This week, Sean-Michael Yoder has some new electronic jams to throw on that winter playlist. The list includes Justin Martin showing some maturity on his third release, the electro-house / UK funky / disco house of Agent 86, and a history lesson from the boys of Metro Area.
Music
Q&A: Grails Descants on Doomy and Divergent Recording Sessions
With cinematic soundscapes, engaging Indian melodies, film-noir mystique, 1960s psychedelia, and crushing heaviness, Grails is an instrumental rarity.
Dub Trio Plays Intimate and Engaging Set
At the November 21st Dub Trio show, the crowd was thin, possibly because the band had already played Chicago several times this year. Although the initial hype may have settled, those in attendance actively anticipated the band’s third Subterranean appearance in 2008.
Weekly Burlesque: Beginning Fan Dance with Michelle L’Amour
Who wouldn’t want to learn fan-dance techniques from Michelle?
Weekly Music News Roundup
Pummeling mid-tempo rock icons The Jesus Lizard will briefly reunite; idiosyncratic rapper Busdriver performs live with a jazz band tonight; minimalist folk group Phosphorescent has recorded a disc of Willie Nelson covers. Read on.
BPM Counter: Five Hot New Releases
This week Sean-Michael Yoder brings us new music from Polish producer Marcin Czubala, Kaskade‘s OM Remixes, and the fourth album from LA-based duo I’m Not A Gun.
Six Great Lines from Shellac Songs
Shellac is an enigmatic, metallic-toned, minimalist rock trio that appears whenever it feels like recording a new album. The lyrics of guitarist/vocalist/engineer Steve Albini are just as untroubled, touching on anything from a prayer for two deaths to a catastrophic squirrel attack. Here are six of the group’s great lines.
Tim Barry: Manchester
With the growing list of punk-turned-roots acts (see Greg Graffin of Bad Religion’s excellent 2006 effort, Cold as the Clay, or anything John Doe of X and Mark Lanegan of Screaming Trees have been up to for many years for further evidence…) one could assume that an acoustic singer/songwriter project is the going retirement plan for punks seeking solace from the hustle and bustle of crusty noise and leather.
Weekly Burlesque: Tribute Numbers
Every year at The Burlesque Hall of Fame Striptease Reunion, several performers bring numbers constructed to tribute their favorite superstars of classic burlesque. Sometimes they are recreations; sometimes they are simply inspired by and include elements of movement, costuming, and/or lore associated with those performers.
Weekly Music News Roundup
Femi Kuti confirms US tour dates, Ennio Morricone will write music for Quentin Tarantino, and we have previews for new albums by Andrew Bird, Burnt by the Sun, William Elliot Whitmore, and Powersolo. Read on.
DIY Venue Spotlight: WonderRoot Community Center
The WonderRoot Community Center supports and encourages a variety of creative endeavors; they are the elementary school art teacher of DIY venues.
Members of this non-profit arts organization strive to inspire positive social change; they feel that artists have the ability to change the world. Those who enter WonderRoot can expect an accessible, low-pressure environment where self-expression is welcome.
Nous Non Plus: Menagerie
The Francophile New Yorkers of Nous Non Plus have given us American indie rock sung almost exclusively in French. Many hip musicians have long been obsessed with the nation that gave us both the pencil and duck-vomit cracker spread.
On its second album, Menagerie, the six-piece Nous Non Plus expresses a desire to “imagine Gainsbourg and Bardot as indie rockers in 2008.”