Who Said New Wave Was Dead
The Faint set to release their fifth studio album.
When The Faint got together in 1995, they actually went by the name Norman Bailer and the band included Conor Oberst, who left the band shortly after it was formed. However, before Oberst left, the band released their debut album on Lumberjack Records, Sine Sierra. The three remaining members of the band, Todd Fink (formerly Todd Baechle), Joel Peterson and Clark Baechle recruited Matt Bowen, and recorded their second effort, Media...
Posted by Cory Roop on Aug 04, 2008 @ 12:00 am
The Lolla Mixtape
A mixtape for those lesser known bands.
There is one weekend a year that I look forward to more than my birthday and Christmas combined - Lollapalooza weekend. I've been going to the festival since it set roots in Grant Park, and I've had some memorable moments at this festival. Rather than state the obvious acts you should be seeing (um, Radiohead), I've made a little mix of my top five lesser-known artist that you must check out this weekend. Wear plenty of sunscreen, drink plenty of water and be prepared to rock...
Posted by Lisa White on Jul 31, 2008 @ 7:15 am
New Music From The Pigeon Detectives
Trying To Stand Out In The Crowd
Have a ridiculous name? Yes. Make downright whimsically trashy pop songs? Totally. Leeds, UK based Pigeon Detectives may be the latest incarnation of The Kooks or Kaiser Chiefs, but that would be just another lazy critical simplification. Well, not really. Their debut album, Wait For Me, showed us a band intent on grabbing our ears with insanely catchy pop and/or rock which gained them a number one single in the UK with "I Found Out".
Their latest Stephen Street produced follow-up, Emergency, sees the band continuing their habit for sing-a-long stand out's. Formed in 2002, Pigeon Detectives' name was derived from a last minute joke that just happened to stick. Quick success and a tour with fellow countrymen Kaiser Chiefs followed in a land looking for the next "mom friendly" Libertines.
Latest single, "Everybody Wants Me" is a laid back stroll through the past and the simplicity of old. Gone is the urgent bombast of better-known singles from the Pigeons, replaced instead with the carefree folk spirit of The La's.
Lucky for you, the album version features a little farewell from the band that immediately follows the track.
Posted by Joe Roth on Jul 30, 2008 @ 7:12 am
Sixteen Years Later, And Baby's Still Got Back
Jonathan Coulton revives Sir Mix-a-Lot.
Just the other day I was wondering if Sir Mix-a-Lot was still alive. The master of the 8th grade dance has all but disappeared from the public eye since his star of fame began to wane in the mid 90's. Nothing he did could ever compare to the success of "Baby Got Back" for Sir Mix-a-Lot. After his stint in the limelight, Anthony Ray stayed in the music business but gave up performing for a desk and is the CEO of Artist Direct Records...
Posted by Cory Roop on Jul 28, 2008 @ 7:10 am
The Weekly Roundtable
What's the best album from 2000-2008?
We thought long and hard about what we should debate this week: Britney Spears' most valuable body part? The best fast-food french fries? Worst third world country to be stranded in without a gun? We probably gave more thought to what we should debate than the debate itself. But eventually we settled on a simple question: what has been the best album to be released since January 1, 2000? A few of our responses are below, and we are all pretty confident here in our choices. Still, we're expecting you to disagree with us...Posted by Ryan Peters on Jul 25, 2008 @ 7:10 am