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Posts Tagged “pop?”

nerd shop talk

EMP Pop Conference '09 Goes "D.M.S.R."

All the white people will be clapping their hands on the four when they get a load of the theme for next year's Experience Music Project Pop Conference, where music writers from academia, journalism, blogs, and other places get together to collectively obsess over pop music. "Dance, Music, Sex, Romance: Pop and the Body Politic" is about as far to the other side as you can get from last year's explicitly political focus, and ought to inject a little blood into things after this past April's rewarding but fairly dry sessions. Below the jump, conference organizer Eric Weisbard fleshes things out a bit: More »

9:30 AM on Wed Sep 3 2008
By Michaelangelo Matos
368 views, 8 comments

Latest by janine: @SAShepherd: Heads. Shoulders. Knees and toes. Knees and toes. more »

run-d.n.c.

The RZA Delivers Some Of The Most Astute Political Commentary Of The Season

Unsurprisingly, the number of concerts and musically enhanced protest rallies surrounding the DNC in Denver this week has brought forth a more-than-equal number of blog posts covering them. You'd expect a site called Pop + Politics to be inside the events, and they've recently posted two good write-ups of Wyclef Jean's performance and his call for Latino communities to get behind Obama. But the showstopper is this video interview with the RZA, in which the Wu-Tang Clan CEO explains how "Obama went platinum" (and citing numbers), talking about how his priors prevent him from voting, and then urging 18-year-old black men to vote because they've "got eight years to make [their] move": "A black man, by the time he's 25, he's either locked up or dead." (It's also worth mentioning that Pop + Politics is doing excellent DNC coverage outside of music.) [Pop + Politics]

4:30 PM on Wed Aug 27 2008
By Michaelangelo Matos
277 views, 5 comments

Latest by Job: RZA's real name is Robert Fitzgerald Diggs. His momma named him after two Kennedys, so I'm not suprised he's so interested in politics. more »

update

Stooges' Stolen Truck Recovered, Equipment Still Missing

The rental truck that housed Iggy and the Stooges' gear when it was stolen sometime Monday morning has been found, but the equipment inside has yet to be recovered. The Stooges' show tonight in Toronto will go on despite the loss, but the band members will have to use rented and donated equipment until their stuff turns up. C'mon, this story needs to have a happy ending! Full list of stolen items—via Hootpage, which has pictures of some pieces—after the jump. More »

12:30 PM on Wed Aug 6 2008
By Maura Johnston
300 views, 7 comments

Latest by N/A: @amandacobra, The hotel they were staying in is in fact not a Super 8, but it is in Old Montreal, a historic part of the city were underground parking is not an option. In fact most the streets are cobblestone. more »

lineups

Pop Montreal Goes For The Grand Gestures

The Pop Montreal festival, slated for Oct. 1-5, definitely has one of the more mishmashy bills I've seen from a multi-day, multi-act event this year, with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Burt Bacharach, Hot Chip, Wire, Silver Apples, Julie Doiron, the Wedding Present, and Headlights among the many, many acts that are confirmed so far. (Please somebody get Bacharach and Cave together for something, anything. Full lineup after the jump. More »

11:30 AM on Fri Aug 1 2008
By Maura Johnston
208 views, 4 comments

videodrone

Mark Arm Offers A History Lesson


If you notice a drop-off in posts today, don't worry, I'm OK; I've probably just gotten lost in a haze of looking for YouTube clips and blog posts recapping this weekend's SP20 festival, which celebrated the 20th-ish anniversary of indie heavyweight Sub Pop. (Matos sent along a blog by a former employee of the label that's proven to be crucial reading.) Above, the reunited proto-grunge act Green River performs "This Town." (Dear Iggy Pop: Please say yes to Jeff Ament's idea for a Stooges/Green River double bill, so I can stop kicking myself, at least until someone uploads yesterday's performance of "Swallow My Pride.") [YouTube]

10:30 AM on Mon Jul 14 2008
By Maura Johnston
156 views, 2 comments

Latest by mackro: The Green River show was amazing. (I saw every band of the entire festival this weekend.) I never saw them back in the day, so I can't compare THEN and NOW. But Mark's line about how Melvins apparently stole a more »

If you read one thing today (or if you just need to get that CocoRosie profile out of your head), make it the lengthy interview with Sub Pop founders Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman where the two look back on the label's first 20 years. It has dish on records that the two thought were underheralded (Zumpano's Going Through Changes, Eric's Trip's Love Tara), what effects the bidding wars that the alt-rock boom of the '90s had on the label, and other bits about the business of indie music. (If you want a pre-digsted version, Scott from Pretty Goes with Pretty is live-blogging his reading of it. Yes, it's that long.) [Pitchfork]

