Several years ago, a friend told me that I needed to listen to Thalia Zedek. My friend fell in love with Zedek after seeing her perform on the Suffragette Sessions Tour in the late 90s. Having been pleased with my friend’s recommendations in the past, I went out and bought …
Read More »Tag Archives: Indie Rock
Mike Watt Ties a Reed Around My Past
Mike Watt is one of my heroes: a fiercely independent musician who isn’t afraid to deal with beast of the mainstream music industry from within, yet he has always set his own terms and never become dependent upon the Great White Teat. Musically, a bass player of range and creativity, …
Read More »MOVIE REVIEW: Dig!
See it even if you don't follow, or even like, indie rock.
Read More »Bisbee Live in NYC Tonight!
At least until he is as ubiquitous as say, the Beatles, I don’t think I can say too much about Sam Bisbee. He is just an excellent and highly appealing alt-pop-rock singer-songwriter with an expressive but never maudlin voice, sharp lyrics about actual life, AND he is a super nice …
Read More »Wanted: Romantic Guitar Player
Well, sort of. The band Matchbook Romance is looking for a guitarist, but dude, you have to go to Poughkeepsie, NY. Remember the classic line from The French Connection? “Did you ever pick your feet in Poughkeepsie?” The scoop: Epitaph’s breakout band MATCHBOOK ROMANCE is seeking a new guitar player …
Read More »The Return of Charles Thompson
What a difference two years makes: one of the first things we did at Blogcritics was an email interview with Frank Black, formerly Black Francis, formerly and now once-againly Charles Thompson. Now that the Pixies have quite successfully reunited, a look at that interview is entertaining: Eric Olsen: You have …
Read More »StarPolish Interview with Sonic Youth
by James K. Willcox, courtesy of StarPolish Few bands of the past two decades have been as influential on succeeding generations of artists as Sonic Youth, sometimes referred to as the greatest band never to strike it big. Bursting on the scene in 1981, heavily influenced by the experimental music …
Read More »Lovedrug: Pretend You’re Alive
Lovedrug’s “Pretend You’re Alive,” or as I started to think of the CD, “Pretend You’re Radiohead,” has a promising first minute, but the thin, snarly vocals aren’t my cup of tea – they come across as affected, rather than animalistic a la (say) Perry Farrell or Ziggy Stardust-era Bowie. But …
Read More »Indulge the Urge: the Great Merge Turns 15
Hey, I’ve got ties older than that, but for a record label, and in particular an indie record label owned by – Ye Gods – ARTISTS (Laura Ballance & Mac McCaughan of Superchunk), that is a remarkable feat indeed. This month sees the celebration of Merge’s 15th anniversary in the …
Read More »New Pixies Song on iTunes
The Pixies have lots going on – they rocked Coachella, are playing in Europe now, a couple of Lollapalooza shows later this summer, then head out on a North American tour in September. And now they have brand new song – their first new one in 13 years – out …
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