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Over the Weekend (Oct. 13 Edition)

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News and video as you prepare for a week of facing the Pumpkin Spice onslaught…

Thurston Moore has a new solo album coming out next week, and NPR has The Best Day available on their First Listen stream.  I loved his two most recent solo records, Trees Outside the Academy and Demolished Thoughts, which show a more sedate, folkier version of what one might expect from the Sonic Youth frontman.  If that worries you, take comfort in the fact that Moore throws on the distortion for this one.

On Friday we mentioned how Kendrick Lamar’s “i” was received with an underwhelming reaction; however, people were gushing over his appearance on Flying Lotus’s “Never Catch Me” off the latter’s new album, You’re Dead.  Enjoy the video, featuring some fantastic dancing by a couple of precocious dancers.

David Bowie released a new song this morning, the jazzy, seven-minute long “Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime)”.  It will be available on the upcoming compilation Nothing Has Changed, which aims to replace the version of Changesbowie which is now taking up space on your shelf.  At the very least, you can have a compilation which also includes “I’m Afraid of Americans”.

Consequence of Sound has the newest track from …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, as well as an explanation of its inspiration.  “A Million Random Digits” is from IX, which will be released next month on the 11th.

Peter Matthew Bauer isn’t done releasing new material, as he offered up the new track “You Always Look For Someone Lost” on SoundCloud.  He also released a new video with an interview that helps explain the song as well.

Foo Fighters are being a bit more coy with their previews, offering only glimpses of tracks.  Alternative Press notes that you can hear clips of two new songs from this trailer for the upcoming Sonic Highways.

And last week, Ryan Adams was apparently inspired by the setting and performed a cover of Alice In Chains’s classic “Nutshell” in his show in Seattle.  Because “Nutshell” is one of the greatest songs of the last 20 years, you bet we’re going to pass a long a video like this.

Catching Up On The Week (Oct. 10 Edition)

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Some #longreads to keep your mind off the fact that you’re missing out on the Austin City Limits Festival…

This week, the AV Club published multiple articles worth checking out.  First, Daft Punk’s debut album Homework is examined in their Permanent Records feature, which would be worth checking out if only to hear the earliest demo of the duo, a nearly-unrecognizable bit of alternative instrumental rock.  Then there’s this plea to listen to The Jam’s “Set The House Ablaze”, which coincidentally enough was published right around the time I was listening to Sound Affects.  I have a rule: if anyone writes something about The Jam, I’m going to share it, since they are one of the most underappreciated groups in rock history and are always worth a listen.  And finally, if you’re in the mood for something a bit more technical and business-related, there’s this piece discussing the role and motivations of BitTorrent in partnering with Thom Yorke for his recent release.

Readers of the site are well-aware of our love for The National, so it’s no surprise that we’re recommending this piece from PopMatters discussing their album Alligator and its role in the rise of indie rock in the mid-00’s.

When Kendrick Lamar released his new single “i”, it was met with a mixed reaction at best.  The FADER attempts to correct this by placing the song in a greater context in their Popping Off feature.  If necessary, familiarize yourself with the song by watching the lyric video which was just released today.

Dave Holmes uses his column at Vulture this week to take a look at the Top 40 chart from the week when Nevermind was released, and while the general shittiness is not surprising, the diversity of music at the time was pretty striking.

Finally, Chicago Reader has an in-depth look at the life of Jason Molina, the former leader of Songs: Ohia and Magnolia Electric Co. who unfortunately passed away last year after years of struggle with alcohol abuse and other issues.  The piece also examines his continued influence, both through his music and his development of the Secretly Canadian label, and talks to the musicians and friends that mourn his passing but remember his talents fondly.  But it also serves as a great introduction to a wonderful musician, with an extensive look at his development and history.

Over the Weekend (Oct. 6 Edition)

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Some videos and other fun stuff as you realize that while the calendar says “fall”, the weather outside says otherwise…

We’re excited to hear the return of TV on the Radio, and they’re giving fans a glimpse of Seeds with their video for “Happy Idiot”.  It stars Paul Reubens as a race car driver trying to drive away from memories/visions of Karen Gillan.  Whatever is occurring exactly, we’re not sure, but the driving metaphor matches up nicely with the insistent beat.

Jack White is set to release to subscribers of his Third Man Records “The Vault” series his recent two-and-a-half hour set from Bonnaroo this year, in a special package that includes a triple-vinyl and a DVD of the show.  If you want to get an idea of why you should consider subscribing, you can watch the set here (at least for now).

The big surprise of this past weekend was that the new film Inherent Vice supposedly had a previously unreleased Radiohead song (“Spooks”), though composer Johnny Greenwood explained the reality that some of the members of Supergrass performed a version of it for the movie.  No matter what, it’s advisable that you see whatever it is that Paul Thomas Anderson does, new Radiohead song or not.

