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Oh Comely: Five Neutral Milk Hotel Covers Worth Hearing
Hearing Neutral Milk Hotel via audiophile-quality vinyl for the first time will be a triumphant yet defeating moment. Why? Because the band's sad notes will strike louder than ever before, and every wailing horn will remind us that Elephant 6 offspring is gone, perhaps never to return.... read more
Found in: Blogs, List of the DayThe 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 DayWe Need More Cowbell! VH1's Behind the Music Returns, But Who Deserves an Episode?
Were it not for VH1's Behind the Music, a whole generation would never be able to answer the many haunting questions of modern music: Did Milli Vanilli really lip-sync their groundbreaking "Girl You Know It's True?" Why were the guys in Hootie and the Blowfish smiling all the time? And what the hell was with that bumblebee girl in Blind Melon's "No Rain" video?It was with heavy hearts that fans of BtM watched a chapter of their lives end when the show was pulled to semi-retirement in 2002.... read more
Found in: Movies, NewsOur Noise: The Story of Merge Records Coming in Sept.
Over the years, Merge Records has brought us Neutral Milk Hotel, Arcade Fire, Spoon, She & Him, and many other excellent bands that hold a permanent places on our playlists. What enabled this humble North Carolina indie imprint to become one of the best of the best? A forthcoming biography might just have the answers.... read more
Found in: Books, NewsNeutral Milk Hotel Saves Paragon Carousel
In April, we reported that Neutral Milk Hotel asked its fans to vote online to help keep the Paragon Carousel alive and beautiful. Vote they did: American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation announced on May 18 that the carousel was the winner of a $100,000 grant to be used for restoration and repairs.... read more
Found in: Culture, NewsNeutral Milk Hotel Wants You to Save a Carousel
The music of Neutral Milk Hotel might not be readily associated with good times at a carnival (unless, of course, it's a painfully, transportingly beautiful carnival that sets up for a few Summers and then totally disappears leaving you totally wrecked and hanging on every subsequent bit of evidence that one day the carnival might just return, maybe, possibly, hopefully, please God let it be soon). Still, Julian Koster and Jeff Mangum, on behalf of their bandmates, are asking fans to act on behalf of the Paragon Carousel, a much-beloved Mass. landmark in dire need of restoration.... read more
Found in: Culture, NewsTwenty Songs not by The Decemberists About Kids Meeting Unfortunate Ends
The Decemberists offered up "The Rake's Song," a track from their upcoming Hazards of Love LP, as a free download last week, which means that lots of people were probably struck with the same two thoughts that hit me upon my own first listen. One, this is a song about a dude killing his kids. Two, there are not many songs about that.... read more
Found in: Blogs, List of the DayPaste presents An Indie Rock Alphabet Book
We're proud to announce Paste's first foray into book publishing... read more
Found in: Books, NewsJulian Koster and his singing saw play the Paste studio
Julian Koster visits the Paste offices on Carolling tour It was as still as a "Silent Night" while we waited for Julian Koster of The Music Tapes (ex-Neutral Milk Hotel) —stopping at the Paste studio during his month-long caroling tour —to play his first note on Badger, his nine-year-old singing saw. Nobody breathed. Then Koster put his bow to the bent metal and a tone as pure as snow on a Christmas morning issued from it. He leapt adeptly from pitch to pitch, performing with quiet grace and an endearing sense of humor, several classic holiday tunes from his October... read more
Found in: Live at PasteJeff Mangum appears onstage with E6 friends, press flips
When it comes to Jeff Mangum, nothing gets by the eagle eyes of the indie-music media. As reported by Pitchfork, Stereogum, Idolator, your mother's dog (and assuredly many others), the Neutral Milk Hotel leader, who has been (with a couple exceptions) reclusive since the release of opus In The Aeroplane Over the Sea 10 years ago, appeared onstage with some old Elephant 6 pals this weekend in New York.... read more
Found in: Concerts, News
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