All the news that’s fit to print… Continue reading ‘News Roundup: Kranky Records, Asobi Seksu, Animal Collective’
Monthly Archive for October, 2008Page 3 of 3
Alright, as promised, here’s the full set from My Bloody Valentine’s Aragon performance on Sept. 27. Continue reading ‘My Bloody Valentine in Chicago – Full Concert Recording’
No need for any commentary here – behold three choice tracks from last weekend’s My Bloody Valentine concert / religious sermon in Chicago. The audio quality is outstanding, so I assume this recording is directly from the soundboard. I plan to have the entire set up soon (probably Monday or Tuesday), so look out for that. That reminds me… yeah, why don’t you subscribe to the Decibel Tolls RSS feed, so you’re the first to know when I unload shipments of awesome on this blog? Continue reading ‘A Few Tracks From My Bloody Valentine in Chicago’
Our favorite round, beachball-sized, constantly beeping friend turns 51 today. Or would’ve turned 51 today had he not burned up a bit in the Earth’s atmosphere. I like to spend my Tuesday evenings with PBS’ science program Nova, and this week’s installment covered all that you probably didn’t know about the Sputnik program and the advent of the Space Race… Continue reading ‘Happy Birthday, Sputnik!’
Like drugs and lovers, ’60s psych pop groups were all about sharing songs. West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band delighted in celebrating the work of their peers with a variety of covers that appeared on Volume One. West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, the more tuneful and pop-oriented response to Andy Warhol’s and the VU’s Exploding Plastic Inevitable, dabbled in many genres: lo-fi garage sounds, baroque pop compositions, rollicking vocal harmonies, sunshine psych pop, and general sonic fuckin’ around. Their original songs were catchy, trippy, and fun, but it was when West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band covered a similar band, often yielding something better than the original version, that the group showcased a more unique, remarkable representation of the free decade of love and sharing. Continue reading ‘West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band Has You Covered’
I want to talk about my email for a sec [kb (at) thedecibeltolls.com]. Chuck Klosterman once said that music critique is basically being paid to read your mail. That’s pretty accurate, and in many ways, that was the largest chunk of my job as a talent buyer at the music venue. I miss doing such work, despite the funky hours, so I enjoy getting mail from publicists and label reps. These letters provide two outcomes, depending on if the publicist is good at his/her job: 1) point you in the direction of artists that will pique your interest, or 2) provide some serious lol time, such as “Rilo Kiley fans – take delight.” Have you read this blog? I rag on that shit daily. I understand this, of course, as music promotion is often throwing spaghetti against a wall – just launch your name everywhere, and see what sticks. However, sometimes these corrospondences point me in the direction of some bands I dig, and if you’re reading the blog, you’ll dig as well. Case in point…
Today, I’m happy to present The Great Northwest. And following the storied tradition of Boston, Chicago, and Kansas, they are indeed from the great northwest (Portland, specifically). The Great Northwest in a few words: absolutely gorgeous, expansive space rock. I plan on reviewing their recently released debut The Widespread Reign of… soon. This is good. Continue reading ‘The Great Northwest – “Chief John” and Engineers – “Forgiveness”’
Like me with this site’s design and layout, Deerhunter likes to tweak and change and constantly alter the forthcoming Microcastle/Weird Era Cont cover. The original, found here, will still be displayed on the domestic Kranky vinyl release, though. There’s also this one floating around that appears as the proper art via iTunes. So… what do you think? Continue reading ‘So… Watcha Think of the New Deerhunter Art?’
Once again, “woj” emerges victorious with another quality recording of WFMU’s broadcast of last weekend’s All Tomorrow’s Parties. This time, he comes bearing gifts of the Brain Jonestown Massacre and Spectrum (a.k.a. Spacemen 3’s Sonic Boom). Continue reading ‘Brian Jonestown Massacre and Spectrum at ATP’
