A Music Gossip Blog

Gummy Awards 2008: Great Video Contenders

November 19th, 2008posted by Kerry O
read users' comments(0)

By opening the polls yesterday to the most important vote of 2008, we understandably set off a firestorm of doubt, unrest, and confusion: Best Video Of The Year? But who remembers all the videos? Well we remember all the videos. That’s because we blog. It’s understandable that if you don’t spend your days resizing YouTube embed codes, you might not remember every video to hit the internet this year. Also it’s understandable that if you’ve been on the internet this year, you’ve come to think of most “indie”-oriented videos as cheaply constructed, transparently press-cycle-extending promo material. HOWEVER I think you’re being a little cynical and depressed about this whole thing, and someone has to win this category, and really at the end of the year there were a few clips worth remembering. To help jog the brains, here’s 11 that, while maybe not the best, might remind you of the [...]

Read More…

New Glasvegas Video - “Please Come Back Home”

November 18th, 2008posted by Kerry O
read users' comments(0)

It was Glasvegas’ drummer Caroline McKay who made it to 10 on NME’s 2008 Cool List, but that doesn’t stop vocalist James Allan from wearing sunglasses at night. Of course, everyone’s cool in this one. The imagery’s atmospheric, autumnal, dark. You see dead leaves, a concerted choir, and lots of colorful lights punctuating the black backdrop. The video’s for the depressing, but anthemic “Please Come Back Home” from the Scottish quartet’s forthcoming “mini-album” A Snowflake Fell (And It Felt Like A Kiss).

Read More…

New Franz Ferdinand - “Ulysses” (Radio Rip)

November 17th, 2008posted by Kerry O
read users' comments(0)

For those paying attention It’s been a long wait to get a followup to You Could Have It So Much Better. Last Monday we had a fan-constructed version of Tonight: Franz Ferdinand’s “Ulysses,” which was made using the stems available for Beatport’s FF remix competition. It’s no surprise that the real version isn’t as melted or warped sounding. (Still, bummer.) “Ulysses,” the real, debuted on NME radio today and someone made a rip. It’s funky. A bit Spoon-y in its rhythm. And, yes, it sounds very FF, too.

Read More…

Kanye Claims Self-Defense

November 15th, 2008posted by Kerry O
read users' comments(0)

West has blogged about the circumstances of his arrest in a long, all caps post titled WHO’S WINNING, ME OR THE MEDIA? He claims that he didn’t assault anyone (probably true), that paparazzi should be illegal (perhaps), and that he is not a celebrity, just “a normal person that’s famous” (huh?). Read the whole thing here squid brains.

Read More…

Blake Schwarzenbach Has A New Band

November 14th, 2008posted by Kerry O
read users' comments(0)

It’s called the Thorns Of Life. They’re referencing Shelley. And it’s not just Blake: The ex-Jawbreaker/Jets To Brazil frontman has come out of retirement (though I’m guessing he’s still teaching classes at CUNY) and is joined by Aaron Cometbus (!) on drums and Daniela Sea from The L Word on bass. I’ve never watched The L Word so I can’t vouch for Sea, but Schwarzenbach’s one of my favorite lyricists ever and Jawbreaker remains one of my favorite bands, a band I still listen to regularly (yes, even Dear You).
Additionally, in my opinion, there was no better zine than Cometbus. DIY Kerouac. (Plus, Aaron also played drums in Crimpshrine, Pinhead Gunpowder, etc.). When I was a youngster that zine inspired me madly as did Jawbreaker, so this is momentous. (I bet Craig Finn, who’s mentioned the influence Schwarzenbach’s had on him, is just as excited). Thorns Of Life played [...]

Read More…

Preview Killers’ Day & Age

November 13th, 2008posted by Kerry O
read users' comments(0)

After aping Springsteen and Bono, Brandon Flowers allegedly set out to write like Arctic Monkeys and MGMT for LP3. Day & Age doesn’t sound like those bands, but the vibe is more fun (thanks in part to producer Stuart Price) than that of meaningfulcore Sam’s Town. At least based on thirty second samples of each song. A true evaluation would be premature even for us, but for the impatient a single stream of ten song snippets awaits.

Read More…

Crystal Castles Get Technological For Toshiba

November 12th, 2008posted by Kerry O
read users' comments(0)

Alice Glass topping the NME Cool List isn’t so surprising when you consider how she and (to a lesser degree) Ethan Kath have tapped the hep zeitgeist. From the controversy over their merch and accusations of plagiarism down to Glass’s perfectly angled hair and perfectly black eye makeup, it’s as if the duo’s dark fashion-forward 8-bit excursions were hatched by a computer program using Vice and lastnightsparty-approved algorithms. She’s that realm’s ideal pinup. Fitting, then, that CC’s “Air War” would be the soundtrack for this Toshiba clip, ostensibly “the world’s first timesculpture advert.”

Read More…

New Raconteurs Video - “Old Enough”

November 11th, 2008posted by Kerry O
read users' comments(0)

Jack White was playing patty-cake with the Kills yesterday. Today he and his fellow Raconteurs head out into the woods and play the traveling hobo bards from the album cover of Consolers Of The Lonely. It’s all in honor of Autumn De Wilde’s video for soft Appalachian rocker “Old Enough.” If you’re familiar with De Wilde’s other work, you should know to expect something more elaborate than just trees and bark. So, of course, it’s not your usual forest; instead, the guys are in some kind of pastoral hall of mirrors, complete with a mysterious woman in an animated dress.

Read More…

Stereogum x Amazon MP3 Friendly Deals #1: Guided By Voices’ Bee Thousand

November 10th, 2008posted by Kerry O
read users' comments(0)

Today we announce a partnership that brings you classic indie rock albums at hugely discounted prices. Every week, Amazon.com is letting us select one album from its MP3 store to go on super sale (up to 75% off normal prices). Hopefully you’ll be able to add these must-own LPs to your library without breaking your budget. First deal up: Guided By Voices’ Bee Thousand.
Released in 1994 by Scat, an independent label then located in Cleveland, Bee Thousand was Guided By Voices’ seventh album. The Dayton group, a ragtag lineup of friends centered around Robert Pollard and vast quantities of beer, had been making music together as GBV since 1983. They released a number of other earlier gems (1992’s Propeller, 1993’s Vampire On Titus, etc.), but this 20-track/tidbit collection crystallized their lo-fi collagist approach to pop songwriting and, via Matador’s help with distribution, propelled the band onto stereos far beyond [...]

Read More…

New Death Cab For Cutie Video - “No Sunlight”

November 9th, 2008posted by Kerry O
read users' comments(0)

DCFC’s third Narrow Stairs video is for bouncy, upbeat “No Sunlight,” the album’s most obvious single contender. This clip imagines the song’s title literally, inviting us on the night vision journey of a young boy through his neighborhood of like-minded daysleepers. The band’s not in it, but we do meet night owls doing errands and playing sports as the protagonist bikes to a beach bonfire. As sunrise approaches, all the partygoers bolt for the indoors. Maybe everyone suffers from solar urticaria. More likely they’re all vampires because everything’s about goddamn vampires these days.

Read More…

« Older Entries