Rocky Balboa the Italian Yoda (A Love Story)
I am a child of Rocky films. That is the good ones. You know what I mean, Rocky - Rocky IV. Memories of Star Spangled Trunks, punching sides of beef, ditching the KGB, chasing chickens, drinking egg yolks, and weird celebratory man hugs in the ocean after beach running make me feel young again. What a simple time we once lived in when there were only four Rocky movies to love. How many times a month do you think about Rocky? I bet it’s more than you’ll admit. Whenever I sprint up the long flight of stairs to the Salem... read more
All Self-Referential Songs, All The Time
Admit it, we all love to gab about ourselves. And so do some of our favorite bands and artists. Enjoy this playlist of self-referential songs! Have a lovely weekend, Kate ps- Sorry the pictures have been a bore. We’re on deadline. Check back next week for more FREE SONGS. 1. Cansei de Ser Sexy “C.S.S. Suxx” 2. Sufjan Stevens “A Conjunction Of Drones Simulating The Way In Which Sufjan Stevens Has An Existential Crisis In The Great Godfrey Maze” 3. Dandy Warhols “The Dandy Warhols Love Almost Everyone” 4. M.I.A. “M.I.A.” 5. Ramones “R.A.M.O.N.E.S.” 6. Sonic Youth “Kim Gordon and... read more
Indie Roundup
Panda Bear – Person Pitch My insightful but historically challenged friend Jeremy tells me that Person Pitch sounds like The Beach Boys on LSD, which is an accurate enough assessment on one hand, but which ignores the fact that Brian Wilson spent years playing in the sandbox for a reason. Mr. Bear (real name Noah Lennox) is a member of acid-folk experimentalists The Animal Collective (naturally), and his second solo album is far removed from both his band’s catalogue and his lovely but downbeat solo debut Young Prayer. Here Lennox drags the Beach Boys chorales kicking and screaming through an... read more
Paste Presents: A Cold War Kid?
As you might have read here on PasteMagazine.com, we are hosting a secret show in NYC on 2/22/07 as part of our ongoing “Paste Presents” concert series. The first of these shows at the Knitting Factory featured surprise performances from Beck, HEM, Hymns, and ?uestlove (who served as house DJ). Jay Sweet and I have been planning the upcoming show and were interested to read a thread about the show over at BrooklynVegan.com (recently named “Blog of the Year” at the PLUG Awards). Within the thread, BrooklynVegan and its readers were trying to guess the show’s line-up. I read it... read more
All Hearts, All The Time (Happy Valentine’s Day!)
Happy Valentine’s Day! Enjoy this playlist of songs about hearts. LOVE, Knate 1. Neil Young “Heart Of Gold” 2. Blondie “Heart Of Glass” 3. The Rapture “Open Up Your Heart” 4. Anathallo “I Thought In My Heart” 5. Erma Franklin “Piece Of My Heart” 6. Beth Orton “Heart Of Soul” 7. XTC “Beating Of Hearts” 8. Björk “Triumph Of A Heart” 9. U2 “Two Hearts Beat As One” 10. Ed Harcourt “Bittersweetheart” 11. Gram Parsons “Hearts On Fire” 12. Nirvana “Heart-Shaped Box” 13. The Jayhawks “Two Hearts” 14. The Knife “Heartbeats” 15. Norah Jones “Cold Cold Heart” 16. The Stanley... read more
Blogging from New York City
(Sorry for the crappy camera phone photo. I was trying to be inconspicuous. It really is a spectacular view.) There are times when nothing’s as good as going to a hole-in-the-wall club and hearing a band play raw, ruckus rock ‘n’ roll through crappy speakers as you stand squished in a mob of sweaty, dancing fans. Last night wasn’t one of those times. Watching Calexico play at the Lincoln Center with a dozen or more crack musicians on stage, the venue’s 40’ x 50’ window looking out over Columbus Circle, Central Park, and a column of car lights reflecting off... read more
Be My Valentine ( a Day late as always)
Hallmark Blows Chunks. How come they couldn’t send me a reminder that the Holiday they made up was on a Wednesday this year? For you clueless and forgetful souls out there looking for the ultimate make-up “because I forgot your freaking box of roses and your bouquet of Chocolate and I guess I’m really sorry?” , I offer the following gift ideas: * The entire Truth & Soul Records Catalog: This is the best RECORD label going bar none. Check out the various soul covers of Wu-Tang by El Michels Affair (Truth & Soul and tell ‘em Sweet Talk Sent... read more