Today fans of the TV series Twin Peaks were elated to wake up to the news that the show has been resurrected and will be appearing on Showtime in 2016.  Now’s as good a time as any then to watch composer Angelo Badalamenti talk about the development of the series’ iconic score.

We’ve been discussing a lot about Interpol lately, but here’s one more interesting bit of news: guitarist Daniel Kessler is working on a side project called Big Noble, and they’re looking at releasing next year.

Beck kicked off the latest season of Austin City Limits this weekend, and if you’re intrigued about our rave review of his recent concert tour, this would probably help give you an idea of what happened.

Finally, I highly recommend reading this entertaining interview from Coolio courtesy of SPIN, where among other things he regrets not being able to work with Nirvana and talks about attempting a collaboration with Björk.

Catching Up On The Week (Oct. 3 Edition)

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Some #longreads as you prepare for a weekend where you can finally stop writing about Project Pabst…

"God's Pickaxe"

“God’s Pickaxe”

SPIN did a series of interviews with the members of The Walkmen who went solo–first talking to Walter Martin, followed by Peter Matthew Bauer, and today publishing their piece on Hamilton Leithauser.  The fact that all three solo albums are brilliant and remarkably different from one another speaks to how amazing and underrated their band together was.

The AV Club did a roundtable discussing the massive re-release of Adore from the Smashing Pumpkins.  I disagree with most of the panelists about the merits of “Ava Adore” and “Perfect” (both of which I think are fine singles), but I agree with their main point that Adore as a whole is underrated.  A better piece is their Permanent Records feature on the classic from The Replacements, Let It Be.  Though I rank Tim slightly higher, it is still a landmark album worth plenty of discussion.

Gawker, of all places, has a great piece on OutKast’s homecoming show in Atlanta, discussing how their rise influenced a generation in hip-hop and helped the South make its mark on the genre.

Over the Weekend (Sept. 29 Edition)

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Some videos and news as you recover from a weekend overrun by beer advertisements…

Tweedy released the Nick Offerman-directed video for “Low Key” last week, and it should lift your spirits up as you kick off your week because it’s hilarious and filled with a lot of great cameos.  See how many you can spot, and be sure to watch until the end when the “twist” of who is actually in charge of the record industry is revealed.

I’ve read that this year is the “Year of the Booty”, but I think that’s bullshit, because every year is the “Year of the Booty”.  Even so, I was not expecting to see quite this amount of posterior-shaking in a Mastodon video, until I remembered that they were from Atlanta.  Here’s their new video, “The Motherload”, which should not be watched at your place of employment.

“Twice as Hard” seems an odd choice for a follow-up single to “All the Rage Back Home”, but it inspired Paul Banks to film this boxing-focused video for the El Pintor closer.  The track has grown on me with repeated listens, and in my mind seems to be an improvement over the similar closer “The Lighthouse”.

Not only has Death From Above 1979 returned with a brilliant second album, but they are also the subject of a documentary about their rise and years apart.  The trailer definitely has me pumped.

Catching Up On The Week (Sept. 26 Edition)

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A few #longreads for your weekend as hipsterdom reaches its apex with a Pabst-sponsored music festival in Portland, Oregon…

One of the bands appearing at the Project Pabst festival this weekend is hometown heavy metal act Red Fang.  They may be local, but they also have a worldwide reach, as evidenced by a recent interview that an Indian metal publication conducted with guitarist Bryan Giles.

Portland's most identifiable landmark is a sign with its name.

Portland’s most identifiable landmark is a sign with its name.

Pitchfork has an extensive interview with Adam Granduciel of The War on Drugs, discussing the creation of his group’s brilliant new album Lost in the Dream and all the personal struggles he endured.  Be sure to check out also this performance that the band did for The Current, featuring a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Tangled Up in Blue” (which is a perfect fit for the band).

Jeff Tweedy talks with The Quietus on the making of Sukierae with his son Spencer, discussing musical experimentation and lyrical processes among other topics.  And because I missed it when it first was published, I’m linking to another recent interview from The Quietus, this time with Karen O.

Joey Santiago talks about the legacy of the Pixies with Diffuser, and it’s always worth hearing from the legendary guitarist.

And because it’s not enough that people discuss the twentieth anniversary of Dookie, Consequence of Sound has a roundtable examining the impact of American Idiot ten years later.  I’m just glad someone stood up for Warning, which I feel is an underrated Green Day album.

And finally, some new music: after a week of dropping various hints, Thom Yorke announced the release of his second solo album, Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes, which is now available for purchase on BitTorrent.  It’ll definitely be making my weekend playlist.

Over the Weekend (Sept. 22 Edition)

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Kicking off the official beginning of fall (even if it begins a day later this year) with some new music and videos…

Jeff Tweedy is set to release the album (Sukierae) he recorded with his son Spencer tomorrow, and the duo stopped by the NPR offices to perform as a part of their “Tiny Desk Concerts” series.

The Antlers have another gorgeous, dreamy video from Familiars, this time for the song “Refuge”.  Not much actually happens, but that shouldn’t stop you from enjoying all the pretty colors.

