Bob Dylan Archives

The Triumph motorcycle that Bob Dylan crashed

Bob Dylan on his 1964 Triumph Tiger.

Q&A: Sargent House’s Cathy Pellow on redefining the management-label relationship

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Named after the historic home where its offices reside, Sargent House isn’t your ordinary music company. It’s a management company but also a record label — and houses a PR company (US/Them Group), a video-production site (Terroreyes TV), and, now, a licensing and music-supervision division (1656 Music).

Situated between Hollywood and downtown Los Angeles, Sargent House is all of these things, and its owner and founder, Cathy Pellow, isn’t your ordinary businessperson either. From her beginnings as a 20-year-old representing fashion photographers in New York, to her role as a film producer and talent-boutique owner, to creating a music-television show and commissioning videos for Island and Atlantic Records, Pellow holds an unusual pedigree for an indie-label head.

Father John Misty’s secret weapon: Dimitri Drjuchin’s bright, mystical eye candy

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Born in Moscow, NYC-based painter and illustrator Dimitri Drjuchin creates bright, mystical eye candy that reads like a riddle. You may recognize his surrealist work from gig posters for comics Marc Maron, Jim Gaffigan, Eugene Mirman, and Hannibal Buress — or, more recently, you might have spotted his mind-bending cover for Fear Fun, the debut album from Father John Misty.

MP3 Premiere: Elephant Stone’s dreamy, Byrdsian “Masters of War”

Elephant Stone: Elephant Stone (Hidden Pony, 2/5/13)

“Masters of War”

Elephant Stone – Masters of War

Founded by bassist and sitar performer Rishi Dhir, Elephant Stone is a magic-eye poster brought to life. The band is releasing a self-titled record on February 5 and then setting out on tour with The Black Angels, and now we’re getting a taste of another track from the album after NPR premiered “Heavy Moon” earlier this month.

Interview: Dirty Projectors songwriter David Longstreth achieves discovery in seclusion

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Dirty Projectors: Swing Lo Magellan (Domino, 7/10/12)

“Gun Has No Trigger”

Dirty Projectors: “Gun Has No Trigger”

Dave Longstreth has one hell of a view. Slumping his lanky frame in a plush leather chair, the Dirty Projectors front-man has been given a room in Brooklyn’s Wythe Hotel that has a massive floor-to-ceiling window, displaying the island of Manhattan in stunning panorama. The funny thing, as Longstreth points out, is that the accommodations are a bit superfluous. “I live just a couple blocks that way,” he notes.

Despite the junketed overkill of the meeting place, Longstreth can attest that time away from home can really clear one’s head for answers. Last year after touring behind his band’s breakthrough 2009 album Bitte Orca, Longstreth hid himself away, renting a house in upstate New York for the sole purpose of writing and recording new songs. Narrowed from more than 50 demos to 12 final tracks, the resultant Swing Lo Magellan is Longstreth’s attempt at concentrated songcraft. “This album, for me, is just about the songs,” he says, “this idea of a verse and a chorus and lyrics and melody.”

Review: David Byrne & St. Vincent’s Love This Giant

David Byrne & St. Vincent: Love This Giant (4AD, 9/11/12)

“Who”

David Byrne & St. Vincent: “Who”

David Byrne has one of the most recognizable voices in music, ranking somewhere between Bob Dylan and Michael Stipe. No doubt this is why everyone wants the former Talking Heads front-man to guest on their records. Dirty Projectors, Arcade Fire, Jherek Bischoff — they’ve all taken advantage of the static friction of that back-of-the-mouth tenor.

But Love This Giant, Byrne’s collaboration with St. Vincent, a woman who’s known more for her multi-instrumentalist abilities than her voice, is the first full-length he’s co-written with anyone other than Brian Eno.

Review: Idyl’s Elements of the Field

Idyl: Elements of the Field (5/8/12)

“Rio da Duvida”

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Thirty years ago, an artist like Alex Dupree may not have gotten past his debut album, a record brimming with both respect for the folk tradition and an insatiable need for experimentation, recorded with a group of misfits from Austin, Texas, who called themselves the Trapdoor Band. He may not have gotten past his second record or his third or the EP that came out between them, music that earned Dupree comparisons to Bob Dylan, at least by the few folks listening. Fortunately, times have changed, and artists like Dupree don’t need to be ratified by the critics’ vanguard to keep making music.