All Guitar Hero Wish List, All The Time
Paste music editor Jason Killingsworth is a Guitar Hero champ. Sometimes we even call him the Shred Head. Okay, we don’t actually call him that, but whatever. Last night he got third place in the Atlanta Guitar Hero tournament at our favorite dive bar, Lenny’s. He wore a pirate wig/hat combo and a gold shirt, and he played the strum bar with his teeth. It was awesome. Enjoy our Guitar Hero wish list! Rock, Knate 1. Radiohead “Paranoid Android” 2. Sonic Youth “Silver Rocket” 3. Dinosaur Jr. “Start Choppin’” 4. Oasis “Champagne Supernova” 5. Television “See No Evil” 6. My... read more
Paste Rock’n’Reel 2007: Snow Patrol, Flaming Lips, and a Pumpkin Patch
One of my roles at Paste is to oversee operations and planning for the Rock’n’Reel Festival each fall… not a bad gig. However, I have what Paste co-founder, Nick Purdy, calls the GSD (Get Stuff Done) gene, and that means a lot of logistical details stay in the back of my mind, even in my sleep. The other night I had a dream about the 2007 festival. It goes like this: Editor-in-Chief, Josh Jackson, walked into the office and was happier than normal. “I got us a media sponsor for the festival!” he said. “Josh, we’re a magazine,” I reminded... read more
Lucinda Williams—West
Let me get this out of the way at the start: in spite of what’s coming, I like Lucinda Williams. I love her music, which I’ve followed avidly since her late ‘70s blues albums on Smithsonian Folkways. I’ve seen her in concert several times. I don’t know her personally, but I wish her well. But she’s still made a near-stinker of a new album. I wish it wasn’t so. West, due out February 13th, is the latest in a series of gradually declining releases since 1998’s masterpiece Car Wheels on a Gravel Road. That album, redolent with sweat and dirt,... read more
Joseph Arthur on Prince’s Purple Rain
As Prince stood with his arms raised triumphantly in the Superbowl halftime rain looking like a Little Richard Oompa-Loompa, I realized heck, this little dude still manages to win me over every time. Whether its baggin’ Apollonia and an EARLY 90’s Kim Bassinger, or rippin’, lickin’ or humpin’ that ensignia/guitar of his, Prince has always been at the top of his or any other game. Music needs more lunatics like Prince. Prince can do no wrong. The guy is the black Bowie, just when you think he has strutted too far over into the “maybe-I-have-a-penis-maybe-I don’t-fraggle-rock-on-ice-unitard-assless chaps” stage, he reminds... read more
All Partner Rock, All The Time
We love music, we love romance, and we REALLY love it when music and romance collide. Enjoy this playlist of songs by bands whose members are partners, and don’t forget to download two free tracks from husband/wife duos Over The Rhine and Ellery! What’s your favorite partner rock song? Love, Knate 1. The Innocence Mission “Lakes Of Canada” 2. Viva Voce “When Planets Collide” 3. Over The Rhine “Long Lost Brother” FREE! 4. Buddy & Julie Miller “You Make My Heart Beat Too Fast” 5. Arcade Fire “Wake Up” 6. Mates Of State “Fraud in the ‘80s” 7. Ellery “Anna”... read more
Fountains of Wayne, Joe Craven, Milton and the Devils Party, Jon Rauhouse
Some new or about-to-be-released music that I’ve enjoyed of late … Fountains of Wayne – Traffic and Weather Fountains of Wayne frontmen Adam Schlesinger and Chris Collingwood will remind you of the two smirking wiseacres who always sat in the back of the class during your high school years. They’re hip and they know it, they’re cynical, and they’re too clever for their own good. They rhyme “diner” and “Carl Reiner,” “law degree” and “Schenectedy,” “routine” and “Lichtenstein.” They find the ridiculous and surreal in every current cultural fad, and they pepper their lyrics with topical references that will be... read more
Let Them Eat Cake: Going to a Wedding with Andrew Bird
I’ve reached the age where a lot of my friends are starting to get married (congrats to April & Conrad, the latest to tie the knot). Luckily, I love a good wedding. Music, dancing, drunk relatives, and cake… mmm, cake… Know what else I love? The new Andrew Bird album, Armchair Apocrypha, due out later this spring. Lucky for me, Paste was sent an advance so we could review the album. iTunes tells me I’ve listened to one of its songs, “Scythian Empires,” 32 times already. If that’s not love, I don’t know what is. So over the weekend I... read more
