music commentary
Roger C. Miller (Mission of Burma) Talks Rhys Chatham’s Harmonie du Soir
When I was a composition major at California Institute of the Arts in 1976, La Monte Young was a guest lecturer. Mr. Young's lecture consisted of...
Max Henry (Suuns) Talks Cate Le Bon’s Mug Museum
A few years ago at some music festival somewhere — backstage in that requisite section where press mingles with bored musicians — I overheard two...
John Gourley (Portugal. The Man) Talks Eminem’s The Marshall Mathers LP 2
In 1999 in Wasilla, Alaska, there wasn't a lot going on. I was dropping out of my senior year in high school, working shitty jobs and partying with...
Bobby Matador (Oneida) Talks Wooden Shjips’ Back to Land
A bunch of years ago, I borrowed an organ from Wooden Shjips when we played together in San Francisco. They couldn’t have been cooler about it...
Gareth David (Los Campesinos!) Talks James Blunt’s Moon Landing
In 2008, our band was invited to support James Blunt on tour. An email from his people came through to us, asking if we'd like to hit the road...
Annie Clark (St. Vincent) Talks Arcade Fire’s Reflektor
Google search #1: Madonna "Like a Virgin" bass sound. (The bass sound on "We Exist" vaguely reminded me of Madonna's 1984 classic...
Devon Welsh (Majical Cloudz) Talks Sky Ferreira’s Night Time, My Time
In an attempt to reconcile the apparent hypocrisy of this piece of writing, I suggest that it be the last piece on Night Time, My Time that....
Eddie Argos (Art Brut) Talks Future of the Left’s How to Stop Your Brain in an Accident
There is a music magazine in the UK called the NME, you’ve probably heard of it. It is a publication that often gets ridiculed for album...
Lenny Kaye (Patti Smith Group) Talks the Melvins’ Tres Cabrones
There is staying power in the thick ooze of sludge, the enveloping immersion of igneous riff and rhythm, and it pays (not well, but enough to keep...
Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond) Talks Katy Perry’s Prism
The past is not repeatable. There is only the future. There are times in some artists' lives when they strike a chord with the culture at a...
Rennie Sparks (the Handsome Family) Talks Barry McCormack’s Cut Throat Lane
Barry McCormack’s songs are gritty short films that deeply and sensitively evoke the dark, damp streets of modern Dublin. It feels like it's been...
Missy Mazzoli (Victoire) Talks Laurel Halo’s Chance of Rain
After listening to Laurel Halo’s new album Chance of Rain for the fourth time, I’m left with an impression that is more visual than aural...
