Kim Gordon is not only one of the most definitive musicians of our generation, she is a bona fide style icon too - something that is heightened by the combustible notion of paradox. She is not slavish to fashion, but has powerful friends in the industry, she talks of it from an outsider’s distance, yet is feted by designers, magazines and beyond. Perhaps it’s because, apart from her transgressive talent and obvious intelligence, she has the bewitching energy of empowerment. When Gordon wears a garment, she gives it meaning beyond shopping - like she’s recharging it somehow. And that ...

The three members of Liverpool-based three-piece Stealing Sheep are certainly an eclectic bunch of bolshy girls. With each one of the northern trio bringing far-reaching influences that come together in a melting pot of ovine monikered goodness, what’s not to like? We dipped in to their wondrous world of kaleidoscopic kleptomania to rustle up some much needed answers. “We formed in summer last year,” says Becky Hawley. “I was working in a shop below the café where Lucy (drums) and Emily (guitar) worked, and was always listening to something on my headphones when ordering my lunch. We started chatting ...

Watch Liverpool trio Stealing Sheep perform 'Tangled Up In Stars' a capella in the Clash office. The band are one of our Ones To Watch for 2012. Read our Ones To Watch interview with Stealing Sheep.

Your monthly mixtape from your favorite music bloggers, tweeters, members of the altcountrytab.ca forum, friends of friends, friends of lovers, friends and lovers, friends in low places, and occasionally some enemies. Do you spell America with a "k"? Download 1. Shayfer James - Weight of the World Counterfeit Arcade (2011) Submitted By: Popa2unes Comments: Shayfer James is devilishly captivating and deliciously unusual. A man of bewitching grace, grisly humor, profound story telling, and whiskey-flavored wit. 2. “Mississippi” Charles Bevel - Don’t Lie to Me.mp3 From : Meet “Mississippi” Charles Bevel (A&M; Records SP-4412, 1973, out of print) Submitted By: Simon ...

In January 1982 I was station manager of Christchurch's student station Radio U and a passionate Clash fan (from the first moment I heard 'Janie Jones'). Several months earlier Joe Strummer and Mick Jones had told The Christchurch...

This is a truly wonderful free exhibition of photos on display in Glasgow until 27 February. From the accompanying website:- Harry began his photographic career in his Glasgow home town, standing outside the Apollo, flogging gig-goers newly-developed shots from bands' Edinburgh shows the night before. Harry's impulse to guerilla lensmanship swiftly drew him to London: from 1979 to 1984 he was a staff photographer for the music weekly Sounds, providing countless front covers. During those five years, Harry's photographs covered the post-punk waterfront, from Blondie to David Bowie; the Associates to Devo by way of Joy Division, Bryan ...

Confused revolutionary? Brilliant provocateur? As her Super Bowl digit malfunction reminded everyone, Maya Arulpragasam is one of the most polarizing figures in pop today, a neon blur of contradictions and conflations — but she may also be the most thrilling. Here's a handy primer to her life and art and everything in between SPIN originally published in our August 2010 issue. By some accounts — including her own — we should all be done talking about Maya Arulpragasam. In 2007, promoting her sophomore album, Kala , the singer known as M.I.A. told an interviewer, "I feel like a mirror reflecting back ...

This week in rock history the Beatles arrived in New York Haley">Bill Haley passed away the Clash began recording their studio debut Sonny Bono declared his candidacy for mayor and Phil Spector was in a major car crash February 7 1964 The Beatles land in New YorkBeatlemania had a modest start...

Baby Woodrose - Love Comes Down Any one who knows me, knows that one way to get me happy in the midst of a monster of a traffic jam is to drop some thing raw and garagey into the player, crank up the volume and watch me become one with the fuzz. That's exactly what Baby Woodrose does Love Comes down , the latest retro-psychedelic masterpiece, leaked-from-underneath-the-oil-can, blast of pure garage pop bliss. For many die-hard Baby Woodrose fans (and you can count me amongst the ranks - along with just about anything from the Bad Afro Label) Love Comes Down is ...

The Waterboys : Fisherman’s Blues [ purchase ] I’ve never understood why this Jewish New Yorker loves Celtic influenced rock music. It doesn’t make much sense, but it is true. It’s not like I was exposed to much of this style of music before I went to college, other than a little Jethro Tull and some Van Morrison, yet I remember falling in love with Horslips when I first heard them. And although I still think their soul inflected first album was better than their big hit, “Too-Rye-Ay,” I liked Dexy’s Midnight Runners’ version of Celtic infused pop ...

John Cale about his new album on the Clash Music website: Being my first album in a while I wanted to make sure it was a strong individual effort that was a showcase for my band and my own personal style of playing. (...) There are a number of new bands that apart from their fresh energy also show that awkward musical styles wear very easily on the ears - there are always unnerving new genres popping up but within rock and roll this persistent characteristic is always a sign of longevity. » john-cale.com

People get old and then they die, and sometime during the first part, even your favourite bands tend to let you down. It’s a fact that explains rock ‘n’ roll’s most painful conundrum. Great musicians die young because they never get old enough to cease being great; bands betray you with a tedious, middle-of-the-road fifth album when they grow up, get rich and stop wondering what life’s about. Whatever the cause, at some point in their thirties the things that drove artists in their creative youth usually disappear. The music ebbs, the passion fades, then (as above ...

Mickey Rock’n Roll Dreamer [HoZac; 2011] by Gumshoe Rating: It hurts me to see the out-and-out trashing this-here Mickey LP has received, because it’s one of the few genuine, non-ironic garage-rock attempts at The Stooges’ throne I’ve heard since I started reviewing music. And believe me, there are warehouses full of unsuccessful attempts at just that. Rock’n Roll Dreamer isn’t a great record, but then again rockin’ shit-heap punk like this doesn’t have to be “great.” Singer Mac Blackout rails on about getting kicked out of a house/apartment, spits “do you wanna dance ...

At this point last year my university was being pummeled with feet and feet of snow, we had at least one snow day per week for the first four weeks of school. Today is a different story; somehow, what is usually tundra is a lively 60 degrees and people are out in t-shirts and shorts.  To fulfill this spring spirit, I present to you the happy-go-lucky Jean Caffeine.  To say that she is new to writing music would be a complete lie; she used to be a drummer for the all-girl punk outfit called Pulsallama, and before the band separated ...

Brighton music showcase The Great Escape has confirmed the first names on its line up for 2012. Returning for another instalment, The Great Escape seems to get bigger each year. Organisers have unveiled the first names for 2012, and what impresses most is the sheer depth of music on offer. Hotly tipped Brooklyn group Friends are due to perform at the Brighton event, having caused a stir with 'I'm His Girl'. Buoyed by an addictive bass line, the sassy cut recalled ESG but with a much more direct pop edge. Currently working on their debut full length, Friends will ...