All New York Magazine‘s Vulture blog needed was a short headline and YouTube video to get the point across: McLovin Is in a Band! Yep. McLovin is in a band. Stop the Internetz! Such news is of vital importance, especially when actor-musician Christopher Mintz-Plasse is referred to as the nickname of a character he played … [Read more…]
On Friday, the Philadelphia City Paper stumbled upon a proposed bill that could dramatically alter the city’s cultural landscape. Bill No. 100267 is no ordinary promoters ordinance. If passed into law, the ordinance has the potential to stop smaller clubs’ schedules completely and leave many local musicians without any hometown support. The City Paper broke … [Read more…]
Metal icon Ronnie James Dio has died. Dio’s wife, Wendy, released the following statement Sunday morning on Blabbermouth.net: “Today my heart is broken, Ronnie passed away at 7:45 a.m. [on Sunday] 16th May. Many, many friends and family were able to say their private goodbyes before he peacefully passed away.” Dio was best known for his … [Read more…]
On Tuesday, two of the most anticipated indie albums saw their official releases. The National dropped High Violet, an album that put Twitter users into a cumulative tizzy when The New York Times streamed the album in full a few weeks ago. The other album is Treats, the debut by Brooklyn “it” band Sleigh Bells. … [Read more…]
There’s a cassette tape sitting on my bookshelf. It’s bright orange, it rattles when you move it just slightly, and the letter “B” litters the orange surface. Tiny Philadelphia-based record label Ticklebutt Records produced the tape. It’s called 75:24 and it’s packed with unreleased songs from a little more than a couple dozen of the … [Read more…]
New York magazine picked up a YouTube clip of Andy Rooney discussing newfangled artists atop the Billboard charts on a recent “60 Minutes” episode: [youtubevid id=”KGCg6EO-sr4″] Well, Rooney got something right about why he doesn’t recognize any musicians in the Billboard 200: Age. His sincere grasp on reality is refreshing: His understanding that he’s no … [Read more…]
Pitchfork Reviews Reviews, an intelligent and humorous site that critiques album reviews by the popular alt-music site Pitchfork, uploaded a keen little video the other day. The video is a review of a song by Francis and the Lights, and the on-screen action is a written review that follows the pace of the song. With … [Read more…]
Love Justin Bieber, but afraid to reveal it to your punk rock friends? Do you tell your friends that the music you’re blasting on your iPod is the latest pop sensation when it’s really Black Flag’s Damaged? Wish these two worlds could finally meet? Well, XLR8R and Exclaim! music writer and Grown Ups member Josiah … [Read more…]
There’s been plenty of rumors circulating online about the future of Lala, an online music service, since Apple acquired the site in December. Well, these rumors can be put to rest. Apple is shutting Lala down. I received the following email from Lala just a short while ago: Dear Leor G., The Lala service will … [Read more…]
The video for M.I.A.’s new single, “Born Free,” has been online a little more than 24 hours, and it’s upped the stakes for NSFW videos. The video was banned by YouTube and is causing quite a ruckus across the Internet. A lot of the online conversation is focused on the video’s meaning. Some think it … [Read more…]