Indie-Rock Christmas Album

Wednesday, December 1st, 2010

If your a fan of indie music and you want to get into the holiday spirit, Target is offering a free indie-rock Christmas album online. It’s a great listen, and you might discover some new indie bands!




The Obligatory “Grunge is Dead” Post

Wednesday, December 1st, 2010

Every three weeks or so, some blogger or journalist randomly muses (15 years after the fact) that grunge is dead, as though they are the first to develop this theory. But while the Eddie Vedder quote at the start of the latest grunge memorial is just as stale (it’s from 1994), it’s more open for debate and thus more interesting. Why do you think certain bands–Vedder names Talking Heads and Nirvana among others–become so quickly drained when other bands like the Rolling Stones go on forever? All groups go through conflict; what’s the magic formula that makes or breaks a unit?




The Badfinger Saga

Monday, November 22nd, 2010

Outside of the Beatles themselves, Badfinger was the most popular act on Apple Records, with power pop anthems like “Day After Day,” the immortal “Without You” (later covered by Nilsson and Mariah Carey) and the insanely catchy “No Matter What” still getting airplay nearly 40 years after they were recorded. Alas, the story was not so pleasant behind the scenes, and lone surviving member Joey Molland recounts the highs and lows in a recent in-depth interview with Music Radar. Their entire Apple output was reissued with new bonus tracks last month and is well worth seeking out if you’re a Beatles fan (and who isn’t?).




Feature Response: Terrible Things

Monday, November 22nd, 2010

CWG Magazine recently published a feature on their site on the band Terrible Things, which can be read here. The writer, Kendra Beltran, used some interesting techniques in terms of composition and the online presentation of the feature story. In order to write the feature, Beltran interviewed drummer Josh Eppard and attended the band’s first local L.A. show.  She did background research on the formation of the band, which can be seen in her introduction in which she talks about the members of the band and the previous bands that the members played in.

Beltran’s voice comes through in the feature, which is one of the reasons it is so enjoyable to read (for example at one point she writes, “In the end, we ran out of time because Josh had to load his shit (his words not mine) and we continued our gabfest before he took the stage in L.A.”).

I think Beltran chose a type of composition for this feature that is well-suited to blog-type postings on the Internet. While most magazine features tend to be much more linear, this particular feature was composed of six very short paragraphs that introduced the band and why Beltran was writing about them (they recently played their first local show).  The next part of the story then transitions into list format, in which a title presents a given topic (for example, “Josh Eppard on the Terrible Things”) and then subtitles below setting up the response to certain questions (for example, “Missing loved ones” and “Talking shit on other bands”).  This type of format would appeal to the casual online reader who can easily skip from point to point.  It would not be necessary for the reader to sit down and focus on reading the article start to finish.

Beltran’s interview seemed to be very free-flowing and the topics varied greatly. I think it probably would have been interesting to see if the drummer would have cooperated with a more formal sit-down interview.  I think Beltran probably let the drummer dictate the course of the interview more than a normal feature writer would, but in this case it worked well.




Wednesday, November 17th, 2010

This video ended up winning the best in show award at the ‘Anime USA’ convention that I attended last weekend. This is the “I Love the Whole World” song used in the Discovery Channel commercials, mashed together with various shows. I think many of the shows fit the lines pretty well




Anime USA, Best in Show Anime Music Video

Wednesday, November 17th, 2010

I Love the Anime World AMV

This video ended up winning the best in show award at the ‘Anime USA’ convention that I attended last weekend. This is the “I Love the Whole World” song used in the Discovery Channel commercials, mashed together with various shows. I think many of the shows fit the lines pretty well




NPR Feature: Florence And The Machine

Wednesday, November 17th, 2010

I first discovered Florence And The Machine after reading a great feature article from NPR in April 2010 titled, “Florence And The Machine: From Delicate To Fierce.” The feature talks about British lead singer Florence Welch becoming one of the newest music sensations. The feature does not list who the author is, but the author seemed to only use a little bit of research. This research included information on Florence + The Machines past albums, critic reviews and an actual interview with lead singer Florence Welch.

The feature is organized very well, but is lacking in the lead sentence. It doesn’t particularly grab the reader’s attention right away, but the body of the feature makes up for that minor flaw. The article describes how Florence Welch got discovered, and goes on to mostly talk about the influences on Welch’s style and the particular vocal sound that makes Florence And The Machines stand out among other new music artists. I think it’s unusual that this feature uses subheadings to separate topics, but it seems effective. It grabbed my attention, and I was able to follow along with the article better.

There are a lot of good-quality quotes from Florence Welch in this article. Such as when Welch talks about her musical style by saying, “It’s primal tribal bashing of percussion, mixed with the choral side of backing vocals.” Although the author included some good quotes, I think trying to get some quotes from Welch about her transition from London to America, as well as her thoughts on making it big in the American music industry would be beneficial to the feature.

One of the best parts about the feature is the author’s creative description of Florence And The Machines music. For example the author says, “The song’s evocative words channel the emotionally destructive nature of love.” These fluid sentences make the reader want to listen to the music. As for the final kicker, it is decent. The author ends off with a quote from Welch on how she feels about playing at concerts. It kind of leaves the reader hanging, but it also makes the reader want to know more about Florence And The Machines.




The Beatles are Now on iTunes

Wednesday, November 17th, 2010

After years of waiting and speculation the Beatles catalog is now available on iTunes. Check out this article from the Hollywood Reporter about the legal dealings behind it all. Are you excited the Beatles music is now available for download?




OMG New HGB!

Wednesday, November 17th, 2010

Four long years after their last full-length release “Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!”, the boys of Hellogoodbye are back and better than ever.  “Would It Kill You” will probably come as a surprise to long-time HGB fans who grew accustomed to their electronica/pop sound.  This record is a lot more mature.  You can stream the album in its entirety here.




The National’s “Terrible Love (Alternate Version)” Video

Wednesday, November 10th, 2010

The National released an entertaining video for their “Terrible Love (Alternate Version)” song. It shows a behind-the-scenes look at the band on tour, and starts out with lead singer Matt Berninger having a little too much fun with a chair. You will just have to check it out here to know what I mean.