THE FEED RSS

  • MUSIC

    Aug 20, 2008, 04:38PM

    Maybe The Music Business Is Finally Getting It

    Warner Music, one of the four major labels, is seriously investigating a way to change the economics of their business. In addition to their own profits, they're keenly aware that the best artists really do need to make enough money to live as professionals. Their solution won't seem radical to anyone familiar with eMusic, but it's a pretty big step for companies still trying to squeeze money out of CDs.

  • MUSIC

    Aug 19, 2008, 04:34PM

    RIAA Shuts Down Muxtape

    Muxtape, a website that allowed users to upload and share digital mixtaps that got off the ground this spring, has been shut down by the cold might of the RIAA. They say copyrights have not been obtained by the website, sort of like how Napster was held responsible for what its users did. Still no explanation as to how this is different from sharing an actual mixtape with your friends, except that doing that won't get you sued.

  • MUSIC

    Aug 19, 2008, 04:23PM

    Free Online Radio Suffocating

    Last year a court ruled that online radio stations had to pay relatively more expensive royalties on music than regular or satellite radio. The result is a dramatic increase in cost that might kill of even the most sophisticated and professional online radio stations like Pandora. Score one for old media struggling to make money? Or are record companies killing a potential goose with golden eggs?

  • MUSIC

    Aug 19, 2008, 11:19AM

    Today's Philosophical Conundrum In Music

    Death Cab for Cutie announced today that they'll be opening for Neil Young at eleven U.S. and Canadian tour dates. Whose audience will expand the most from this cross-pollination? Will young Death Cab fans be scared by Young's craggy face? Does this increase or decrease the authenticity of the man who released Trans well before vocoders became cool?

  • MUSIC

    Aug 18, 2008, 05:47PM

    Can Dan Deacon Become A Superhero?

    At a show earlier this summer Dan Deacon couldn't quite get a handle on his ever-expanding audience. He no longer plays warehouses, and his fans no longer exclusively live in warehouses. Can he translate his vision of collective movement onto the bigger stage? The musician Cex tries to answer the question, encountering the economic and moral dilemas of underground art going mainstream in the process.

  • MUSIC

    Aug 14, 2008, 04:05PM

    Indie Hip-Hop Terrorism (Check Your iPods)

    Chicago rapper Rhymefest, a Kanye collaborator and Michael Jackson remixer, has generated a ton of hype leading up to the release of his second album El Che. The album itself has been repeatedly put off, but some tracks recently emerged under suspicious circumstances.  Supposedly Rhymefest left his iPod unattended at a club and someone yanked it, then posted two tracks on the Internet along with a manifesto and a threat to release more tracks if official news about the album doesn't come out. Some smell a publicity stunt. Read about it and decide for yourself.

  • MUSIC

    Aug 11, 2008, 09:44AM

    Tasty Pie Chart

    Who actually attends these summer festival blockbusters? Are there more couples where both members have dreadlocks, or people handing out zany condoms? Luckily our trusty researcher canvassed Pitchfork, Lollapalooza, and Coachella to precisely determine the demographics of music festivals in graphic form.

  • MUSIC

    Aug 07, 2008, 05:10PM

    Save Our Scene

    Some of the hottest bands from the past year are coming out of exotic locales in Europe, Canada, and Australia. Is America losing its indie rock juice? NME offered a list of 25 U.S. bands that will save our authentic souls. Hipster Runoff just wants to know who the hell Chester French is.

    Hipster_medium

  • MUSIC

    Jul 29, 2008, 11:44AM

    New Randy Newman Album Only Kinda Conceptual, Mostly Political

    At one point in time Randy Newman was an irony-laden provocateur, devoting one song to the first person account of a slave trader and an entire album to mocking southern racists. Then he went through a hazy period in the 80s and ended up making soundtracks for Pixar movies. Not a bad career arc, but next week Newman gets back into the studio album game. Here's a review of a recent live performance where he played songs from Harps and Angels, out next week.

  • MUSIC

    Jul 28, 2008, 01:55PM

    Exploring Abouretum With Dave Heumann

    Dave Heumann of Baltimore band Abouretum has been updating the Led Zeppelin musical aesthetic for the new millenium. So it shouldn't come as a surprise when he wishes he could dress up like a crazed Klaus Kinski and toss a sword around. More is revealed from the recent John Cale cover artist in this chat with Aural States.

  • MUSIC

    Jul 25, 2008, 04:39PM

    Deerhoof Doing That Radiohead Thing

    Last year Radiohead famously released master tracks for their song "Nude" so that anyone could mix their own versions, which were then entered into a contest. Now Deerhood is doing a similar, although older school, thing with the song "Fresh Born" off their upcoming album. For their contest you get to work off the official sheet music, which seems kind of crazy for those wild disjointed Deerhoof songs. Sounds like a fun project for the weekend anyway.

