Monthly Archives: October 2010

Born in rural South Carolina, the Rinehart brothers started off as a duo, but when they added Seth Bolt and Joe Stillwell to the group, their musical journey officially began.  After struggling independent release after release, the band kept its head high and finally signed in 2006 with Atlantic Records and Sparrow Records.  Since then, their popularity has sky rocketed with their music being used in countless soundtracks (PS I Love You, Employee of the Month), TV Shows (Newport Harbor, Oprah’s Big Give), and tons of other places (2006 World Series, Cougar Town, etc). Click Through for free tickets!

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As music fans, we could hail some upsurge in human passion and creativity as the driving force the behind the 21^st century’s proliferation of styles and artists, but Chuck Berry begs to differ. It seems to be resources the modern musician has to take advantage of that have continually reshaped the structure and modes of music—overall increasing points of contact between the creators and waves of insatiable listeners who drive bands to bend the rules to near breaking point.

Kickstarter.com is one of those resources. It is a massive platform for funding art of any medium, connecting thousands of starving artists each week to every illuminated screen in the world, where eager faces can help bring their visions to earth with a simple monetary donation. Everyone from a poor Portland photographer capturing the battle between nature and concrete in “Built vs. Grown” to Magicsparkle, an alien rock duo from Brooklyn, can make a plea to elevate their art to new levels.

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When I listen to an artist for the first time, I usually try not to compare them to other musicians. I sort of imagine that, were I making music, I would get pretty frustrated if, after spending a year creating what I considered a unique piece of art, someone were to say, “Oh, you sound just like ‘___’ but a little worse.” That said, listening to San Francisco native, self-ascribed ambient rocker, Kelley Stoltz’s newest album, To Dreamers, released on Sub Pop records two weeks ago, my mind cannot help but jump to comparisons. The Shins (on Chutes too Narrow) meets The Kinks (one of Stoltz’s self-proclaimed influences) is thus far the best I can come up with.

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The recent success of acts like Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers goes to show that getting your start on a children’s cable channel is a sure way to build a huge following of screaming tweens and teens (and more than a few college aged girls) and rake in millions of dollars of their parents’ money. Salteens may have taken this idea a little too far. They just finished up a tour of Canada with the live version of the Nick Jr. show “Yo Gabba Gabba.” Hey, toddlers are an untapped music market, right?

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I am an avid fan soccer fan. Anyone who knows me well knows that I am passionate about the sport and I can usually be found making bold claims that go against the general consensus. I usually remain committed to these “bold” opinions (such as Wayne Rooney is not even in the top 20 players of the world) and I tend to get a lot of hell from people. After going through Deerhunter’s new album, Halcyon Digest, I can confidently say that it’s good… but it’s not that great. Enrique, my friend, prepare yourself for the backlash.

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Albums are usually praised for being innovating and creating music which sounds different and new. However, creativity and originality does not always lead to great music. Helado Negro’s latest album, Pasajero, suffers from being too deliberately unusual and innovative. Under his alias, Helado Negro, Roberto Carlos Lange mixes traditional-minded Latino sounds with an assortment of far-out electronic instruments, and it doesn’t quite work.

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In this weeks installment of Scenic Sounds, the bi-weekly column at the crossroads of music and film, Megan Acheampong studies the Score from the film Never Let Me Go in a way you never thought was possible.

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Nowadays, the phrase “country music” almost always brings to mind images of Toby Keith singing pop tunes in an exaggerated southern drawl on a stage draped in American flags. Real Americana music has suffered at the expense of wildly popular “Cashville” artists. However, after their 2008 debut, Don’t Be a Stranger, Seattle band The Moondoggies appeared well qualified to serve as Americana standard-bearers for the 21^st century. The album, 54 minutes of fun, features an impressive mix of country rockers, Americana ballads, and blues tunes.

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