Some musicians flounder when asked to create and perform new material on short notice. Extra Life frontman Charlie Looker isn’t one of them. In 2006, Looker was asked to perform a solo set at The Stone in the East Village. Looker didn’t have any solo material, as he’d been spending his nights exploring the esoteric … [Read more…]
The folks behind Lollapalooza officially unveiled the lineup for this year’s fest (that’s right - no more letter guessing) Tuesday morning. And it looks like someone’s been reading Pitchfork. The lineup is jam packed with indie bands. Many of those acts have received the greatest praise Pitchfork has to offer, the oft-coveted “Best New Music” chalice/crown/shiny thing. … [Read more…]
Justin Timberlake ruined the Super Bowl halftime show. And I’m not just referring to the infamous Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show – that being the infamous “wardrobe malfunction” incident. That half-second of “indecent exposure” has resulted in a slew of kinda bland halftime shows that pander to the baby boomer generation and hardly reflect the … [Read more…]
Hot indie bands, one hilarious comedic-actor and a hip-hop mixtape. Great combination, right? Well, almost. Childish Gambino’s new mixtape, I Am Just A Rapper, has so much potential. Yet, the results are a little mixed. Childish Gambino, otherwise known as Donald Glover, is someone to watch out for. When it comes to rhymes, Glover’s got … [Read more…]
The new year is almost here, and with it comes a maelstrom of “End of the Year Lists.†Here on Ex-Spectator, I’ll be rolling out a few “End of the Yearâ€/â€End of the Decade†lists. Today’s list: The Best Albums of 2009. As I’ve mentioned previously, there are a lot of pitfalls for “best of†… [Read more…]
A lot has been said about Adam Lambert’s performance on the American Music Awards Sunday night. With all the hubbub of his “racy” performance, what’s most surprising about the entire escapade and commentary in the days since the show is that there is commentary in the days following the show. And it’s still going strong. … [Read more…]
I started writing here at True/Slant with a little piece that questioned the nature and purpose of year-end-lists. Who’s an authority on anything? Isn’t it all arbitrary? True, but, as I mentioned, it’s a bit fun to do. So, though we’re not even into December, I present a list of five memorable singles from the … [Read more…]