  • MUSIC

    Jul 25, 2008, 10:39AM

    Who Out-Authenticizes Who?

    At this point so many musicians have wandered through Paris and put in their time for a Take Away Show that Hipster Runoff is ready to put them through a little compare and contrast. Apparently the new Man Man video was just that inspiring. Are their moustaches and ruminations on the income disparity involved in lost hipster loves enough to displace the more mature approach of Animal Collective? Answers follow.

  • MUSIC

    Jul 24, 2008, 03:51PM

    Sweating Bodies For Pitchfork

    An pair of intrepid Midwesterners forged a trail to Chicago for last weekend's Pitchfork Music Festival. As they say, if you want an idea of the music, make a playlist. But if you want an idea of the people, read this article. What band does a "free spirit" want to see? How does a random spritzer dude find meaning in cooling down strangers? Wade into the irony and find out the answers.

  • MUSIC

    Jul 22, 2008, 03:20PM

    Griming With Dizzee

    Dizzee Rascal's jinking garage beats and Brit-slang raps have been lighting up parties for four years. He's touring the U.S. on his new album, Maths + English, and sat down for an interview in Austin where he broke down his affection for southern hospitality.

THE FEED ARCHIVE

SPLICE ORIGINAL RSS

SPLICE ORIGINAL ARCHIVE

MULTIMEDIA RSS

  • MUSIC

    Aug 27, 2008, 05:41PM

    Grampall Jookabox Will Cook Your Head

    The tribal beat experimentation of Grampall Jookabox doesn't exactly come across as pop music, but give it a chance to grab ahold of your cortex. It's twisted, for sure, but also handled with a loving attention to sonic detail. Here's a track from a new free EP released on Asthmatic Kitty that's just short of insane.

    Jookabox_medium

  • MUSIC

    Aug 27, 2008, 01:36PM

    Menancing Cartoon Strawberries Down Under

    Australia's dance pop is stomping across the globe with a strength far out of proportion to their population and/or hemisphere. Here some Australian morning show hosts a bouncy live performance from PNAU (one of Elton John's new favorite bands) with a children's chorus and weird mascots.

  • MUSIC

    Aug 27, 2008, 01:32PM

    Arabesque By Way of Manhattan

    Gang Gang Dance have been making music almost as long as their contemporaries Animal Collective and Black Dice, but have a much sparser discography (their last full-length, God's Money, came out in 2005). Although this is said much too often of bands from New York, it really is true that GGD sound like no one else around. Here's a live clip of "Egowar", a song from God's Money.

  • MUSIC

    Aug 26, 2008, 04:59PM

    Surround Sound

    Billed as the "first music video ever shot with a 360 degree panoramic lens," Cut Chemist's "1st Big Break" is exactly that—and only that. Not that there's anything wrong with using technology as a crutch (think Independence Day and U2). Thankfully the well-done track is suited to eye-bending effects of the same ilk.

  • MUSIC

    Aug 26, 2008, 12:11PM

    Los Angeles Guitar Snakes

    The Mae Shi have gotten a lot of press for their association with L.A.'s The Smell and all the bands known for playing shows there regularly (No Age, Mika Miko, Abe Vigoda, BARR, etc.). Their style is not very far removed from their contemporaries: trebly guitar lines, primitive drumming, and shouted vocals are mainstays. Here's a video for an older song, "Megamouth."

  • MUSIC

    Aug 26, 2008, 09:52AM

    Mime Interprets Animal Collective Release

    In May Animal Collective released their newest work, an EP that collected leftover tracks from 2007's Strawberry Jam. The first track, "Water Curses," has the typical tropical schizophrenia, but here in a very well-made fan video it becomes the soundtrack of a mime adventure in New York. Remember, don't upset mimes! As if you needed another reason.

  • MUSIC

    Aug 25, 2008, 04:45PM

    Mr. Gnome Disturbs The Peace

    The smokey throatiness of Nicole Barille's singing helps the music of Cleveland two-piece Mr. Gnome linger in your mind like a coffee stain. They've got a haunting rthymic heft to their music, driven by Barille's off-tuned guitar and Sam Meister's weighty drumming. Here's a video for "Night of the Crickets" that shows the freakiest funeral we never want to be a part of.

  • MUSIC

    Aug 25, 2008, 11:24AM

    Bass Rants

    Double Dagger play aggressive hardcore punk in the vein of Minor Threat and At the Drive-In, without the help of a guitar player. The band relies solely on Bruce Willen's massive bass sound, Denny Bowen's propulsive drumming, and Nolen Strals' lyrics, which range from anti-gentrification screeds to typeface odes. Here's a recent interview with some footage from one of their explosive live sets.

  • MUSIC

    Aug 23, 2008, 09:51AM

    Pack Up Your Sorrows

    Richard and Mimi Farina on Pete Seeger's Rainbow Quest playing their song "Pack Up Your Sorrows."

MULTIMEDIA ARCHIVE