« older | Main Largehearted Boy Page | newer »
May 12, 2006
Shorties
The Washington Times profiles mp3 blogs, interviewing several music bloggers in the process, including Said the Gramophone's Sean Michaels.
Mr. Michaels says that music blogs -- which he sees as distinct from and superior to mere file-sharing outlets -- aren't necessarily revolutionary. Rather, their novelty lies in the way they engage visitors as both readers and listeners. "It's this new intermediary between music and the audience," he says.
"The first few years we formed, I really didn't even know what the term meant, who was emo and who wasn't," she says, calling from Florida. "And there are certain people who will call us that forever. [But] now we're at the point maybe with this album, we can break out of that misconception."
There's a less complex explanation as to why Cobain got the nod: it's because he's become an iconic face on a T-shirt, romanticised by the kind of people who think that a Cobain or James Dean or Bob Marley shirt gives them a sexy edginess.
Popmatters reviews Ryu Murakami's novel, In the Miso Soup (a book on my May reading list).
Russians are watching a new television miniseries based on Boris Pasternak's Dr Zhivago.
Aleksandr Proshkin, the director, said that he respected Lean’s film, but considered his own version to be more authentic. “That was a Hollywood melodrama. It was a very good film, but of course we Russians saw some things that are just not Russian,” he told The Times.
Popmatters eulogizes Grant McLellan of the Go-Betweens.
Gomez talk to the Independent.
"Even at the height of our popularity we were never part of any scene", reflects Gray. "We were always on the outside looking in, and doing our own thing musically. You could get bitter about the media backlash that happened, but there's no point. People give you their attention if they want to. It's not a right."
Indie Interviews sits down with John Grant of the Czars this week.
Futureheads talk to the Guardian.
"Staying away from pretension, getting everyone to enjoy us, was the biggest reason for forming the band, you know," says Millard. "Pretension spoils a lot of big bands. We want to be proper, like. Not poncey like Gilmour, man."
Stylus lists the "top ten divides between music and lyrics."
The Guardian profiles Hard-Fi in their hometown.
The Book Standard interviews Primus frontman Les Claypool, whose first novel comes out this summer.
TBS: Who are some of your favorite authors?
LC: I tend to be big on [writers] I can get through a chapter while I’m using the bathroom. That’s very convenient. Bukowski and David Sedaris. I have a Hemingway short-stories book that is very handy to keep in the loo. I’ve always been a big Jean Shepherd Fan. Steinbeck—actually Thomas Steinbeck, his son, wrote this great book a couple years ago [Down to a Soundless Sea]. I’m Californian, so a lot of these Steinbeck stories, you know, that’s my neighborhood.
Athens Exchange reviews the Drive-By Truckers' A Blessing and a Curse.
VH1 counts down the "40 most awesomely bad metal songs ever."
The New York Times reviews Tool's new album, 10,000 Days.
Certainly "10,000 Days" evokes a bygone time when musicians expected listeners to swallow their albums whole (unlike vinyl records, which required constant flipping), and in order (unlike MP3's, which encourage constant flitting).
