After the Iranian Revolution in 1979, pop music’s future seemed dark because of new Islamic laws and restrictions, and many musicians migrated to foreign countries. Raks Raks Raks: 27 Golden Garage Psych Nuggets from the Iranian 60s Scene (“Dance! Dance! Dance!”) hearkens back to a pre-Revolutionary time, before making music was all but forbidden. Read More »
The Georgetown music scene may be small, but it is intricately linked (partly due to the Guild of Bands), allowing for a lot of malleable band lineups and creative collaborations and all-around good times, good times which in turn lead to beautiful, inspired music that thrives on its extremely varied sources. The Shaking Hand is one of these groups, made up of two Georgetown alums and friends of WGTB, Matt Strom and Ezra Finney.
I’ll be honest. We listen to a lot of music over here — a lot of great music, a lot of just plain okay music, and a lot of “hey I like this!” flash-in-the-pan music, and it’s not often that you come across a keeper, some music you can really sink your teeth into, listen to on repeat, and invest your interest in for an extended time. Well, the Wilderness of Manitoba is one of those bands. Not only are they friendly (and up for anything, from playing on a giant green chair to moving the whole show to my backyard after a memory card dilemma), but they make wonderful music, with both natural talent and ease with one another as well as what seemed to be a very well-rehearsed, on-point sound. Read More »
As we approach the end of July down in DC, the temperature is starting to flirt with triple digits. The air outside is thick with humidity, weighing us down and threatening to reduce us to sticky pools of sweat if we don’t find shelter. It can be tempting to rush from one indoor air-conditioned sanctuary to the next, but we can also embrace the heat, at least for a little while. Read More »
A few months ago, the motley crue also known as ecstatic funk-poppers Reptar graced our tiny stage in Bulldog Alley for WGTB’s Block Party, and they absolutely rocked it. Since then, the Athens band has been making big strides, including a recent contract signing with Vagrant Records. Pop bottles!
In case you missed them then, or if you are jonesing for more, the cool dudes at All Things Go have teamed up with Neon Gold Records to put on a smorgasbord of good tunes this Thursday night, called All Things Gold. Read More »
As college students, living in a city like D.C. during the summer is great: we have constant access to incredible restaurants, concerts, art galleries, rooftop pool parties and, aside from our obligatory unpaid internships, very little holding us back from constantly indulging in any and all of these opportunities. It’s easy to get wrapped up in this world of $2 PBR happy hours and mirage-producing city streets and forget that there is a world out there where nature extends beyond the manmade realms of Roosevelt Island and the National Zoo. Read More »
Simply put Battles’ debut LP is one of my favorites ever. Mirrored is a treasure trove that seems to be the gift that keeps on giving. Much as some artists have their way with words, Battles have a special sensibility when it comes to expressing themselves instrumentally. The jumpy jazziness of the drums and the brooding baritone of the guitars combine with outright weird digital effects to create some of the most thought provoking music to date.
How, you might ask, can music be that thought provoking without any lyrical basis? That is the sheer power of Battles. They are able to plug their soundscapes into your very consciousness and alter the way you experience the world as you listen to their insanity unfold from your headphones/speakers. Read More »
Maybe, like me, you’ve returned home for the summer to recoup your losses after that unpaid internship burned a gigantic hole in your pocket (more like U n paid, am I right?). Because you (read: I) have yet to develop any “real life skills” for which people will pay you, and you refuse to submit yourself to the cruelty of CVS customers ever again, you take what you can get. Say no to hanging with the Under 5 crowd? Not in this economy.
In all seriousness, babysitting isn’t a bad gig. I get paid to go to the park, hunt for bugs, fight pirates and build spaceships with a kid. There are few better ways to spend your 9-5. However, since I’m used to spending most of my waking hours pumping music into my ears, sometimes I need a fix to get me through the third consecutive hour of playing Lego Good Guys vs. Bad Guys — something that is preferably a little less “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and a little more “Itsy Bitsy Spiders (Kidsmoke).” But unfortunately, little boys aren’t really the ideal demographic for 10+ minute Krautrock jams. So what are my options? Read More »
