Idolator: open thread

"Walking On A Dream," But Not Much Else

Dan Gibson — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:00:00 EDT

Although Jess stole my "tell me what I should be listening to" concept a few weeks ago, I'm going to reclaim it today after realizing that I've essentially been listening to one album (Year of the Gentleman) and one song (Empire of the Sun's "Walking On A Dream", above), and not much else, this month. I'm not sure I've missed too much in October, but here's your chance to promote whatever you're excited about. If you don't have anything, maybe Empire of the Sun will work for you too. [Official site]

What's Your Headphone History?

Michaelangelo Matos — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 08:53:00 EDT

I'm going to guess that this blog's audience is primarily creative-class desk jockeys who make the days go by faster with their headphones. Let me then ask you about your headphones themselves. What do you require? How big or small? Earbuds or on-ear? Long flexible curly cord or tiny thin strap? And what about your history with them generally? My own goes something like this.

I started listening to the Walkman when I was about 12. The phones were the standard, cheaply made kind that came with the player, with the exposed metal loop up top. It took no time to discover I preferred the kind with the top covered with plastic. I liked them on the large side; more comfortable, better sound (more resonance, probably). In high school my pair of these broke and I popped into Walgreen's on 66th St. and Nicollet Ave. and emerged with one of those compact-case earbuds with the clear plastic front that rotated the strap back in the case, a stupid, more-trouble-than-it's-worth enterprise I nevertheless routinely followed until the 'buds—which, by the way, sounded like shit, if shit were made of tin—finally died from stretching.

For a long time, I felt lucky if a pair of headphones lasted six months. I got my first taste of pro headphones when I worked at First Avenue, where I did video on a couple of dance nights and occasionally DJed the main room before shows. Everyone's listened to music on cans, but it wasn't till I went to Seattle in 1999 that I sent all the way and paid something like $70 at the Lower Queen Anne Tower for a pair with the heavy, tight coil that pros and stoners used. I loved those things and continued buying their like for years afterward; I even got a pair sent to me when I wrote about them in a holiday gift guide.

The most recent change came around the beginning of this year. My girlfriend and I went big-box shopping one weekend, and at Best Buy I tried out some things at the Bose display. I fell for them instantly, and paid about $180 for a pair. (I'd just gotten a couple of big checks.) They've held up remarkably. They have a phone jack on the left ear and come with a threadbare strap that nevertheless takes wear well, and I picked up a wound cord for pro use (I DJ happy hour Wednesdays at Havana). I'm not sure how long they'll last, but I'm guessing a long time.

So—what about you? Any odd stories or observations? Let's hear it.

[Pic via Amazon]

In Which I Give You The Power To Plan My Evening

Maura Johnston — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:00:00 EDT

It would appear that everyone in the music business has decided to defer to Axl Rose and not make any news today, so I've spent the last hour or so trying to figure out who I'm going to see during my own personal CMJ Day One. (See, last night I saw this awesome act called The Insides Of My Eyelids—they performed for 11 1/2 hours straight, and had all these whacked-out conceptual pieces about the protagonist, who looked a lot like me, wearing wide-brimmed ceramic hats while trying not to embarrass herself in front of people she wanted to impress. Fun times!) I'm working off the official schedule, although I'll probably peruse some no-badge-required listings on the subway downtown. Here are five acts I'm interested in tonight—feel free to add your own recommendations!

Ebony Bones
A UK act whose live show looks pretty good.

Mirah
I may have to push past all the So You Think You Can Dance fans to get in, though.

Beach House
Old faves. Plus they're playing late, so it'll be good for coming down.

My Teenage Stride
They're playing the Knitting Factory just a little more than a year after they played its basement for us. And Wye Oak is playing tomorrow! Aww, yay.

Whomadewho
German disco that I mysteriously acquired sometime before I got kicked off OiNK. The album's serviceable enough to make them a decent 7 p.m. option.

Also, there's one band I'm interested in because of the utter awfulness of their name: Tiger! Shit! Tiger! Tiger! With a name like that, they'd better be parodying something, right?

Also also, I will be checking the comments on this post via mobile device, so don't worry about your recommendations getting lost in the shuffle.

Wednesday's acts [CMJ.com]

In Which We Invite You To Put Your Deepest Thoughts In Our Box

Maura Johnston — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 19:00:00 EDT

What a weird week, right? Economic chaos, global disorder, the return of Eminem, that awkward Justin Timberlake clip about voting with your genitalia. Anyway, my brain is somewhat fried after all of it, so I figured I'd give this week's weekend thread over to all of you, for whatever reason you see fit. Feel free to use this space for song recommendations, concertgoing suggestions, indulgent flights of nostalgia, treatises on whether "I've Had The Time Of My Life" is the best or worst song of all time, or even editorially directed complaints. (Ooh, am I asking for it or what?) See you Monday! [YouTube]

Songs: You Downloaded 'Em, Now Tell Us About 'Em

Jess Harvell — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 12:00:00 EDT

Hi! So. Having spent half the year in a "no blog" zone, I've kind of lost track of that beast known as (semi-)popular music. (Seriously, I think the last new album I bought in a real live record store was the Portishead CD.) (Also I'm broke, like everyone else.) With that in mind, I've jacked Dan's audience participation bit in order to ask you, the Idolator readership, to tell me one (newish) song I should check out to make the work day go faster. There are no restrictions on genre (tho I'm cool on contempo Xtian pop), artist (new or old), or level of related hype (even if you think they might end up getting a loldogz review six months from now). Links to MySpace sites or other places we can sample said artistes appreciated, though I guess we all know how to use Google at this point. Ready? GO.

