Teac’s version of the clunky all in one CD/Cassette/Vinyl recorder is not only hideous to look at but also ridiculously priced at $700. These things are notoriously of shitty quality, but sometimes the lazy way is the only way. I’ve been wanting to digitize some cassettes for a long time, and while I know there […]

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Slate has employed Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein to test it out and review music video games before. This time it’s for Wii Music. The piece is cleverly titled “Wii Will Rock You.” An excerpt: The game shows you a fantastical sonic world but falls short of letting you invent your own. Instead, one’s enjoyment of Wii […]

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Our friend at The Daily Sabbatical recommends this band as sounding “a bit like a garage band version of Joy Division, with female vocals thrown in on a track or two” but questions whether they are actually from Paris. An intriguing endorsement. I think the Joy Division reference comes by way of the monochromatic baritone […]

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I saw Barkmarket open for the Pixies in the spring of 1992 at a gymnasium in Nashville, and, unfortunately, I couldn’t have been less interested. I was just waiting to see the Pixies, so barring Elvis or Jesus with all of his disciples in tow, I would have been annoyed by almost anyone who tried […]

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Franz Ferdinand’s follow-up to the whirlwind success of its fey interpretation of Gang of Four didn’t exactly cash in on the momentum very effectively. The pomp and ego took precedent over the actual tunes, diverting the band’s return to the dreaded sophomore-slump bins. In the three years hence, the band has built a fair amount […]

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Bottomless Pit is Tim Midgett and Andy Cohen from Silkworm along with Brian Orchard (.22) and Chris Manfrin (ex-Seam). With an EP and a full-length under its low-profile belt, Bottomless Pit has played only a smattering of shows. The video evidence on YouTube suggests that the band is more road-worn than its tour schedule betrays, […]

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As Duran Duran receives the star treatment for its first ever tour of Colombia, the band speaks candidly to the Guardian’s Roy Carroll about whether they think they’re too old for the pop machine anymore and how bands these days have co-opted their core sound. Duran Duran meet Rory Carroll on their first tour of […]

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