Comment

Clothing designer John Varvatos, whose new shop on the Bowery replaced CBGB, is still trying to play up his punk rock bona fides, telling the New York Post that his first concert was an Iggy and the Stooges show in 1970. "Even back then, he performed shirtless. Fast-forward 35 years and I put him in a three-piece suit in my ad campaign. He said it was the first time ever that anyone wanted to photograph him with clothes on." Ahh, isn't the realization of the punk-rock dream a beautiful thing? [NYP / Photo via BlackBook]

Comment

if the title starts with 'now that's what...', i'll buy it

My Favorite Disc (That I Haven't Heard Yet)

With a deluge of new music hitting stores every week, it can be hard to keep up with the barrage of domestic new releases and reissues, not to mention the array of ridiculously priced imports floating around. Still, how did I miss the Now That's What I Call Arabia series? More »

10:30 AM on Tue May 20 2008
By Dan Gibson
426 views, 2 comments

fatboy slim is fucking in heaven

Norman Cook Seeks Less Dated Moniker Than "Fatboy Slim"

After his upcoming album (you know, the one with Iggy Pop on it) comes out, Fatboy Slim will no longer be Fatboy Slim. It's almost surprising that it's taken Norman Cook so long to realize that his moniker means "words on a loop back in the late '90s words on a loop back in the late '90s words on a loop words on a loop loop loop loop lplplplpllplpplp!" and that much of the world will always be embarrassed at how novel and fascinating they found such a gimmick. (I know I am.) The name may have had some residual weight with the ad execs who made sure we heard at least two of his jams during every commercial break in 1999, but it's time to move on. And to what, you ask? More »

10:30 AM on Wed May 14 2008
By Anthony Miccio
722 views, 10 comments

Latest by N/A: How exactly does a brit claim the 5th amendment? more »

As rumored last night, The Vaselines and Eric's Trip (and Les Thugs, too) have been added to the Sub Pop 20th anniversary party in Seattle July 12 and 13, and there's still "more to be added soon." Also, for those of you wondering where Tad is, there's also a news-to-me show featuring the Gutter Twins (Mark Lanegan and Greg Dulli!) and the Brothers of the Sonic Cloth (Tad!!!) the night of July 12 at the Showbox. The show will be the Vaselines' first Stateside show ever, and some rabble-rouser in our comments is saying that they're going to play New York, too?! Oooh. Full lineup (including the roster for the Friday night comedy show) after the jump. [SubPop.com]

3 comments

rumors

Son Of A Gun! Vaselines Playing Sub Pop 20th Anniversary Party?


First the Green River reunion gets announced for the Sub Pop 20th-anniversary festival this July, and now Line Out is claiming that none other than the Vaselines, the Scottish twee outfit beloved of (and covered by) Kurt Cobain, will be playing as well? I think our pals out in Seattle said it best when they said "ALKSJFHPEORTYIASKDJFHAWOIEUTYASDKLFJHASKLDJF HASOIDRY;WFLKMNSD;OTYAXKVMNSADGASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" (Some anonymous Brooklyn Vegan reader is claiming that Eric's Trip is going to make an appearance as well, which will become a multiple-consonants-in-caps worthy rumor once someone steps up to claim it.) [Line Out / YouTube]

10:50 PM on Tue May 6 2008
By Maura Johnston
253 views, 4 comments

Latest by mackro: This is likely going to be *the* festival of the year. more »

Two music festivals slated for Farwell, Mich., this summer have been canceled "to restructure and reorganize debt, while continuing to look for new investors." The Mountain Country and Rock Music Festivals had an uneven slate of headliners—the rock fest was going to have the Yardbirds and Starship atop its bill, while the country concerts were to be headlined by bigger names like Miranda Lambert, Trace Adkins, and Dierks Bentley—which probably contributed to the chaos. Last year's country fest, which had Carrie Underwood leading the bill, attracted 12,000 people. [MLive.com]

1 comment

descended from the heavens

Alphabeat And The Rest Of The Wonky Pop Brigade Are Here To Save The Day

The Guardian's profile of the Wonky Pop tour begins with an appeal to beleaguered music fans: "Tired of chart pop that's all manufactured groups and reality TV shows? Just as fed up of bland indie? Then Wonky Pop might just be the thing for you." It's almost crass in its resemblance to infomercial rhetoric ("Are you tired of your old, hard-to-operate pasta strainer?"), but it contains such a fundamental element of truth that it's hard not to read on. In many ways pop music is broken, and it's about time for a new regime. But is Wonky Pop the answer? More »

12:00 PM on Fri May 2 2008
By Kate Richardson
1,081 views, 4 comments

Latest by Nunya B: @joshservo: Vampire Weekend are inappropriately huge in the UK. It's almost gross. Wonky Pop is curated- as far as I can tell- by Popjustice, and the tour includes DJ sets by Annie, so I am all for it (I only really more »

my dinner with an a&r guy

Why Run A Review When You Can Just Interview The A&R Guy?

