It's been a while since I haven't written here. Lack of motivation, lack of inspiration... and Twitter has become my reflex. Anyway, I guess I was waiting for the right subject, and now I have one that I have a lot to say about. See, I put a major check on my bucket list... On Labour Day week-end, I went to the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame. I had always dreamed of going there (well since 1986), and my friends and I decided to drive from Montreal to Cleveland and spend a few days there. Now, I ...

The water encapsulates so much of all that is life and all that dominates our planet and all that swallows up our existence and makes it pure and deep and real that one can easily forget that the sea is a very lonely place for a reason. Being at the top can have its misgivings as only those who have occupied its desolate throne can attest. And the water runs through all, encapsulates everything that we are, and hope to be, runs around in circles, bends upwards, twists downwards, explores ‘neath the shallow waves until it stops somewhere for a ...

Heist films have rules. They require a detailed plan and a highly-skilled crew. An objective, be it money, jewels, a top secret valuable plan or a highly coveted technological gadget is essential. Then the preparations begin. The site of the robbery is selected and every detail about it from its security system to its layout is memorized, the appropriate gear, weaponry, and technologies are secured - often of a highly advanced and complex nature - then finally, the heist goes down. The best heist movies build pressure and suspense and the execution of the “perfect crime” is most effective when the audience ...

These two LPs came to me via Tequila Sunrise and Cream of Turner but really via Freq... (the proper review is here - this one has ugly appendages) ...And they came with the coolest hand-made LP sleeves I’ve seen in ages. Beautiful, odd designs. The Sunlore sleeve is a psyched wig-out of paint and scratches and burns, looking not unlike one of the shotgun paintings of William S Burroughs if he'd found himself knee deep in Max Ernst smears (you can see it being made on the label website). The Heart Land sleeve is perhaps a riff on Throbbing ...

Andy says- Formed in 1978 Girlschool are not only one of the longest lasting NWOBHM bands, but also the longest running all-female rock band. Quite an accomplishment for a band that has fought to be taken seriously in an industry that too often considers female rock acts to be a novelty. While the band got their first real break thanks to Lemmy of Motorhead fame there should be no doubt that their music speaks for itself loud and clear. While the Runaways got all the press Girlschool were the real deal. Their's was (and still is) the sound of ...

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan Dir. Wayne Wang [Fox Searchlight; 2011] by Alex Peterson Rating: Apparently, in Chinese tradition, an early-childhood ceremony called laotong inextricably bonds two otherwise disparate women, so that throughout their adult lives they owe one another complete emotional fidelity. This is a nice idea, the abiding principle of undying friendship. If someone were to turn it into a movie, they’d want to make sure it was a sincere and somber and beautifully shot study of close emotions. Wayne Wang did it with Snow Flower and the Secret Fan , but it’s not sincere so ...

I heard from a musician early this morning via email, a fella who calls Rapid City, South Dakota home. He told me that I had written about his previous band around five years ago, probably closer to six. He had only signed his first name in the message and that name was Jason. Now, it didn't take me very long to figure out who he and his previous band were, but they would like to remain anonymous (and mysterious, I presume). As a mysterious spokesperson for Mystery Pills said: “If we come right out and tell people who's ...

I'd like to say a few words about Sufjan Stevens before moving onto something more current. Stevens, at one point, had caused me to stop in my tracks with his whimsical and minor orchestral arrangements, and of course, his lyrics – songs like “Flint” and “For the Widows in Paradise, for the Fatherless in Ypsilanti” had, eight years ago, caused me to rethink what it meant to be a good songwriter. The stuff was beautiful. And sure, maybe his state projects, all two of them, were based off research and not firsthand accounts. But boy, he nailed his words well ...

Enough, Cut Copy. I like you, but I don't like you. See, you're a little sappy. First, you send me a room full of roses. I don't even like roses. Second, you write me countless love letters. I don't like love letters either. And when I thought you had given up, you release an entire album called Zonoscope just for me. Now, you're getting a little closer to what I like, but, no, you still can't have my heart. So, frankly, I don't know where you get the idea that I want to ...

Anyone looking for a radical departure from the usual Shonen Knife formula on their latest album Free Time will be sadly disappointed. It’s more of the same bright, faintly cheesy, quaintly conservative garage rock they’ve been churning out since Adam was a lad. Theirs is a sound untouched by musical trends and fashions. They’re like refugees from the punk wars who’ve been in solitary confinement since the 1980s. The one concession they make to the modern world is the ‘Techno’ version of ‘Capybara’ which sounds exactly like you’d expect a techno track performed by Shonen ...

wer hier etwas länger mitliest weiß, dass ich die sage vom sommerloch hasse, ausgesprochen lächerlich finde. erstens kann sich das keiner leisten, zweitens ist immer genügend heißer scheiß am start. und ja, ich bin tatsächlich einer, der seinen email kasten leert. und zwar nicht mit dem daumen auf der löschtaste, sondern mit dem ohr an der datei. dass dieser ersttest nicht mein urteil bestimmt, klar, aber er gibt eine fahrtrichtung vor. so kann auch ein (p)fund entstehen: diese junge truppe hat neben einem grandiosen cover auch sonnen durchflutete musik am start, sie mutet etwas somnambul an, aber das passt ...

AFP : Artists from this eastern European state have inched their way onto the international scene to beat out Lady Gaga for a big US dance song award, score millions of views on YouTube and sell hundreds of thousands of singles. Among the best known are Edward Maya and Inna, now worldwide dance floor stars -and the pride and joy of this former communist country stuck in an economic crisis and still fighting a reputation abroad as corrupt and poor. “Romanian dance music is very successful around the world at the moment with big hits in Europe and the US,” Eelko ...

Here's one of those things that makes you realize that the Internet was created for us to trade notable ephemera: A website called Letters of Note published an angry handwritten note from John Lennon to the New York Times after the Times' Craig McGregor wrote a piece called "The Beatles Betrayal" that said that the Beatles stole music from black acts, and got rich doing it. Lennon's rebuttal is angry, but maybe sort of off the point?: American Airlines   In Flight... yes   Altitude... puzzled   Location... yes   14th Sep. 71.   Dear Craig McGregor   'Money', 'Twist 'n' Shout', 'You really ...

DJ History : As I grow older, I feel the profundity of disco music both with more mental distance and more physical intensity. If bossa nova, as Antonio Carlos Jobim said, is the melancholy of Chopin cross-bred with a samba beat, then all those strings and horns which we love must be the symphonies of Strauss and Beethoven riding on the mulatto tikka-tok rhythms of salsa and the boom-boom of rock’n’roll. We live for the inevitability of tried-and-true chordal modulations (Bach wrote the book), and no doubt there’s always a hint of Debussy’s ‘Clair de Lune’ in ...

The Static Jacks have signed to Fearless Records and will release a new album, 'If You’re Young' on August 30th. A free song, 'Girl Parts' can be found here . The Static Jacks posted the following message: "Hello Family, Friends and Fans, Today is a big day for us. We are happy to officially announce that our debut album If You’re Young will be coming out August 30, 2011. And with that news we can finally share that this will be our first non-independent release as we have joined the Fearless Records family! If you follow our twitter or ...