Brought together by the East Coast independent hip-hop scene and shared political views, emcees Trademarc and Esoteric and producer DC the Midi Alien comprise the East Coast Avengers.
The outspoken trio gained national notoriety a few months back upon the release of its first single, “Kill Bill O’Reilly,” which landed it a spot on the “Worst Person in the World” segment of Countdown with Keith Olbermann.
Sometimes hype can be destructive. Despite the fact that the indie-rock band Japanese Motors’ self-titled debut album is a mediocre-at-best attempt to hipsterize yet another mid-century retro sound, despite that this band has been pushed so hard by the golden ticket of coolness VICE Records that the influence toward irritation even before hearing the band is inevitable, despite lead singer Al Knost’s attempt to create a West Coast Julian Casablancas (the original retro hipsterizer), despite a half-empty room of uninterested stares at the Empty Bottle — despite all this, this band actually kills it live.
I had started this scrapbook blog, but it doesn’t make sense to run two at the moment when I haven’t had time to do one, so here’s a scrapbook post for the holiday. Happy Halloween!!
The Voodoo Music Experience celebrated its 10th anniversary in New Orleans with its most ambitious lineup ever and crowds from all over the country. Mixing a tableaux of both international touring bands with local acts that embody the New Orleans indie/alternative/traditional culture, the 3-day weekend continued proudly once again in its City Park homestead which had been underwater during Hurricane Katrina.
Named after the telephone greeting at PR company Nasty Little Man, Hello Nasty was the Beastie Boys’ stellar follow-up to Ill Communication.
It houses a mix of live instruments, handpicked samples, and serious DJ skills, and it also holds some of the trio’s best lines. We decided to pick out our favorites.
Dillinger Escape Plan guitarist Ben Weinman posts footage of his solo performance; Black Moth Super Rainbow won’t be playing for a while; MTV Iggy posts a clip of Yo-Yo Ma and Andrew Bird jamming. This and much more…
Saving the youth of Appleton, Wisconsin from radio rock, the BFG House has been hosting punk shows for over a year. The BFG was established to share new music and an alternative way of life with the Appleton community. Bands who play here can expect home cooked meals and an audience of punks, neighbors and the occasional ‘townie.’
Chicago’s own Riot Fest made its return this year, once again kicking down doors to several venues for the annual punk rock festivities. Things started in high gear on Friday, October 12 at the House of Blues with the lineup of The Frankl Project, Das Kapital, Shot Baker, The Bouncing Souls, and The Lawrence Arms.
Halloween is nearly here, and may we recommend a celebration that involves seeing GWAR and getting covered in fake blood? If that doesn’t float your gory boat, check out Ravish Momin’s Trio Tarana, the Graveface Records Day of the Dead showcase, or Italian noise-punk trio Zü.
Drone, Drugs, and Harmony, the self-released debut by Kanas City, Missouri’s I Love You is unlikely to inspire the (unwarranted) hand-wringing, post-colonial guilt in which critics indulged over Vampire Weekend this last year, but both groups are equally indebted to past masters of African pop.
This week, ALARM columnist Sean-Michael Yoder brings us a run down of new singles out form a variety of DJs throughout the world. Among them are tracks from American DJ Chris Fortier, up and coming Argentinean Distaff, and one from Djuma Soundsytem with Danish producer/DJ Flip.