Couldn’t (or did) make it to our release party for ALARM #41? Relive the night in photos at Isle of Man Chicago.
Like a resilient virus, ALARM Magazine is back on newsstands, determined to share its genetic information with the world on a quarterly basis.
At long last, ALARM unveils its 11 favorite albums of 2013 — a list of amazing music that you won’t find anywhere else.
Saving the best for last, we’ve chosen our 51 favorite albums of 2013, pulled from the acclaimed and the unsung — some of the best as well as most boundary-pushing releases from rock and beyond.
Inspired by the third installment of The Naked Gun, we decided to compile our favorite albums over the first 3 1/3 years of the 2010s.
Vocalist and composer Mike Patton’s credits are a mile long, and all extremely different from one another. His tastes in food, culture, and obscure hangouts are just as diverse.
NK: Nothing to Be Gained Here (Triple Crown, 5/21/13)
As music lovers, we await those rare projects that combine familiar and new elements in unique, indescribable ways. Comprised of singer/guitarist Ryan Hunter (Envy on the Coast), bassist Michael Sadis (The Rivalry), and drummer Billy Rymer (The Dillinger Escape Plan), NK is one of those projects.
The San Francisco International Film Festival has made a tradition of assembling a live musical group each year to score a silent film. In the past, this has included artists like Stephen Merritt, Yo La Tengo, Deerhoof, and Black Francis. In 2013, the festival has put together an ensemble including Mike Patton (Faith No More), Scott Amendola (Nels Cline Singers), Matthias Bossi (Sleepytime Gorilla Museum), and William Winant (Mr. Bungle) to score the 1924 fantasy-horror classic Waxworks, directed by Paul Leni.
Last month ALARM presented its 50 favorite albums of 2012, an eclectic, rock-heavy selection of discs that were in steady rotation in our downtown-Chicago premises. Now, to give some love to tunes that were left out, we have our 50 (+5) favorite songs of last year — singles, B-sides, EP standouts, soundtrack cuts, and more.
After relaunching for free this summer on the iPad, ALARM Magazine is back in print with more awesome shit. We’re psyched to have the mighty Soundgarden on the cover of our Nov/Dec issue, which includes interviews with and stories on Converge, Refused, Melvins, Dirty Projectors, Bloc Party, P.O.S, Squarepusher, Fang Island, and more.