, launching the young man into the forefront of America‘s burgeoning Garage Rock resurrection.  For the current incarnation, Williams has recruited the late-Jay Reatard‘s former rhythm section, Stephen Pope (bass) and Billy Hayes (drums).  Together they have released the high-energy 12-track gem, King of the Beach, that all the kids are bopping their heads and tapping their toes along to.  Today our spotlight shines on one particular song from this release and it’s corresponding video, which focuses on extra-terrestrials and skateboarding.  Ladies and gentleman, please enjoy “Post Acid“. (more…)

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Last year, Antony and The Johnsons released their first full-length album since the Mercury Prize-winning, I Am A Bird Now, 4 years earlier.  The Crying Light proved to be another minor-masterpiece, cementing Antony Hegarty‘ group as an important musical force, deserving of our continued attention into the new decade.  It even yielded some surprising success on a commercial level, reaching the number one spot on the Billboard European Top 100.  The album release was definitely worth the wait and, as someone who caught him during the supporting tour, Hegarty‘s abilities as a live performer only continue to increase.  Hopes are reasonably high for their next album, but, this time around, the anticipation isn’t taking nearly as long to quell.  In the following months, an EP, LP, and even an art book are slated to be released by the group.  There’s a lot on the horizon, but, for now, we have our first sample of what’s to come, in the form of a new video.

Prior to The Crying Light hitting the metaphorical shelves, it was preceded by the 5-song EP, Another World.  Along with the lead off single/title track, the EP also featured 4 additional songs that didn’t appear on The Crying Light.  For the upcoming release, Swanlights, Hegarty and crew have opted to adopt that concept yet again.  Today marks the UK and European release date for the 5-song, Thank You For Your Love EP [Rough Trade] with the official North American release coming tomorrow (Aug. 24th) through Secretly Canadian.  As could be expected, the song “Thank You For Your Love“, which appears on this EP, is also the lead off single for Swanlights.  Those familiar with Antony‘s early years, know that he moved to Manhattan in 1990 to study experimental theatre at NYU.  This move resulted in Hegarty‘s formation and involvement with his Blacklips theatre collective, which ultimately spawned a good deal of his early musical material with the Johnsons.  The following video for “Thank You For Your Love” is comprised of super 8 footage from that period of Antony‘s life when he first arrived to the city. (more…)

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There used to be a guy who fancied himself as a “street musician” who would set up across the street from my apartment every night and blare obnoxious guitar riffs through a pocket amp.  He had, what seemed like, no more than a rotating 3-song setlist.  He mostly just played Jimi Hendrix covers, using the muddled distortion and the fact that he was a black man with a guitar in Seattle to his favor.  The drunken frat boys and under-dressed skanks, clopping around like clydesdales ate that shit up.  Then again, they only caught about 12 seconds of it as they wandered by in a drunken stupor.  Try putting that 12 seconds on repeat for hours.  It was a smooth move for the “guitarist” and he marketed himself wisely.  Who’s gonna talk shit to this guy around here?  Nevermind the fact that the one thing that he produced was obnoxious and that he wasn’t actually Hendrix.  This Seattle; that would be sacrilege.

Today I witnessed a video of a man who I actually would have appreciated having perform in my neighborhood.  This footage isn’t devoid of gimmicks [he's a one-man-band playing a Wu-Tang song, for chrissakes] but something about it still holds genuine.  It’s actually pretty awesome and, although this particular footage is of the musician performing a cover, he is much more than a one-note.  In fact, through my research, I’ve discovered that he’s much more than a street performer, or even a musician, but that’s not important for now.  We’ll get back to that more after the video. (more…)

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Now that you’ve read our writer Knuckle Supper‘s review of Scott Pilgrim VS the World, you should know a little more about the project.  If nothing else, you should now know that it began as a graphic novel and have a rough idea about the manner in which it was adapted into a full-on motion picture.   It can be a big leap from the pages of a hand drawn comic book to the big screen and, in building that bridge, a few branches had to be cut.  The folks over at ADULT SWIM have decided to make that transition just slightly smoother, by providing an additional 4-minute short titled, “Scott Pilgrim VS The Animation“.  Through it’s  format alone, the cartoon helps to segue from the 2-dimensional black and white pages of Bryan Lee O’Malley‘s now classic, illustrated work to it’s live-action cinematic counterpart, but that isn’t it’s only benefit.  The short also works as a prologue, filling in and setting up a piece of the storyline that never made it into Edgar Wright‘s final movie.  The mini-film focuses on a flashback sequence from VOL. 2 of the book series, which establishes how Scott and Kim Pine originally met and began playing music together.

The network aired their brief animated contribution last night, in preparation of the the film’s release today, but we have it posted here for everyone that may have blinked and missed it.  It was produced by Jason DeMarco, and features voice work by actors Michael Cera, Alison Pill, Mae Whitman, and Jason Schwartzman.

Enjoy (more…)

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NEIL HAMBURGER

The High Dive

Seattle, Wa

July, 9th 2010

When I saw Neil Hamburger perform for the first time, I had no idea what I was attending.  Mac Dawg was opening the show with his old Judas Priest cover band, Hell Bent For Aids Research, so I was mostly there to check that out.  This was easily 9 or 10 years ago and the show was held at an Olympia, Wa staple known as Le Voyeur.  In essence, the place is a grimy-ass dive bar that used to pay us with nothing but a 5 dollar bar tab (per band member).  It’s the the type of joint that, more times than not, involved traveling acts passing an empty beer pitcher around and relying on donations for gas money, just to get to the next town.  This event was slightly bigger, so I’m sure that there was probably a slight door charge but, whatever it cost, it was entirely worth it.

That whole show was actually pretty crazy.  First, Mac Dawg‘s group knocked out their set, which featured no less than 5 covers of “Hell Bent for Leather” and a moment of excessive live nudity.  Next was the hairy, Canadian duo of Canned Hamm, who serenaded us with crowd favorites like “Karaoke Lady“, while wearing little more than ascots and briefs.  When the headliner finally took the mic, he was fully clothed in his trademark tux.  Hamburger‘s aesthetic also involves a greasy comb-over, large eyeglasses, and an armload of mixed drinks that spill and tumble to the floor around him, as he staggers through his generally painful sets.  His disheveled appearance is standard and his “anti-comedy” often staggers and lurches between clever, biting wit and intentionally terrible, popsicle-stick-caliber puns and riddles.  Through creating his alter-ego of “the world’s ‘worst’ stand-up comedian“, Gregg Turkington manages to confuse the lines between audience and subject… brilliance and stupidity… comedy and… severe discomfort.  We’ve written about Neil before and should have an interview posted with “America’s Funny Man” soon enough, so I won’t go too deep into his back-story for now.  What I will say, however, is that the best parts of his routines come from the uncomfortable dynamic created between the character and his unsuspecting audiences.  I’ll never be able to fully relive the experience of watching his work unfold for that very first time, but, based on what I’ve witnessed from his current tour, the magic has definitely not been lost. (more…)

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