The Tripwire

Because we didn’t want yesterday’s Kurt Vile feature to be too overwhelming for your fragile senses, we opted out of posting this new clip of Vile slithering his way through “Overnite Religion.” It’s a delay clinic/folk voyage from Childish Prodigy, his latest and one of 2009’s best. Obtain it if...

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It’s become clear over the years that while Kim Gordon has some obvious chops in Sonic Youth, simply deeming her a musician doesn’t really do her gifts justice. She’s an artist in several senses of the word: fashion designer, actress, visual artist, curator. Later this month, Gordon will see the release...

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The answer: No. And don’t even begin to consider Grizzly Bear. Maybe this is why there’s only one strip club in Williamsburg? (Via: Village Voice)...

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Earlier this week, I waxed nostalgic/ecstatic about how great Xiu Xiu (and their new album, Dear God, I Hate Myself) still are. Well, it’s as if the band read the post (not likely) and broadcast even more of the vibrations we all need. A press release just crossed our...

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Looking the part is 99% of a stylist’s job (the other 1% is mousse). We’d say that Zach Galifianakis and Jimmy Fallon pulled it off effortlessly last night, in uniforms reminiscent of something between Mugatu and the droogs from A Clockwork Orange. Either way, they were extremely elegant. And kind...

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Got through a song and a half of Real Estate’s self titled before I ran into my British coworker on the train. She was reading On the Road, I guess trying finally to become fully American. Some things you just get at birth. The Real Estate boys, suburban Jersey proud,...

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Specifically a dining room, if my high school Spanish is to be trusted....

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If you’ve been trolling the musicnerdisphere over the past few weeks you’ve probably become quite aware that SXSW and its promise of beer and BBQ’d jams is incoming. That said, we’re very proud to announce that in addition to our usual curatorial/celebratory duties elsewhere in Austin, we’re also sponsoring The...

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Interview by Chris Ruen Photography by Dorothy Hong Though the spot in the venn diagram where “lo-fi,” “psych,” and “bedroom” meet up has been effectively mobbed over the past couple of years, Philadelphia’s Kurt Vile has been graced with a talent for differentiation. While many artists shyly hide their disaffected...

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You know the parties we’re talking about. At midnight you’ve got a sort of spontaneous dance vibe going and all is feeling right Fast forward two or three hours and maybe a few more beverages and everyone is playing DJ. One guy thinks LCD is always a safe bet so...

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Story by Adam Daniels Photography by John Francis Peters The Big Pink are not meant to play to empty rooms. This is why seeing them play soundcheck is a pretty surreal experience. It’s like walking into a movie theater playing Independence Day and being the only person in the room. Their songs...

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From a post on our brother (not sister!) site TheFADER.com that went live just moments ago: Pressing play on this stream garnered, within two seconds of the first riff, “Yes! Yes, Schnipper! Yes!” from a FADER editor. That editor is now singing along under his breath. Don’t think he knows he’s...

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Mr. Fitzmaurice wrote very enthusiastically the other day about the noisy genius of Cloud Nothings, nom de guerre to Cleveland native Dylan Baldi. Of all the hooks that populate his rapidly growing songbook, the one at the heart of “Hey Cool Kid” socks my stomach hardest. In a good way!...

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Hold Your Horses is a “French-American” indie pop septet that sounds like a healthy blend of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Belle and Sebastian and the criminally underrated Wax Fang. That nerdy reference probably won’t set your pants on fire but maybe their video for “70 Million” will. Produced by...

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I was a dope and didn’t post the perspective-proffering “This Fucking Job” when it landed on web shores almost exactly a month ago. But the second (and much lighter) slice of mp3 from their forthcoming The Big To-Do is around and together the two are available below for you to...

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Back in sophomore year of high school, when I had a portable CD player and not a Zune, there were three records in constant rotation on my unwieldy, skip-prone listening device: Fugazi’s The Argument, Mission of Burma’s Vs., and Xiu Xiu’s Knife Play. Fugazi hasn’t done ANYTHING since The Argument,...

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Normally, Crystal Antlers aren’t really a band anyone would call “restrained.” Their best work (detailed on 2008’s self-titled EP) sounds like what you’d get if you shoved Hawkwind inside an exploding star, explained to them what Les Savy Fav sounds like, and then forced them to “do that.” Neat trick,...

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As one grows older one tends to balk at the idea of seeing a band live. It gets loud. There’s a lot of standing and even more waiting. Also, name one person who likes a crowd. You can’t do it. After having just played two sold out shows to New...

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I’m a germaphobe. In the morning, when trying to claim some space in a train car on the way to work, I really need to have both my hands available. Because as much as I’d like to kick back and read, it’s more comfortable to just lean on what’s around...

