2007 was a year of duality for music. While the industry continued to tank, it was quietly a very good year for rock ‘n’ roll and indie music. The Boss returned with his old band, the Police actually got along and even Led Zeppelin reunited. The most exciting music was busy breaking down barriers. Arcade Fire played in intimate churches; Web site TakeAwayShows.com and the film “Once” returned music to the streets; and a certain British band eliminated a very big middle man. “In Rainbows,” Radiohead: The much-ballyhooed online release of “In Rainbows” in some ways obscured what an excellent… Read more »
INDIO, California – Perhaps it was a sign that the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Arcade Fire and Hot Chip were sharing the same bill. Whatever the case, Saturday was certainly one of the most scorching Coachella afternoons ever, with temperatures into the100s for hours on end. That meant the tented stages provided plenty of shadowy solace, while pre-sunset outdoor acts were playing to their diehards and suffering while doing it. (Let’s just say there were multiple hipster rockers quoting Lil Jon’s infamous sweat-dripping lyrics.) Still, Peter Bjorn and John and the Decemberists wore their suits and the Sahara tent was… Read more »
There’s another eclectic bill, courtesy of Perry Farrell, for this year’s Lollapalooza Festival, set this year for August 3-5 in Chicago’s Grant Park. Although only re-establishing itself in recent years, the rock festival has planted itself as a big date on the U.S. festival calendar, re-jigging itself last year with a bigger capacity and more stages. Top of the bill this year are Modest Mouse, Yeah Yeah Yeah’s, Kanye West and Pearl Jam, it was confirmed yesterday, along with Modest Mouse, CSS, Kings Of Leon, TV On The Radio, MIA, LCD Soundsystem, The View, Hot Chip, Amy Winehouse, LCD Soundsystem,… Read more »
It was a tight race for the #1 spot on Billboard ‘s next albums chart, one that pitted enigmatic indie rock outfit Modest Mouse against soulful British songstress Joss Stone. And no matter how it all played out, someone was going to score the first chart-topping debut of their career. While Stone was a solid contender for the top spot, Modest Mouse take the crown on next week’s chart by a margin of 10,000 scans with their latest offering, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, selling nearly 129,000 copies. But Modest Mouse’s conquest was perhaps more significant because… Read more »
Death Cab for Cutie and “The O.C.” have had a symbiotic relationship almost since the teen beach drama began in August, 2003. Protagonist Seth Cohen (actor Adam Brody) named-dropped the Washington state indie-rockers liberally and sported posters of the group on his wall, giving them mainstream exposure they probably never expected. In turn, Seth, his refined taste, and the show itself have earned a stellar reputation in music-geek circles. Death Cab have had their music featured in key scenes before, but the group will finally perform on “The O.C.” on April 20. The group will play two songs from its… Read more »
New York’s finest new rock acts will be anthologized on “YES New York,” a 15-track collection due June 3 from Wolfgang Morden, the soundtrack imprint of Vice Records. The album kicks off with a previously unreleased live version of the Strokes’ “New York City Cops” recorded in Iceland, and concludes with an acoustic version of “Our Time” performed by Unitard, a side project of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. “As transplants to New York, we had spent a decade watching the New York rock scene kinda suck with too many Heartbreaker wannabes and noisy sound-alikes,” executive producers Chris White and Brian… Read more »
With 2024 swiftly underway, a wave of eagerly-awaited new singles, albums, and more are poised to make their way into the heavy rotation of our go-to playlists sooner than we realize. Unlike the previous year when Fireworks dropped their new collection, Higher Lonely Power—their first full-length since 2014’s Oh, Common Life—on New Year’s Day, we’ve had a moment to decompress from the holiday madness before diving headfirst into the new release calendar marked by the turn of the new year. Ranging from long-awaited releases such as Neck Deep’s self-titled album and Ghost Atlas’ first new collection since 2017, to debut… Read more »
Bristol-based post-punkers IDLES are going on a major international tour in 2024, including plentiful stops in North America. Beginning on February 29, the band will kick off a long run of European shows in Portugal, and conclude on March 23 in Frankfurt. Then, the group will begin their North American tour on May 3 in Vancouver before heading down into the United States and also hitting venues in Mexico. Of course, the British band will finish out the extensive tour at shows in the UK and Ireland. In October, the rock quintet announced their forthcoming fifth album TANGK, and released… Read more »
