Loading ...Here’s the thing about music in 2009: You can truly love a band, but still be what might be considered fairly behind on what, exactly, they’ve been up to. Take the Welsh trio the Joy Formidable, who have one of my favorite records of the year; I’m just now finding out now that the clamorous outfit put out a new single, the pummeling “Greyhounds In The Slips,” right around Labor Day. (It’s available for download on their MySpace page, and those people who used to mainline UK mags’ record recommendations at the end of the last century will be interested to know that the track features Paul Draper, formerly of the Britpop-heyday outfit Mansun, on vocals.) More »
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What Would Be On Your “2009 Awesomeness” Playlist Right Now?
6:00 PM on Fri Jul 17 2009 by Maura
As promised: The state of my “2009 awesomeness” playlist, in which I collect the songs that catch my ear as the year progresses in order to not make my best-of list a last-minute-of-December clusterfuck sort of thing. (It inevitably winds up being like that, but you know, I have noble intentions.) It’s after the jump, and has some contextual links added in. Feel free to make your own and share it here! More »
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A Very Special Mix CD: Ten Songs That Kelly Clarkson Should Listen To That Aren’t “Pork & Beans”
2:00 PM on Mon Jun 15 2009 by Maura
Kelly Clarkson had her turn in the New York Times‘ “Playlist” chair yesterday, and the results were, well, mixed. Weezer’s red album got a shoutout, as did the Irish band The Script, who Clarkson described as–eek!–”OneRepublic meets rap.” Kelly, Kelly, Kelly. Aw, Kelly. Listen. In honor of you being my favorite American Idol (and having one of my favorite albums of the year) (well, except for all those songs by the OneRepublic guy, which are just plodding and terrible and tuneless and ugh), I decided to craft a mix CD for you. Because girl, there is there is so much music out there that you would love–and that would probably love you back! More »
The Joy Formidable Is Giving It All Away
2:45 AM on Thu Feb 12 2009 by Maura
Proof that sometimes the NME can make me forgive their hyperbolic ways: The British music magazine is offering a free download of A Balloon Called Moaning, the forthcoming album from the Welsh band the Joy Formidable. The album by the noise-pop outfit, who I have raved about on this site before, is out in physical form Monday (and obviously, worth buying as a thank you for this generous gesture). If you want to see why this is one of today’s best developments—if not the No. 1 piece of news I’ve heard since I woke up this morning—check the video for the incredibly ebullient “Cradle” after the jump.
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This Week’s Top 12: Remixed Gallaghers, R & B Royalty, And (Surprise!) Ida Maria
4:45 AM on Fri Jan 16 2009 by Maura
Welcome to the inaugural version of The Idolator Dozen, our new weekly countdown of notable-slash-positive happenings in the music world as decided by me. To answer your questions: “Why?”; “Ranking things is fun, duh.” “Why 12?”; “Because I like the number, and always have.” “What’s on the list?”; “Whatever I say, plus maybe a few things that I neglected to get to during the week.” “Why now?”; “Why not now?” “When will then be now?”; “Soon.” The top 12 after the jump!
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We Interrupt This Blog For A(nother) Brief Bout Of Nostalgia
12:00 PM on Wed Jan 7 2009 by Maura
This morning has been mired in logistical issues… More »
Music
The Joy Formidable: The UK Buzz Band Pick Of The Hour
11:00 AM on Tue Jan 6 2009 by Dan Gibson
I barely know whether to trust my instincts when it comes to whatever British act Radio 1 is going on and on about anymore, since I’ve been burned so many times before. Sure, it’s exciting to jump on the bandwagon when an act is on their second single, but then the album comes out or Pete Doherty joins the group onstage and it’s all ruined. Anyhow, in that seemingly never-ending sequence, we have the Welsh act known as the Joy Formidable. Who knows whether the enjoyment I’m deriving from the two songs after the jump will last, but for now, the band reminds me of a simpler time when Belly was a big deal.
News
Charlotte Hatherley Will Take Us All Away To Cinnabar City
3:30 AM on Tue Jan 6 2009 by Maura
Former Ash guitarist Charlotte Hatherley, whose… More »
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“Midnight Soul” Gets It On In The Wee Hours
3:00 AM on Thu Oct 25 2007 by jgb
Finding music on television used to be easy (there was a channel that played these short movies called “music videos”). Nowadays, the best you can hope for are ambitious warblers getting mocked by “producers,” the odd bit of indie rock in a cell phone commercial, and, if you stay up late, that dinosaur known as the music-compilation infomercial. So we called on intrepid insomniac Gabriel Boylan to watch the paid programming so you don’t have to, and listen to the mammoth compendiums they offer to remind you that sometimes the best music can’t be downloaded–it has to be mailed.
