Phil Elverum is a recorder of unorthodox sounds. An analog archivist. A singer of strange, dark, and heart-wrenchingly beautiful songs about the simplest fundamentals: water, air, space, mountains. He hails from the boondocks of the upper Northwest in a small town called Anacortes in Washington State, the population of which is less than 15,000. He’s […]

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Dwindling record sales of artists big and small doesn’t elicit a lot of sympathy from consumers these days. In an age when typing in your favorite artist into your favorite Bit Torrent engine is the de facto response to having to pay actual money for music, being in a band is more of a gamble […]

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This is an incredibly eye-opening piece about Morrissey’s inner circle written by a man who managed to be accepted into Morrissey’s entourage, who was flown into the US from the UK only to be unceremoniously dismissed after one day of service. The article presents no bias against Morrissey. In fact, the opposite is true. Andrew […]

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Slate gushes over Jens Lekman today in a fanboy piece that is so self-deprecating and honest that it doesn’t seem to offend on any level, despite its reckless superlative-tossing (“Lekman is a fully realized pop genius, and each of his full-length records is its own masterpiece”). Focusing on Lekman’s lyrical gift of gab, author Stephen […]

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You’ve probably heard by now that The Hives are touring with Maroon 5. This oddball pairing is more likely the result of Maroon 5’s handlers trying to think of a way to lure open-minded, fence-riding “alternative” kids to its arena tour than it is the brainchild of a shirtless save-for-a-silk-vest Adam Levine sipping an appletini […]

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As bad as rock stars seem to be at living, some simply refuse to die. And in the same report that, uhh, brilliantly concluded that rock stars are more likely to choke on their own vomit than, say, normal folks, it is also duly noted that since 1980: “…the number of pop stars who die within […]

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Alan McGee postulates in the Guardian why Echo & the Bunnymen are ever the bridesmaids of rock. I think he nails it pretty well. After the orchestral majesty of Ocean Rain, the band simply dried up creatively. It really took three years to follow-up that masterpiece with an utterly deflated, self-titled throwaway? Even still, “Lips […]

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