James Montgomery’s recent piece for MTV, “Are We Ready For Barack Obama’s Emo America?,” is great not only because of the juxtaposition of stereotypical American values and musical genres, but because the work gives support for emo as a generally progressive and positive mode of communication. Although Montgomery lumps Sufjan Stevens into this mix, the … [Read more…]
Biggest WTF moment of the “We Are One” concert celebrating Inauguration might have been this:  [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r76WeTXuLs]  Kal Penn?! What? You mean the guy from Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle? As a major part of the opening weekend festivities for the historical inauguration of Barack Obama?! This guy: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuBCDNynfzA] Don’t get me wrong … [Read more…]
My friend Scott writes the blog for Oscar predictions and film, And The Winner Is… Scott’s spot on when it comes to guessing who will walk away with what statue, so I was surprised to see that he didn’t have a listing for Best Original Song among the categories he lists on the site. So, … [Read more…]
Sorry for the lack of updates these past few days… they’ve been quite hectic over here! In the meantime, enjoy the fine tunings of MC Lars’ satiric ode to emo way back in 2004: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68Iy6fN4vzI&feature=PlayList&p=64DB41AD156AADC4&playnext=1&index=8]
Then (Circa early 2000s/beginning of emo’s third wave): Now(ish) (Circa late 2007): Mitch Clem’s punk webcomic Nothing Nice To Say is surprisingly on-point when it comes to making fun of emo. Whereas the general consensus of the term had dramatically changed within the same time frame, Clem remarks on the subtle changes within the greater … [Read more…]
The 33 1/3 blog released the final list of the nearly 600 potential books on a wide variety of albums that Continuum received after the call for open proposals a little while ago. Needless to say, it’s quite a list. It’s interesting to see what albums people are passionate enough about to fill an entire … [Read more…]
The big news that folks have been paying attention to the other day from Apple’s presentation at the Macworld Expo was the announcement that iTunes will now offer DRM-Free tracks to download off their website. Another one of the interesting features presented by Apple for the new year is the new edition of iLife’s GarageBand. … [Read more…]
Bon Iver is streaming the new Blood Bank EP through myspace, and there’s quite a surprise. Take a listen to “Woods”: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZYVJlhnqxQ] That’s right, a nice healthy dose of autotune! Now there’s some forward thinking folk. I’m interested to see how diehard folkies will react and those stuck on the sound that drew people into … [Read more…]
Sure, 2008 had it’s fire and brimstone moments for emo, what with the violent outbursts in Mexico, the “cult suicide” in the U.K., and the proposed ban on the genre in Russia. But in just over a week of 2009, it appears that the name of emo is already being dragged through the mud. This … [Read more…]
New York Times technology correspondent Brad Stone has some great information on the future of DRM-free songs available on iTunes. Blogging live from the Macworld Expo, here’s the quick and dirty down low: “1:37 p.m.: More background: EMI had been the only one of the four major labels to offer DRM-free songs through iTunes Plus. … [Read more…]