Jimmy Eat World: Chase This Light
Some of us like to preserve our favorite artists in a... read more
Ani DiFranco: Canon
With two full discs diligently chronicling over 17 years of Ani DiFranco’s dense output, Canon at first feels like a lot to swallow... read more
Peanut Butter Wolf: 2K8: B-Ball Zombie War
He’s not only the president; he’s also a client: Chris Manak (a.k.a. NorCal spin doctor Peanut Butter Wolf) may be the CEO of the highly influential underground-hip-hop label Stones Throw... read more
4 To Watch: White Shoes & The Couples Company
"Simple Overture,” the opening lo-fi guitar instrumental of White Shoes & The Couples Company’s debut album, is akin to an interval signal—the captivatingly simple melodies shortwave radio stations air before a broadcast commences... read more
4 To Watch: Ingrid Michaelson
Ingrid Michaelson has a self-described "librarian chic" (she wears glasses), cinnamon-color eyes that match her hair, a crystalline voice she softens with a touch of vibrato, and a fantastically twisty approach to songcraft... read more
4 To Watch: The Wombats
>Matthew Murphy knew he’d penned some incredibly catchy songs—sparkling punk-pop footstompers like “Kill The Director,” “Backfire At The Disco” and “Let’s Dance To Joy Division.”... read more
4 To Watch: Vampire Weekend
On the surface, Vampire Weekend has little in common with Vlad the Impaler, the legendary tyrant who inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula... read more
Interpol live EP sees indie release today
Oh Interpol, you really do surprise us sometimes. We thought we'd only have the group's new Love to Admire for the duration of 2007. But now there's a fresh little Interpol gem coming down the pipeline - and this one is for independent music shoppers only. Yeah, that's right, no big box posers are getting onboard this train. Today, the group's Interpol Live EP arrives via ThinkIndie.com. The website is dishing out the six-song package to its affiliated stores, which represent some of the finest little indie boutique shops in the land. The record captures selections from a live Interpol... read more
Jermaine makes Jackson 5 reunion slightly more official
The saga of the Jackson clan is so lengthy, convoluted and tragic that it could probably fill the pages of a Dickensian epic. Let's call it Blighted Expectations: A Tale of Five Jacksons. Well, as we've previously reported, there could soon be a new entry to the Jackson family history: a 21st Century reunion tour. But whereas the source on that last report (a promoter) was a bit dubious, now one of the Jacksons is on the record stating that the reunion will happen, with the King of Pop included and everything. Jermaine Jackson spoke with BBC 6 Music, and... read more
Kanye West, Evel Knievel resolve video beef
Okay, so maybe the blog hounds at Stereogum beat us to the punch on this one, but the above photo deserves to be circulated to every corner of the Internet. As some of you readers may recall, Evel Knievel sued Kanye West last year for appropriating his likeness in the high-wire video for West’s “Touch The Sky.” It was the classic case of adding injury to insult – the million-dollar, Pamela Anderson-featuring video had just lost at the 2006 MTV Europe Video Awards to a couple of unknown artists named Justice and Simian. Kanye did not take the first slight... read more
Tin Man brings twist on Oz to the small screen
While we reported about an in-the-works film remake of The Wizard of Oz a while ago, coming much sooner is a Sci Fi Channel reimaginging titled Tin Man. And while the former provides a dark, frankly creepy look at the series' concepts, the the latter may actually offer an adult (as opposed to adolescent male) take on the series. The series takes its source from the same Frank L. Baum novels as everything else, but will be trying to tell the classic story in a more serious manner. And more action-packed. "It's postmodern, more like Indiana Jones than a fairly... read more
Christian Bale in the new Terminator?