Plenty of critics have regurgitated press releases to fill up a feature well, but the Seattle Weekly's "review" (that's how the article is tagged) of the new Flight Of The Conchords album consists mostly of interview quotes with Tony Kiewel, the band's A&R representative at Sub Pop. Kiewel explains how he first heard the group, why he thinks they're so great and how the band is doing really well, even going gold in New Zealand! Weekly editor Brian Barr concurs, adding that mixture of mockery and genuine musical tribute is what makes them so great. Barr sure sounds like a fan. I bet he'd get a kick out of interviewing the band! Maybe Kiewel could hook that up sometime. More »

5:15 PM on Wed Apr 30 2008
By Anthony Miccio
715 views, 13 comments

Latest by N/A: Sub Pop HARDLY 'throws the cash around' and it's actually quite nice to see Tony K getting some ink -- that dude gets it. This is one of a million press stories that the Conchords are gonna get, so more »

sexy grandpas, every one

Virgin Fest Just Got A Whole Lot More Old

Bob Dylan, Chuck Berry and The Stooges have been added to the line-up for Baltimore's Virgin Fest, to be held on August 9-10. The Foo Fighters, Nine Inch Nails and Stone Temple Pilots have already been announced as headliners, so it looks like new parents as well as new grandparents will have acts they enjoy. For the kids, there's Paramore and Lil Wayne, and a dance tent featuring Moby, Underworld and Richie Hawtin! Actually, that dance tent's probably for the parents too. Full line up after the jump. More »

10:45 AM on Mon Apr 28 2008
By Anthony Miccio
710 views, 6 comments

Latest by ObtuseIntolerant: Yes, this is awesome. Really just for a a chance to go with my mother to see Bob & Iggy and Kanye again on my break from an otherwise nonstop-Jonas-Brothers summer tour schedule. more »

poor hipsters

Why Don't Rappers Realize Indie Rock Is Cool?

Why do "top-notch rappers" always work with "cheesy rock'n'rollers?" Loving popular rap while hating popular rock must be difficult for those who want to keep it real while keeping it eclectic. That rappers don't seem to show the same disdain for mainstream pap like Maroon 5, Fall Out Boy and Gwen Stefani that their white hipster fanbase does must stick in the craw of folks who know that the Flaming Lips are so much better than what's on the radio. Is it that Timbaland just hasn't heard the Flaming Lips? Does he need a critic's guiding hand? Or are they just being commercially cagey? And if the final product is good, is it ok to like it? Does that mean you like harlots like Nelly Furtado now? Thank to that accursed Roots feat Patrick Stump devil of a song, Slate's Ben Mathis-Lilley must wrestle with the pop guilt/bullshit that any self-righteous indie snob who puts Kanye West in his top ten list must eventually face. More »

1:00 PM on Thu Apr 24 2008
By Anthony Miccio
1,652 views, 45 comments

Latest by Lawson: I think this 'story' is mainly an indictment on forced music journalism in general - y'know, "copy's due, oh shit i better think up of two things in music completely unrelated and write on them". there is a constant stream more »

pop quiz

Can You Guess Who Sent Dave Navarro This Text?

"Dave... Get down here. Flea is on his way and wants to jam!"


a) Perry Farrell
b) Pete Yorn
c) Stewart Copeland
d) Steve Vai
e) all of the above!

More »

1:00 PM on Thu Apr 17 2008
By Anthony Miccio
1,289 views, 5 comments

yay

Sub Pop's 20th Anniversary Festival: Stop Me Before I Start Camping Out Now

As rumored back in October, the legendary Seattle band Green River, which featured future members of Mudhoney, Mother Love Bone, Pearl Jam, and Love Battery during its too-short career, will reunite for the Sub Pop 20th anniversary party, scheduled for July 12 and 13 at Seattle's Marymoor Park. Not only will the show also feature hiatus-breaking performances by Red Red Meat, Seaweed, and the Fluid as well, it'll have sets by current acts like Low and No Age. And Mudhoney, obviously. Tickets go on sale April 26! I hope I can meet the guy who runs the grunge-history blog lamestain while I'm there, because I really owe that dude a drink. Full announced lineup after the jump. More »

4:50 PM on Tue Apr 15 2008
By Maura Johnston
1,359 views, 25 comments

Latest by N/A: Hazel anyone? I was specifically logging on to say "FUCK!! GET THE SPINANES!!!" but I am clearly behind the times. Velocity Girl only if they don't play "I Can't Stop Smiling" and of flipping course the Fastbacks. What about The more »