Your Chance To Provide The Content Around Here

Dan Gibson — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:00:00 EDT

I don't mean to be totally evil, but I am hoping that the horror of the above Joss Stone/John Legend rendition of the Chaka Khan and Rufus classic that categorizes this post will motivate you to share what you've been listening to these days. The more localized and less likely to have appeared on Sirius' Blog Radio at some point, the better; Chris N., for example, always uses these threads to present us some gems from the Nashville area, which I appreciate.

A Reader Writes: Can You Help Construct Her Evacuation Playlist?

Maura Johnston — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:30:00 EDT

An Idolator reader who lives in New Orleans wrote in with what she admits is an odd request for help from the site's commenter braintrust: Can you help her select music for her possible hurricane-enforced evacuation from her hometown, which may happen as soon as tomorrow? Her request after the jump.

i'm a longtime reader of idolator but infrequent commenter. i have what can only be called an odd request. i live in new orleans and as you may or may not know, there is a hurricane supposedly heading straight for us. irony of irony the city might call for a mandatory evacuation of the city as early as tomorrow, which just happens to be the anniversary of hurricane katrina. i'm at work right now and i decided to make an evacuation mix tape, and am looking for suggestions- i was wondering if maybe you guys to do a post asking for song reccomendations of the "getting the fuck out of town"/"escaping death"/"the apocalypse is nigh" variety. new orleans would not have to even be a reference because i've heard all those songs a kabillion and a half times. like i said, i know it's an odd request, and i'm just looking for new songs that might be appropriate that i am not familiar with, and i figured yours would be the best site to ask.

thanks!

ps. a coworker just told me that the gas station next to his house ran out of gas this morning, but i will not, under any circumstances, listen to "running on empty" during this.

I'm not really sure what to suggest, although I feel like I should point out that an AP photo search for "Gustav" came up with a lot of Tokio Hotel pictures. So, any non-"Running On Empty" suggestions from anyone out there? (And yes, I sent her this thread in an effort to get the ball rolling.) It seems so facile for me to say something like "whatever you pick, I hope she and her fellow New Orleans residents aren't forced to live through another nightmare like they were a few years ago" to close out this post, but, well, it's the truth.

New Orleans Braces as Gustav Set to Follow Katrina [Bloomberg]

Time For Us To Take A Moment And Give You The Microphone

Dan Gibson — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:15:00 EDT

Because the comment gallery here is a collection of musical tastemakers without parallel, we like to ask you about the music we might be missing from time to time. Note: The last installment of this particular feature led to at least one expensive import purchase on my part, so while my ears thank you in advance, my wallet might not.

Your Opinions, We Care A Lot

Dan Gibson — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 15:00:00 EDT

Despite the fact that we occasionally want to slap some of you around, we're thankful for our comment section's refined tastes and willingness to actually pay for music once in a while. Take a moment to stop perusing our posts for grammatical errors and recommend something you're listening to lately. Since some bands can't afford to fill the tank to tour out our way these days, music from your local area would be a delightful bonus.

Open-Ish Thread

Maura Johnston — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 15:15:00 EDT

The post on Insound's tip jar has inspired me to conduct a brief, almost anti-scientific survey: What was the last piece of music you paid for, and when did you buy it? I will start by saying that I closed out my birthday six days ago with a mini-spree at Virgin, where I bought the new Cyndi Lauper album, Usher's Here I Stand, the Foxboro Hot Tubs record, Free Kitten's Inherit, the Kills' Midnight Boom, a Siobhan Donaghy picture-disc 12" for "Don't Give It Up," and Janet Jackson's Control (seriously, how had I not owned it all this time?). I also got the Portishead live DVD because it was $10 and it has the videos for "Sour Times," "All Mine," etc. Your turn!

What Is Your Top Summer Jam Of '08 Candidate?

Maura Johnston — Fri, 23 May 2008 14:30:00 EDT

Happy Memorial Day weekend! To celebrate, I am going to put up my away message and read Madame Bovary on my back porch. (Who says I don't know how to party?) But before I go, I want to ask a question that sorta pertains to this weekend's status as the unofficial kickoff of summer: What is your early-season pick for this year's summer jam? The reasons that I am asking this question will be made clear next week, but for now fight among yourselves. (The Lloyd/Lil Wayne collaboration above, "Girls Around The World," may semi-predictably be my pick, but I'm not going to commit to anything just yet.) [YouTube]

Help Me Wash The Morrison Out Of My Ears

Dan Gibson — Tue, 06 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT

The last time we ran this segment, it went relatively well. (Despite introducing me to the Flobots.) So let's give it another try. What's missing from the pages of this blog and the 17,000 others currently populating the Internet while we've been hung up on that Frightened Rabbit record? As long as no one mentions anything "presented" by the Broken Social Scene, we should be fine. Suggestions outside the realm of the indie especially welcome.

For Once, We're Going To Value Your Input (Don't Screw It Up)

Dan Gibson — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 14:00:19 EDT

Considering I've spent the last two days listening to nothing but the Uptown Saturday Night collection from Time-Life, it's safe to say even the most seasoned blogger hits low spots with new music. Ever the optimist, I'd like to believe there's music out there that's flying below the MGMT/Vampire Weekend level on the radar. Here's where you come in, our clever comment section. Have at it...tell us what's out there that we're missing. I might not give up the eighteen discs of Uptown Saturday Night, but a little variety would be nice. Just don't try to sell me on El Guincho, for pete's sake.