De La Soul’s seminal debut, the witty and weird and wonderful 3 Feet High and Rising, was released 25 years ago. In honor of that quarter-century mark, De La Soul’s offering a free download of its entire catalog for 25 hours on the group’s website. The download bonanza will begin on Friday, Feb. 14 at […]

[Read more →]

HOLY CRAP THERE’S A NEW OWLS SONG HOLY CRAP THERE’S A NEW OWLS SONG HOLY CRAP THERE’S A NEW OWLS SONG HOLY CRAP THERE’S A NEW OWLS SONG HOLY CRAP THERE’S A NEW OWLS SONG HOLY CRAP THERE’S A NEW OWLS SONG HOLY CRAP THERE’S A NEW OWLS SONG HOLY CRAP THERE’S A NEW OWLS SONG […]

[Read more →]

Bloomed, released in 1994, was Richard Buckner’s first record, and his first great record. Unfortunately, it was released on an imprint of an unsympathetic major label that gave Buckner very little support in terms of promoting the record, leaving it to languish and die. Twenty years later, Buckner, since bounced from the major-label circuit after […]

[Read more →]

Slint’s landmark Spiderland, now 23 years old, will be reissued as a deluxe box set by Touch and Go in April. No other band was as largely overlooked during its relatively brief lifespan as Slint, which posthumously became one of the most influential and far-reaching bands to emerge from the American underground the 1980s. The […]

[Read more →]

I always thought Mutations was Beck’s most underappreciated record. My favorite of its many nifty tricks is how it sounds simple upon the first listen, then reveals more psychedelic layers upon each play. I’ve listened to “Blue Moon,” the first single from Beck’s upcoming Morning Phase, his first studio album since 2008’s Modern Guilt, probably […]

[Read more →]

Beloved and seminal North Carolina indie rock label Merge Records — home to such historically important indie rock bands as Archers of Loaf and Polvo and current chart-toppers Arcade Fire — celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, and Merge is throwing one hell of a yearlong party. There’s the Or Thousands of Prizes subscription series, […]

[Read more →]

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Patrick Wall is the man whose name you’d love to touch. But you mustn’t touch. People pay him to write things. KNEE MEETS JERK In Which a Beleaguered Music Journalist Attempts — and Fails — to Identify Ten Records Released Between December 2012 and December 2013 That Were Better Than All Other […]

[Read more →]