Destroyer @ Bowery Ballroom, Wednesday, April 23rd
Image courtesy flickr user forklift The New Pornographers put on one of the worst concerts of recent memory at the Bowery Ballroom last August. It was so unbearable that writing a review would have been like rubbing alcohol on an open wound. A.C. Newman was acting like a real prick in-between songs, talking for longer...
Lost MP3 of the Week: Da Real One, “If U Like Pina Colada (Pina Colada Song)”
When you’re young, the desire to fit in can be a very, very dangerous thing. Sure, this applies to drugs, sex, alcohol, violence and all those things parents worry about – but it also relates to music. I came across Da Real One’s version of “If U Like Pina Colada (Pina Colada Song)” during eighth...
Lost MP3 of the Week: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, “Helplessly Hoping”
This song is Spring. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: “Helplessly Hoping” (download) It’s easy enough to point to nearly any Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and say that – “Judy: Blue Eyes,” certainly. “Guinnevere,” absolutely. “Our House,” you bet. But “Helplessly Hoping” is it, the most Spring of any of their songs. This is it....
T-Sides Elsewhere, April 20th Edition
Bullz-Eye: I conducted an interview with Jimmy Gnecco of OURS, whose long-awaited album Mercy (Dancing For The Death Of An Imaginary Enemy) is finally out on April 15th. Popdose: I reviewed the Sun Giant EP from Seattle’s Fleet Foxes, who are stirring up the blog hype lately. Portishead: “Wandering Star” (download)
Devendra Banhart, Is That You?
Oh, hey Devendra Banhart, I didn’t realize you were in that new movie, Forgetting Sarah Marshall. What, that’s not you? Okay, if you say so. Pretty close resemblance, though. But I guess I can understand if you’re embarrassed and don’t want to lose your cred. Devendra Banhart: “Seaside” (download)
T-Sides Elsewhere, April 2nd Edition
As T-Sides Domination continues expanding, “T-Sides Elsewhere” will likely become a somewhat regular feature every couple weeks. On Bullz-Eye: My review of the Heart of the City Tour (Jay-Z & Mary J. Blige), the new Destroyer album, Trouble in Dreams, and I wrote about the book Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop for the Rock of Pages...
Lost MP3 of the Week: The Animals, “House of the Rising Sun”
The first music, in general, that I remember loving and growing up with was from “the Music Man” – as in the movie with Robert Preston, which I would watch repeatedly, to the point of annoying my mother, when I was about four years old. But memory is a tricky thing, and a lot of...
Mountain Goats @ Webster Hall, Tuesday, March 18th
Much like John Darnielle himself, the Mountain Goats’ audience at Webster Hall on Tuesday night had a tendency to flaunt its wit. Every time someone called out a song request – which was frequently, because in this cultish fan base, everyone has a favorite – someone else had a witty thing to yell in retort....
Lost MP3 of the Week: Bruce Springsteen, “Red Headed Woman”
The best thing about St. Patrick’s Day – aside from that whole drinking thing – is that it’s a day to be especially proud about redheadedness. A long time ago, the Seattle alternative weekly Tablet had a feature called something like: “what it’s like to be…” and had someone write a short paragraph about what...
T-Sides Elsewhere.
Things have been a little quiet here, it’s true. That’s mostly because yours truly has been swept up in a flurry of writing activity for some other websites – and I’d like to take some time and point out a few. Bullz-Eye: I’m writing CD reviews for this Men’s/Entertainment site. Recently, I’ve covered Ray Davies’...
Enablers @ Knitting Factory, Sunday, March 9th
San Francisco’s Enablers are more an amalgam of music and poetry than the average band. This distinction is forged primarily through the use of speech only loosely set in pattern with the music instead of sing-song verse. In a live setting – in this case New York City’s Knitting Factory, at the Tap Bar –...
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