Guest Playlist: Viva Voce’s songs for the apocalypse

Viva Voce: The Future Will Destroy You (Vanguard, 6/21/11)

Viva Voce: “Analog Woodland Song”

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Kevin and Anita Robinson comprise Portland, Oregon-based rock-n-roll band Viva Voce. The married couple has released six full-length albums since the late ’90s, the latest of which is called The Future Will Destroy You. With Kevin hammering the drums with machine-like precision and Anita producing catchy hooks and riffs with classic-rock cool, it’s a surprisingly lighthearted sound for such a foreboding title. The band’s sticking by its claim, though, and recently compiled this apocalyptic playlist for ALARM.

1. The Stooges: “Search & Destroy”

I’m a streetwalking cheetah with a heart full of napalm. ‘Nuff said.

Guest Playlist: William Elliott Whitmore’s top anti-war songs

William Elliott Whitmore: Field Songs (Anti-, 7/12/11)

William Elliott Whitmore: “Everything Gets Gone”

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Folk songwriter William Elliott Whitmore graced the cover of ALARM 35 back in 2009, right after he had made the jump to Anti- (read story here). At the time, he was promoting his new album, Animals in the Dark, which saw his blues-infused creations bolstered by additions of pedal steel, organs, strings, and drums. Now, he’s set to release a new full-length, Field Songs, which speaks to a uniquely American experience. Never one to hide his political beliefs, Whitmore was kind enough to share with us 10 of his favorite anti-war songs.

10 Anti-War Songs
by William Elliott Whitmore

1. Operation Ivy: “Unity”

A bit of protest from the Bay Area’s premier ska outfit.

Mercury Rev: Out of the Psychedelic Haze, a Rock Band’s Renewal

Nearly torn apart on multiple occasions due to drug abuse and infighting, New York-based rock band Mercury Rev is still together, asking the big questions, and enjoying every opportunity to play another song.

Record Review: Kurt Vile’s Smoke Ring For My Halo

Kurt Vile: Smoke Ring For My Halo (Matador, 3/8/11)

Kurt Vile: “Baby’s Arms”

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During the few years that he’s been putting out proper records, Philadelphia’s Kurt Vile has played equally the singer-songwriter and the free-form sonic tinkerer. He seems unwilling to force too much to happen in either capacity. He’s sincerely catchy but shy of being blatantly earnest. He’s tempted by the inviting fizzle of tape hiss, reverb, drum machines, and Casios, but can put a simple guitar part at the front when it suits him.

His new album, Smoke Ring For My Halo, is a lot more orderly than Constant Hitmaker (2008) or Childish Prodigy (2009). The frequent, fun instrumental twiddling of Hitmaker is just about entirely gone, and Prodigy‘s push toward rocking clarity continues in a mellow acoustic vein. It no longer sounds like each song was patched together in slightly different circumstances and varying qualities of tape. He achieves a new consistency on Smoke Ring and doesn’t strain himself to get there.

Behind the Counter: Mystery Train (Gloucester, MA)

Each week, Behind the Counter speaks to an independent record store to ask about its recent favorites, best sellers, and noteworthy trends.

For Gloucester, MA-based Mystery Train Records, vinyl is the name of the game — it always has been and probably always will be. In fact, the store doesn’t order any new records. If you’re in the area and want to thumb through some carefully selected records — and maybe unearth a true vintage gem or two — look no further. We spoke with one of Mystery Train’s employees, Tim, and he gave us the lowdown on how the Train just keeps on runnin’.

What are the origins of Mystery Train?

Mystery Train began 30 years ago in Harvard Square, Cambridge selling only used vinyl (CDs did not exist), expanded over the years to five stores, then settled back to one large (most vinyl in New England) store in Gloucester, MA. Jack Evans, who originated the business, is now partners with Tim who will continue to focus on providing interesting vinyl for current and future generations of record fiends.