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Weed Diamond is the one-man noise pop project of Denver-native Tim Perry. That last sentence comes dangerously close to one I wrote once about Wavves’ Nathan Williams, an ornery little guy whose moves Perry seems to have studied very closely. Or maybe that’s just some weird coincidence and my ears...

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When he wants to anyway. In this featurette, you’re invited on a journey into the creative bender as well as Beck and Feist-bolstered studio experience that was the creation of Lidell’s new full-length, Compass. Wait for the snippet of the three of them collaborating on what Lidell describes as a...

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Someone at a party once pitched these dudes to us by saying “Imagine if Grizzly Bear took themselves less seriously and just hung out at the beach more.” We’re pretty sure this guy worked in PR, but it’s still kind of funny to think about, especially when you take into...

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OK Go is the band less known for its songs than for creating a viral video for one of its songs. For the band’s new single, “This Too Shall Pass,” they made not one but two viral videos—one marching band, one Rube Goldberg—both of which are pretty inventive, neither of...

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These four are too cute. And I don’t mean that in the they’re too cute way you might squeal if you saw this, but that this feels dishonest. That little dude second from the left, dressed in his Dad’s clothes? There’s a good chance he’s done commercial work in Britain...

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I’m a hopeless germaphobe. In the morning, when trying to claim some space in a train car on the way to work, I really need to have both my hands available. Because as much as I’d like to kick back and read, it’s more comfortable to just lean on what’s...

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This is an underdog story. (Don’t act like you don’t have a soft spot for those– we saw the Olympic ratings) Anyway, this story involves a young, starry-eyed singer who made a bold move to cover some of his favorite indie bands in the hopes they would notice and give...

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Is that a mustache? Nah, it’s a bloody mustache! A conversation in the office about last Friday’s Morning Commute sparked another conversation about Joanna Newsom’s Nevada City salad days. Among her many divisive talents and ticks, it should be noted going forward that Ms. Newsom was also (and probably continues...

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Just when we were wondering when we were going to hear some new tunes from Canadian jitterbugs Born Ruffians, the boys go ahead and hit us with a double-dose. Their sophomore record, Say It, is out May 31 on Warp, and to satiate our thirst for rhythmically complex shout-along rock,...

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I haven’t heard a Counting Crows song since October. Before that it had probably been at least another two years. But at some point in the last thirty minutes, “Hanginaround” got lodged in my brain. That’s minor Counting Crows completely out of nowhere, as though this song had been lying...

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Monday blues got you down? How’s about you throw on this new song by Lawrence, KS’ finest alt-rock roughnecks, Rooftop Vigilantes. The tune’s called “Punched By Gaurav,” and although we don’t really know who Gaurav is, we know you probably feel you’ve been punched today, so consider it a “shared...

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Photography and Haiku by Ken Grand-Pierre Sand and snow and noise sweaty bods forget winter ferocious loudness Surfer Blood Beach Fossils The Morning Benders Turbo Fruits...

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I’m a germaphobe. In the morning, when trying to claim some space in a train car on the way to work, I really need to have both my hands available. Because as much as I’d like to kick back and read, it’s more comfortable to just lean on what’s around...

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Remember the Gorilla Biscuits? The straight-edge hardcore band that brought you songs like “Start Today” and “New Direction” and a bunch of other motivational songs to keep kids on the right track while they elbowed their way through the mob of punks at CBGB’s? Well, CBGB’s turned into a John...

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When a band like Pavement gets back together, nothing but joy should come to mind. But we live in an age of cynicism and promises that new Dr. Dre albums will actually come out and blog posts speculating the aftermath of unconfirmed hypotheticals. Needless to say, the many months since...

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It’s a typical situation. Some clown who burned you walks into the party like he’s walking onto a yacht, his hat strategically dipped below one eye and his scarf the color of an apricot.  He has one eye in the mirror as he watches himself gavotte, and you wonder to...

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A perfect scene from Under the Great Northern Lights and one you may remember glimpsing from the ridiculously good trailer that dropped several weeks back. GET EXCITED FOR THE WHOLE THING. Screening dates after the jump. The box set comes out on 3.16 Additional screenings of the film include: February 26th SEATTLE –...

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I’m a germaphobe. In the morning, when trying to claim some space in a train car on the way to work, I really need to have both my hands available. Because as much as I’d like to kick back and read, it’s more comfortable to just lean on what’s around...

Read more

Every so often, when an athlete finds himself in trouble with the law, those smoothies on Sportscenter are forced to bring in bespectacled experts to help aid viewers in understanding the many legal ramifications of that given case. And they confuse everyone. Well, we’ve got our own, far less crusty...

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Much like they’ve inspired many, many fever dreams of mine. In the above interview with CBS News, director Tim Burton and Johnny Depp break down their time as weirdos, friends, parents and dudes with record collections just as bizarre as you might have guessed. Further evidence thereof after the bump....

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