The Curmudgeon: Down With Downloads
I make the following argument knowing full well that it’s in vain. Music is going digital, and there’s nothing I can do about it. In the future most music will arrive via downloads or more likely will reside in a sky full of clouds. Physical recordings—whether CDs, DVDs, vinyl or tape—won’t disappear completely, but will became a very small niche market. As a result of these changes, however, something valuable is being lost—and an argument must be made on that something’s behalf. The most obvious casualty is sound quality. I’m sorry, but mp3s sound like shit. The sampling rate loses... read more
Found in: Music, ColumnsCourt 13: Films You Can Believe In
No one could be blamed for missing them. With their nondescript Montegut, La., headquarters housed in an antiquated wooden warehouse behind a battered old gas station, there was little to identify the odd group of young people that cropped up in the spring of 2010. read more
Found in: Movies, FeaturesThe Melvins: No Regrets
Inside Atlanta’s The Loft—a barely lit, industrial concrete rectangle of a rock club—the Melvins strut onstage to dramatic fanfare. A wash of horn blasts gives way to the Blazing Saddles theme. read more
Found in: Music, FeaturesFrom The Vault: Tom Petty - "Breakdown"
After a warm introduction from Bill Graham, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers took to the Winterland stage the night before the revered venue would be closed forever with a capstone set by the Grateful Dead on New Year's Eve. read more
Found in: Featured VideosLive From SXSW: Idle Warship
Watch Idle Warship's entire performance at the Sennheiser & Paste Present the Stages on Sixth. read more
Found in: Featured VideosRoman Coppola: Inside Moonrise Kingdom
You’d think that of all the people involved in the making of a film, the writer would be the one with all the answers, the one who’s already gleaned all the insight he’s going to get from the story. read more
Found in: Movies, FeaturesMarissa Nadler
Side two of Marissa Nadler’s new album, The Sister, opens with the song “Constantine,” which is about neither the 2005 Keanu Reeves vehicle nor the American Idol non-winner turned Broadway star. read more
Found in: Music, FeaturesLive From Paste: Arkells
Watch Arkells' five-song Live From Paste session in this week's Paste mPlayer issue. read more
Found in: Live at PasteRodney Crowell: Tall Tales Driven by Audacity
About 10 years ago, when Rodney Crowell started the memoir that would be published last year as Chinaberry Sidewalks, he was talking about the challenges of writing prose with his pal Mickey Raphael, Willie Nelson's longtime harmonica player. read more
Found in: Music, FeaturesPublic Image Ltd.: This is PiL
When Dick Clark died a few months ago, one of the most widely-circulated videos posted in his honor was a clip of Public Image Ltd.‘s 1980 appearance on American Bandstand. The group performed “Poptones” and “Careering” in the most sneering, audience-friendly way possible and engaged in one of the most hilariously off-kilter interviews Clark was ever a part of on his own show. As a tribute to Clark’s unflappability, it’s an ideal document; however, it also speaks volumes about why Public Image Ltd. so captured the attention of the post-punk generation. After moving on from the Sex Pistols, John Lydon... read more
Found in: Music, Reviews
