Your Listening Pleasure
The Pipettes, The Black Lips and His Name is Alive join this week's listening pleasure party.
The Black Lips – O Katrina! [MP3] - The Black Lips play Rock 'n' Roll the way it was always meant to be played – loud, fast, energetic and bluesy. The slightly gritty production accentuates the band's throwback style, while distorted guitars and drums drive the 2 minute 49 second, Sonics-esque romp...
Posted by Jason Prechtel on Oct 09, 2007 @ 12:00 am
Windy City Watch
It's hard to find a band better than Ezra Furman & the Harpoons.
This week’s Windy City Watch band doesn't actually hail from the Windy City - but they've made themselves a pretty comfortable home away from home here in Chicago. Ezra Furman & the Harpoons signed to Chicago based pop/rock label Minty Fresh late last year, and are wowing fans and critics.
Minty Fresh is another gem of the Chicago music scene; rating up there as one of my favorite Chicago based labels...
Posted by Lisa White on Oct 09, 2007 @ 12:00 am
Is Wilco the "American Radiohead?"
Two successful careers - but how alike are Wilco and Radiohead?
Many years ago, I believed that every garbage can had the possibility of being Oscar-the-Grouch’s home. “Is Oscar in there?? I would ask any adult willing to listen. I did not yet understand the difference between correlation and causality. In reality, Oscar would lead to a garbage can, but the relationship did not always work in the opposite direction. Garbage cans did not necessarily lead to Oscar...
Posted by Greg Herald on Oct 08, 2007 @ 12:00 am
Missed Out Music
Where was Colin Meloy before The Decemberists?
Oh the sweet sounds of Colin Meloy – arguably the best voice to soundtrack the changing trees. Meloy, normally the Decemberists’ front man, has a knack for writing stories of death, destruction and man-eating whales. You’d be hard pressed to find someone who can use imagery as well as Meloy.
Long before we had the “Mariner’s Revenge Song,? however, Meloy fronted a band called Tarkio. This alt-country band formed in 1996 – and broke up in 1999. As the Decemberists grew in popularity, so did the demand for some of Tarkio’s stuff to be released. In 2006, Kill Rock Stars put out Omnibus, a double disc set that features Meloy and the rest of Tarkio in all of their fiddling goodness.
The ghost of Tarkio (speaking of which – Tarkio got their name from a memory of Meloy’s childhood. Apparently, Tarkio was a haunted town not too far away from Meloy’s home as a kid) lives on in the Decemberists. Meloy’s approach to song writing hasn’t changed much, if at all.
You could say that this band is “Decemberists Lite,? but there are points of brilliance on Omnibus that make you wonder how far Tarkio could have gone if Meloy had stuck with it. Take a listen to “Keeping Me Awake? below.
Tarkio – Keeping Me Awake [MP3]
Posted by Wes Soltis on Oct 05, 2007 @ 12:00 am
A Cause For Attention
Some bands pick a platform, some tours take a stand – Here’s music news that doesn’t highlight the messenger, just the message.
This week’s focus: Muse and The Helen Foundation
From last week’s attention to far-off-places, we move to a band that’s supporting a charity from their home. The members of Muse (Matt Bellamy, Dominic Howard and Chris Wolstenholme) first formed at Teignmouth Community College in England...
Posted by Leen Morrissey on Oct 04, 2007 @ 12:00 am