Jun 13 2012

Dinosaur Jr. – New Album! New Tour!

That’s the cover art for I Bet On Sky, the latest release from legends Dinosaur Jr. Mascis and crew plan to drop the album, which is their third since reuniting the original lineup in 2007, on September 18th. Tour dates have also been announced, which you can find here. They include a stop in October at Mohawk. Yes, Dinosaur Jr. is playing friggin’ Mohawk. Awesome, right?

Tracklist:

01 Don’t Pretend You Didn’t Know
02 Watch the Corners
03 Almost Fare
04 Stick a Toe In
05 Rude
06 I Know It Oh So Well
07 Pierce the Morning Rain
08 What Was That
09 Recognition
10 See It on Your Side


Aug 24 2010

Five Videos Pitchfork Missed Monday

For the most part, when browsing Pitchfork’s recently-posted Top 50 Music Videos of the 90’s, four names dominate: Chris Cunningham, Hype Williams, Michel Gondry, and Spike Jonze.  And all four of these men completely deserve their recognition – they all, in their own way, directed only the finest of what is considered to be the best decade for music videos.  MTV was still influential and watchable, and the medium of video promotion was still powerful in the music biz.

This burgeoning new phenomenon had transformed into a well-produced, highly-financed, ultra-creative artistic landscape that the 80’s products couldn’t touch.  By the time of the 2000’s, however, the luster was lost – the best videos were buried in the over-saturation of the Web, and the “music” cable channels ceased music programming.  Still, we have the 90’s – the golden age of the music video, and Pitchfork, more or less, covered the highlights.

There are many personal favorites of mine that didn’t make the cut – perhaps one day I will compile my own list of top videos from the 90’s.  While video lists usually lean towards either ranking in terms of influence or innovative spectacle, Pitchfork teeter-tottered between the two, leaning toward the latter.  With this in mind, it’s a decent list – like most lists, it has some glaring omissions, which are recognized after the jump.

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Jul 13 2010

My Top 100 Songs of 2009 – 20-11

Today I continue my ten-part series showcasing my personal picks for the best songs of last year.

20. Kid Sister – Right Hand Hi

We waited a long time for Ultraviolet, and it was worth it.  Sure, most of the tracks had been previously heard (thank you Internet), but having them all in one cohesive package made for a pretty stellar dance mixtape.  Not to mention it began with this banger, an ode to “stackin’ money and drinkin’ all night.” How could you not get that hand up high?



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Jun 3 2010

My Top 100 Songs of 2009 – 50-41

Today I continue my ten-part series showcasing my personal picks for the best songs of last year.

50. The Thermals – Liquid In, Liquid Out

The shortest song from the group’s poppiest album, and quite a singalong at that.  It’s a shame they don’t play this live, but I suppose it was intended as a mere interlude for the middle of the disc.  What might have been unintentional is the song’s surefire infectiousness.

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Mar 29 2010

My Top 100 Songs of 2009 – 90-81

Today I continue my ten-part series showcasing my personal picks for the best songs of last year.

90. IYAZ – Replay

Usually in December of every year, I go home for Christmas.  The indie world is dead at the end of the year, so I usually do research on the pop charts, listening to songs I have missed for most of the year.  Nearly all of the songs I am happy to have avoided, but there are always a few candidates that make the cut.  I’m a sucker for well-crafted pop music, as everyone knows, and IYAZ’s first single had my head bobbing enough for it to make my year-end list.  It’s charming, super-infectious, and it name-drops a common household item that no one owned ten years ago (that would be the iPod).