Imagination Collaboration: The Shins, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
From reading Paste and a slew of other music pubs, I’ve learned a lot of things I didn’t know about The Shins and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. In particular, I’ve learned more about the creative processes implored by their frontmen, James Mercer and Alec Ounsworth. In a Filter interview conducted by actor John Krasinski (a.k.a Jim Halpert of “The Office"), Mercer explained that “Sea Legs” includes the sounds of a smashed plastic bag and bottlecaps on the amps. And in Issue 27 of Paste, Ounsworth explains the method to his madness, following the completion of CYHSY’s new record, “Some... read more
The City That Never Sleeps
As I realized many moons ago, my job as Editor at Large is somewhat weird, fantastic, and nebulous. These truths always seem magnified when I leave my rural abode by the sea and plop myself into Manhattan. To wit, here’s a quick synopsis of my last 24 hours on the island. Land at JFK take a cab to the Whole Foods Market in Union Square, overwhelmed with choices, decide on Chicken Tikka Masala, four kinds of Tofu, and a dark chocolate coated pretzel. Eat lunch with the four headed monster of The Festival Network in their offices. By the time... read more
All Recycled Song Titles, All The Time
There are only so many words in the English language, so it’s inevitable that song titles are going to get recycled every once in a while. Enjoy this playlist of multiple songs with the same name, and don’t forget to download the free Over The Rhine track! (We tried to find a second song called “A Conjunction Of Drones Simulating The Way In Which Sufjan Stevens Has An Existential Crisis In The Great Godfrey Maze,” but no luck. Bummer!) As ever, Knate 1-4. “Run” by Ben Kweller, Snow Patrol, Nada Surf and Air 5-6. “Mistress” by Sufjan Stevens and Red... read more
The Man Who Ate Modest Mouse and Became a Human Stereo
Fact: highly anticipated albums = highly protected albums. And since each issue of Paste goes to print well in advance of its street date, we have to get advances of these albums in order to deliver timely reviews. Most of the time these popular albums are “watermarked” and carry FBI warning labels on them. Sometimes they don’t play in computers. Editor-at-Large, Jay Sweet, encountered this problem because of the “ultra-sensitive copyright protection” used on Thom Yorke’s solo album, “The Eraser” (read the Issue 23 cover story here). Once in awhile, though, albums are so carefully guarded that the only way... read more
Last of the Breed
The album name overstates the case a little. Last time I checked the entertainment obituaries, George Jones, Ralph Stanley, and Charlie Louvin were still around (the octogenarian Charlie with a great new album, at that). So Last of the Breed, the title of the new 2-CD collaboration between Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, and Ray Price isn’t entirely accurate. But why quibble? The fact is that these three grizzled amigos represent the best of a brand of country music that hasn’t really been in vogue since the Reagan administration, before Garth Brooks discovered wireless mics and Shania Twain figured out how... read more
The Show Must Go On: The Hold Steady Play For the Swiss Family Robinson
The Hold Steady created Paste‘s #2 album of 2006 and have earned a number of fans here at the Paste offices. But when they came through our town in the fall, I had yet to hear the album and so I skipped the show. Paste contributing writer, Palmer Houchins, said that show at The Earl was the greatest show he had seen in a very long time (and he goes to a lot of good shows). So it seems appropriate that I would have a dream about The Hold Steady after listening to their album, Boys and Girls In America,... read more
The 20 Best Gadgets of the Decade…
The 20 Best Live Acts of the…
The 50 Best Albums of the Decade…
The 25 Best Movie Performances of the…
Download Harper Blynn's "Centrifugal Motion"
Blind Pilot - One Red Thread
B.O.B. - Put Me On
Punch Brothers - Punch Brothers at CMJ
David Bazan - Hard To Be
