by Fiona Hanly
Rating: B (Twilight: Eclipse, as a movie: F–)
I don’t know where to begin on why I hate Twilight so, so much. There’s just too much to hate. But then again, this is not a literary blog, or a vampire blog, or a Teen Korner blog, this is a blog about music. And the Twilight: Eclipse Official Soundtrack makes me forgive Twilight a tiny, almost insignificant bit for making the world so much worse. Read More »
Michael Chabon, musing on the possibility of a totally original novel, said that “All novels are sequels; influence is bliss.” The same is true in the world of music. This review will not be able to tell you whether or not Jaill’s new album sounds like The Soft Pack has a crush on XTC, or of what it is “reminiscent.” Nor will it contain a lengthy analysis (with spreadsheets and percentages) that charts the band’s influences from their toddler days, when they were big into Raffi to their teenage years spent idolizing Joe Strummer. This review is, in fact, significantly more concerned with how the name of the band is pronounced (I alternately envision the word ‘jail’ pronounced with a Southern drawl or a Jamaican saying ‘ja! ill!’) and the fact that one of the members is named Ryan Adams. Read More »
by Caroline Klibanoff
Today marks the anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley. It’s been 33 years since he died rather famously, the stuff of legend, at age 42. I have met people that have never listened to Elvis. This astonishes me, though perhaps it shouldn’t; his music can seem dated today, his story told and re-told so many times it’s now less like a legend of rock ‘n’ roll than a tired old movie plot rehashed again and again. It becomes one of those snoozefest tales your dad tells you while he’s driving somewhere and you’re literally subject to his will and his memory, trapped as you are in the front passenger seat by a seatbelt and the car’s velocity. Read More »
DJ and Biz Director Jared Iversen took to the New England countryside to catch some folk-rockers new and old and reported back to us with some sweet pictures. Check out his review and the gallery below.
The Newport Folk Festival began in 1959, and is probably best known for launching Bob Dylan’s career and as the site of his notorious 1965 performance, where he went electric and changed the face of both folk and rock music. This past weekend, nearly 18,000 people descended upon Fort Adams, an 18th Century military base situated on the pristine shores of Newport, Rhode Island, for the 51st performance of this historic concert. It was my first time at a music festival, and the relaxed air of the folk fest proved to be a great introduction to the festival experience. Read More »
by Fiona Hanly
Before we begin, I have two tasks–first of all, please proceed to Gayngs’ Wikipedia page. Read the first few paragraphs. Now, I dare you not to immediately like this band, based just on those few bits of information. There are so many things to like! 23 musicians (including Justin Vernon (SWOON) and a rapper (classic combination of things?)), check; the entire band dressed as “prom” for their first show, check; the Onion liked it and we’re suddenly taking the Onion seriously (?), check; they not only did a cover song but a cover video (something Take Cover could look into!), check. Check! Read More »
Re: Stacks – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by WGTB Blog
Catherine takes a look at the Wilco mega-hit Yankee Hotel Foxtrot in this first installment of ‘Re: Stacks,’ an article where we learn about the intimate relationships between listener and performer.
180° South: Conquerers of the Useless–just another regular movie about another bunch of regular guys, right? Not really. And it’s not a soundtrack put together by a regular bunch of guys, either, but we’ll get to that. To sum up, the plot of the movie consists of “adventurer*” Jeff Johnson deciding to venture off toPatagonia and retrace the steps of Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins, two regular guys who went to Patagonia in 1968, who had their lives “changed,” and decided to put this “last wild place on earth” under protection. You’ll have to take my word on this one, because I, too, have only seen the trailer, but I have the feeling Johnson’s story will probably include beautiful nature shots, overcoming massive setbacks and finding his destiny along the 10,000 mile journey. Read More »
