Beme’s rap goes beyond the mere food/shit dichotomy. Beme’s “shit talk” is also music; the body is not a bank, but the music is rooted in the breath, the free improvisatory flow of words that are also tethered to the formalism of rhyme. Talk is ex-lax; rap betters the talking cure. It, too, is a work out that can make you less hungry. As a mural from the Oakland-based Community Rejuvenation Project suggests: there’d be less eating disorders and drug addictions if people were allowed to talk more, if word-jazz and singing were more acceptable. In this sense, Richard Berman is wrong: it’s harder to solve the obesity crisis by keeping your mouth closed. The extra energy you get from dieting has to go somewhere.
On the heels of a reissue of their sole album and a farewell series of shows, we talk with Norman Brannon, guitarist for the highly regarded band Texas Is The Reason, about their past and their present.
“I really think Mudhoney’s overall integrity will draw people to this documentary. Even when they were on Reprise their music was still high quality,” said Pease.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to realize early on, that I play for myself. I play because I love playing. I don’t seek admiration or acceptance. I enjoy myself at rehearsal as much as any show. Playing is sacred to me. I can take a lot but if anything messes with my chance to play, I lose it. Any hostility I still harbor stems from those who’ve messed with that,” said Becvare.
“We took Hip Hop above and beyond the moment we got passports. I can’t stand major media companies and radio stations that show the black community has less power than it truly does.”
White Lung’s voracious lead singer, Mish Way, talks about the band’s latest album, Sorry, and explains why Canadian music is anything but boring.
Mississippi-based Dent May eschews everything that made his debut album so charming—specifically, his ukulele—and he discusses with us why he left it behind, and the making of his pleasant follow-up record.
Brooklyn’s Sophia Knapp’s music has a timeless quality about it, and is evocative of a simpler era. Here, she discusses her own musical background and love of simple pop music.
“I knew that it would be impossible to replicate Radio Birdman, a product of a unique combination of energies which created a new entity, much bigger than the sum of the parts. My goal was to come across as a good solo songwriter, but I knew that I could always get the energy level up there. It was never going to be “folk music” or acoustic pop,” said Tek.
While many indie labels flicker and fade alongside the scenes they propagated, Slumberland Records’ beacon continues to burn brightly. The imprint has outlived many of its peers and predecessors, as well as the indiepop movement it emerged from in the early nineties.
What makes this film special is the rare opportunity to chronicle an emerging punk rock artist on his ride to stardom only for him to fall and never live to see his legendary potential.
The band’s new album, Pillar To Post marks their 50th anniversary, as well as brings the band’s history to a close.
Up-and-coming country-rocker Lydia Loveless takes a moment while resting in Music City to reflect upon the classifications and inspirations that have graced her over the past year.
From New York’s smoke-filled clubs to the national stage, legendary saxophonist Sonny Rollins’ fire still burns as he recently received top awards under the brightest of spotlights.
Canadian documentarian Susanne Tabata (49 Degrees, Skater Girl), plunges into the sleazy underbelly of Vancouver’s seventies punk scene to make a deeply human film about an entire scene and it’s often larger-then-life denizens.
We have a nice talk with Canadian dream-pop band Memoryhouse, on their growth from a bedroom band to a fully-operational group, and the reasons why they rerecorded their critically acclaimed debut EP.
We have a quick chat with Ohio-based Pomegranates about their new, experimental EP.
London-based trio Hong Kong in the 60s has made a little record that is worthy of your time.
Founding member of seminal band The Replacements releases
second solo record.
Rogue Wave leader Zach Schwartz talks about his latest project, the stripped-down band Release the Sunbird.
We talk with Ronnie Vannucci, drummer for the Grammy award-winning band The Killers, about his new solo project, Big Talk.
Seattle-based indie-pop band Seapony may not have a lot to say, but that’s perfectly okay, as leader Danny Rowland discusses the motivation behind his band and their debut Go With Me.
We talk with young Michigan-based garage-rock band The Peoples Temple about their music, and the obvious comparison one may make with them.
We have a chat with John Congleton, about the demise of his former band, The Paper Chase, and his new project, The Nighty Nite.
“l could’ve easily ended up dead or locked up. We don’t live that way now. Some people go around and hype that kind of thing, we don’t feel good about that. You try to do right and make up for the hurt you caused before,” he said.
Music geeks never forget their first love affair with a record label. It’s an experience that transforms casual listening into an infatuation, and inspires freakish behaviors like maintaining a handwritten discography and referring to releases by catalog number rather than album title.
We talk to Mario Hernandez, indie-pop veteran, about his new project, Kids On A Crime Spree.
After working tirelessly to build her reputation in the demanding worlds of fashion and music, former F Minus bassist and singer Jen Johnson is celebrating her full ownership of the Dainty June clothing line.
We talk with Spokane, Washington’s The Globes, about their debut album, Future Self, and the power of influences.
We chat with Maggie Bjorklund, Danish pedal steel maestro, who discusses her attraction to the instrument—and the difficulties of learning said instrument in a remote Northern European location.
We discuss the making of Chicago-based electronic-folk-pop band A Lull‘s impressive debut album Confetti with vocalist and mastermind Nigel Evan Dennis.
We talk with Dallas-based Daniel Huffman about his debut record, Bump & Assassination.
Take a little time to check out New Orleans-based Generationals, who deftly impress with their second album, Actor-Caster.
After an internal shake-up, a period in creative limbo and a self-described rebirth the trio are back with a new album that sounds like a rain forest hoe down on acid.
We sit down with The Head and The Heart‘s Josiah Johnson, who talks about the band’s formation and plans for the future.
“I learned a lot of life lessons from The Heart Attacks. I’ve felt shitty for so long that to do things like that again would be really detrimental to me and The Biters.”
As celebrated working class author, Nelson Algren chronicled the daily plight of urban sprawl and the street hustler’s fight for survival, Boston’s Street Dogs transformed Algren’s ghetto defendant into a symbol for collective empowerment.
Legendary indie-pop songwriter Phil Wilson discusses his return after two decades, his former band, The June Brides, and his struggles with songwriting.
Will Long, the widower of ambient artist Danielle Baquat-Long, sat down to tell us a little bit about the enigmatic Chubby Wolf.
Justin Carter, leader of Canadian atmospheric rockers The Sky Life, discusses the motivations and the creation of their second album, Roots and Wings
Ypsilanti-based musician and studio wizard Fred Thomas takes a few moments to talk about his numerous projects
Small Sins frontman Thomas D’arcy talks about his band’s third album, Pot Calls Kettle Black, working with John McEntire, and how he survived the Postal Service-induced synth-pop explosion.
Seattle’s The Moondoggies return with an impressive sophomore album, Tidelands. Guitarist/singer Kevin Murphy talks about the album, and their distinctive yet familiar sound.
This week we look at the work of Copenhagen-based musician Keith Canisius, upon the release of his third album, This Time It’s Our High.
Though Kendl Winter recently released her fourth solo album, Apple Core, it is a mere drop in the bucket for this Arkansas-gone-Olympia musician.
Taking a breather from his day-job as guitarist for The Dandy Warhols, Peter Holmström and his cohorts from the Portland psych-rock scene have created an album of enjoyable, mellow psychedelia.
The Hangmen aren’t celluloid heroes and won’t be featured on any tourist star map, but they will be celebrated with Lost Rocks, a collection of their raucous country infused punk rock spanning their 25 year history.