Unlike the typical news items around these parts, which are oh-so-rigidly set in stone, this one should be taken with a grain of salt. However, since the rest of the Internet has picked it up with the fullest force of the fiercest of rumor mills, perhaps it's worth noting at this point even without studio confirmation. Ahem. Here goes, then... Christian Bale, everyone's favorite Batman who's also shone his acting chops in 3:10 to Yuma and Rescue Dawn this year, is reported to play John Connor in the upcoming Terminator series reboot, Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins. The rumor comes... read more
Loudon Wainwright III and Joe Henry to collaborate
Turns out Loudon Wainwright III is feeling a bit nostalgic, as older musicians tend to do. Sure, the comedic genius of Knocked Up sparked him to create Strange Weirdos, a batch of new material alongside producer and fellow singer/songwriter Joe Henry. But what about the glory days of Wainwright's early work, when it was just him, an acoustic guitar and reams of vibrant lyrical imagery? Once again with the aid of Henry, Wainwright plans to revisit the work of his first three albums. Entitled Recovery, the compilation fleshes out those previously threadbare tunes with the session players from Weirdos and... read more
The National
The Brooklyn-via-Cincinnati band that cut 2007's best album, Boxer, hasn't tossed out the dry cleaner's phone number just yet. If Bruce Springsteen is The Boss, consider National frontman Matt Berninger The Chairman (of the Bored). Ladies and gentlemen, meet the white-collar E Street Band... read more
Neil Young gets feminized on tribute CD
Neil Young has always been a man's man, the kind who'd go get plastered before a gig and then deliver a performance that would change the lives of everyone in the audience. His attire and guitar sound have always been ragged, and it isn't too much of a stretch to imagine him and the members of Crazy Horse driving around in a pickup truck together, firing off rifles intermittently. So perhaps the guy could use a feminine touch every once in awhile. Hence a new tribute album to Young that says everything you need to know in its title: Cinnamon... read more
Lightspeed Champion to blaze across the U.K., release debut
After escaping the strange little circus that was Test Icicles, Devonte Hynes now prepares to strike out on his own as Lightspeed Champion. Will the inevitable comparisons to his past work be cruel or kind to the young musician? Well, judging by the video for his debut single, "Galaxy Of The Lost," Hynes is out to craft his own whimsical playground of sound. "Galaxy" will appear on Falling Off The Lavender Bridge, Lightspeed Champion's first album. The release arrives in the U.K. on Jan. 21, and stateside Feb. 5 through Domino Recordings. Despite Hynes' record label allegiance, Lavender features several... read more
Daft Punk brings euphoria with live album, chat
It often becomes difficult to talk to someone who's seen a Daft Punk show about the experience. Thirty or so seconds into the conversation, their eyes go wide as they recount the light show, the throb of the bass and the pyramid... oh Lord, the pyramid! And then they're lost to the world, trapped in the memories of electro-house rapture. Thank goodness the cybernetic gentlemen behind Daft Punk are putting out a live album. Finally, we'll have an objective, high-quality recording of the events that surround a Daft Punk gig. The physical copy of Daft Punk Alive 2007 arrives Dec.... read more
Ryan Adams & The Cardinals plot West Coast dates
For the past month on PasteMagazine.com, Ryan Adams has been sitting there in the upper left corner of the website, watching our visitors like a guardian spirit. Doubtless you've already had the chance to check out Steve LaBate's cover story on the man, his music and his unique brand of madness. But maybe you still haven't seen Adams live, and consequently haven't witnessed the glory of "The E-Zone" or "The Plateau" firsthand. Well, if you live on the West Coast, get ready to make a date with Adams and his Cardinals. They've stayed busy in 2007 with Easy Tiger and... read more
What modern-day songwriter best carries the torch of Bruce Springsteen?
The Boss just announced a two-month tour. What modern artist best carries the torch of Bruce Springsteen? [2844 votes total] Ryan Adams (696): 24% Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes) (179): 6% Josh Ritter (296): 10% Damon Gough (Badly Drawn Boy) (24): 1% Jeff Tweedy (Wilco) (465): 16% Win Butler (The Arcade Fire) (327): 11% Pete Yorn (121): 4% Sam Beam (Iron & Wine) (83): 3% Craig Finn (The Hold Steady) (493): 17% Other (160): 6% Full Results Comments... read more
Kaki King dreams of Revenge on new album
On last year's ...Until We Felt Red, Kaki King began to emerge from the dense cocoon that had shrouded her earlier work. Boasting layer upon layer of musicality, King's acoustic guitar workouts had everything but immediate accessibility. But Red found King working in new instrumental colors and even adding vocals to the mix. Now King is set to follow up that departure of a record, and apparently it's her "most accessible" effort to date. Entitled Dreaming of Revenge, the album will arrive on March 4. Malcolm Burn (Emmylou Harris, Peter Gabriel) produces. “Even though half the tracks are instrumentals, I... read more
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