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Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis Have Written a Children's Book and it's Coming out Sometime
Decemberists lead singer Colin Meloy and his wife Carson Ellis are certainly no strangers to intra-marital artistic alliance—she’s responsible for the art for all of his band’s albums and of his solo CDs, plus most of The Decemberists’ merchandise and a couple of live show backdrops, too. And, according to Ellis’ blog, sometime soon you’ll be able to add a children’s book to their collective CV.... read more
Found in: Books, NewsListen Up: Welcome to the New Folk Revival
Alela Diane Menig, the Portland-by-way-of-California singer-songwriter who released one my favorite albums of this year, To Be Still recently got a haircut... read more
Found in: Music, Features, Listen UpDecemberists to End Hazards of Love Tour with Animated Performance
Update: Watch the newly-premiered trailer for Here Come the Waves here.--The Decemberists are easily one of the most animated bands in rock; Colin Meloy's stage banter and over-the-top literary persona alone prove that. But for the band's final American performance of the full rock epic Hazards of Love, The Decemberists will be animated the good old-fashioned way. On Oct. 19 at UCLA's Royce Hall, the band will unleash Here Come the Waves: Hazards of Love Visualized, a four-part animated film project that synced to the full performance of Hazards.... read more
Found in: Music, NewsColin Meloy Fan to Ghostwrite The Decemberists Frontman's Twit Today
With recent 140-character proclamations like, “Thank God! We'll finally have a Pitchfork rating assigned to every Beatles record!,” it turns out that Colin Meloy is still a musician worth following on Twitter.... read more
Found in: Music, NewsThe Best Worst Voices In Indie Rock
Last week we debated the best voices in indie rock. But there’s another kind of great voice out there—the kind that isn’t classically good, but its technical problems just make it more lovable. Here are my picks for the best worst voices—you can listen below. Feel free to add to the list in the comments section.... read more
Found in: Blogs, List of the DayOne on One: 20 Single-Artist Cover Albums Worth A Listen
A well-done cover song is a beautiful thing—and, by extension, so is a compilation of tracks by a slew of musicians paying tribute to one of their heroes. But it takes a special combination of love and guts and a hearty dash of hubris for a single artist to tackle the oeuvre of another—whether a friend or a legend—all by their lonesome. Sometimes the result is a mess (like Dirty Dancing songstress Jennifer Warnes' maudlin, schlocky Leonard Cohen tribute, Famous Blue Raincoat), but when the stars align, it can be really wonderful. Here are a few of our favorites. (Scroll... read more
Found in: Blogs, List of the DayGeorge Wein's Folk Festival 50 Photos: Pete Seeger, Avett Brothers, Gillian Welch, Josh Ritter, Mavis Staples and More
[Above: The Avett Brothers]Photos taken by Stephanie F. Black (unless otherwise noted) at George Wein's Folk Festival 50... read more
Found in: Blogs, 1000 Words10 Musicians Worth Following on Twitter
Now that the Twitter universe has expanded to fans of The View and What Happens in Vegas, it's time to figure out whose 140-character tweets are worth reading. More than just concert announcements and what they had for breakfast—the miniature prose of these 10 musicians is almost as interesting as (or, in one case, more interesting than) their music. (And fake Tom Waits has been removed)...1. ?uestlove (The Roots) - questlove Best recent tweet: on behalf of big dudes everywhere: im TIRED of mofos thinking im not aware if i sit on a remote or keys or a samurai sword... read more
Found in: Blogs, List of the DaySweet Talk's Top Ten Live Songs 2008
Being Editor at Large means, well, one is at large a great deal. When one holds such a post for a top notch music magazine, it generally means a lot of time is spent on the road, catching artists in their natural habitat. Over the course of 2008 Sweet Talk did just that. I manged to see shows in fourteen states and four countries, as a journalist, fan, rookie roadie, and even a producer of several festivals. While I did not manage to see as many club gigs as I once did ( a second child will do that to you), I obviously ingested my fair share of the... read more
Found in: Blogs, Sweet TalkRobyn Hitchcock talks details of new Venus 3 record
Robyn Hitchcock recently revealed to Paste that his new album... read more
Found in: Music, News
Where Have All The Weird Girls Gone?…
Evil Dead to Rise Again to Theaters…
The 50 Best Movies of the Decade…
The 17 Best Romantic Comedies This Decade
Heather Greene - Moon Hangs Fire
Dawes - When My Time Comes
James Yuill - This Sweet Love (Earth…
Blind Pilot - One Red Thread
Pete Yorn - Last Summer