If you’re in the mood for a little more action in your music videos, and don’t mind handling a bit of the bizarre, then check out the video for the Suicide-inspired track “Grid” by Perfume Genius, whose new album Too Bright is also set to come out tomorrow.

King Tuff’s new album “Black Moon Spell” is also set to be released on the 23rd, and if you’re quick you can listen to a stream of the glam-rock album on NPR right now.  The title track is the best song that T. Rex never released, if you ask me.

Kele Okereke from Bloc Party will be releasing his second solo album on October 13, and today released the second single from Trick.  Listen to “Coasting” here.

On Friday we linked to Pitchfork’s extensive interview with Richard D. James, but we we wanted to make sure that you saw this video that was linked to in the article of an early performance of “Aisatsana”, featuring a piano swung across the stage as if it were a pendulum.  That should be enough of a signal for you to watch:

And finally, Carl Newman and Neko Case from the New Pornographers talked to NPR about what it takes to write a good pop song, and the piece includes video of their performance at the Brill Building which gave their new album its name.  Unfortunately, the piece also didn’t include Neko’s cover of the Squidbillies theme song, but we got you covered.

Catching Up On The Week (Sept. 19 Edition)

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Some #longreads as you prepare for the return of the purest of athletic competitions: Ivy League football.

Next week sees the release of the highly-anticipated new album from Aphex Twin, Syro, though if you live outside of the United States, you may have had the chance to purchase the album as soon as today.  This is Richard D. James’s first album under the Aphex Twin moniker since Drukqs came out in 2001, so anticipation has been extremely high for electronica fans.  James sat down for an extended interview with Pitchfork (filled with all sorts of fancy website tricks) that you should probably read to help pass the time before you get a copy of Syro in your hands, and the Village Voice has a piece putting the new album into context.  For a taste of the new album, here’s “minipops 67 [120.2]

“:

Another high-profile release coming out next week is the album that Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy made with his son Spencer (released under the name “Tweedy”), Sukierae.  Jeff writes a piece for The Guardian discussing the significance of the album form, and why Suierae is a double-album.

J Mascis sat down for a fun interview with Pitchfork for their Guest List feature.

NPR examines the lasting popularity of Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September”.

WIRED samples some psychological studies that attempt to explain the scientific reason why you and your friends tend to like the same music as well as analyzing the significance of music in social interaction.

And finally, our readers should be well-aware of how psyched we are about the reunion of Death From Above 1979, so of course we’re going to pass along any stories about these guys.  FADER talks to the band about some of their favorite movies while Rolling Stone talks to the band about their time apart.  In true Rolling Stone fashion, the interviewer keeps on referring to the limited-run Romantic Rights EP as the touchstone of their early days instead of the wide-released full-length You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine, but I’m willing to let that detail go.

Over the Weekend (Sept. 15 Edition)

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Helping to start your week off with some live videos, new music, and whatever else we can find lying around…

Last week saw some great performances on the Late Night show, including The Replacements returning to 30 Rock with a blistering version of their classic “Alex Chilton”, their first since their banishment due to their infamous SNL trainwreck of a performance.  Speaking of “trainwreck”, Death From Above 1979 performed their lead single “Trainwreck 1979” on Letterman, with some help from Paul Shaffer and the rest of the band.  It was awesome.

That wasn’t the only memorable performance from Letterman last week, as Interpol did such a great job with “All The Rage Back Home” that it prompted Letterman to continually ask if he could join the band.

There was also Death Cab For Cutie’s Chris Walla’s last show with the band, and Stereogum has the video of the last song from that show.

There’s a Deafheaven side-project that is definitely worth checking out, if the first single is any indication.  Creepers features Dan Tracy, whose drumwork on Sunbather helped make that album one of the best of 2013 as well as touring guitarist Shiv Mehra, and they have an album coming out October 28.  “Stuck” reminds me a bit of the Nothing album that came out earlier this year, so if it was the shouting vocals of Deafheaven that turned you off that band, that’s definitely should not be an issue with this release.

Run The Jewels have released “Oh My Darling Don’t Cry” for the Adult Swim Singles Series, and this morning they sent out emails to fans who purchased their first album giving them the details of the various preorder packages available for their followup.  Good, good news.

Catching Up On The Week (Sept. 12 Edition)

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Some #longreads and a handful of other assorted goodies for your weekend…

We always appreciate it when people write articles about Teenage Fanclub, especially those pieces which talk about how underrated the group and their special brand of power-pop was.  The AV Club urges readers to listen to Songs From Northern Britain in particular, and hopefully that inspires people to pick up the rest of their fantastic catalog.

Noisey interviews Interpol as they return to New York in support of El Pintor, and gets the band to open up a bit about the departure of Carlos as well as the band’s new mindset.  It’s definitely worth reading if you’re a fan.

Stereogum has another twentieth anniversary retrospective ready to go, this time taking a look at Notorious B.I.G.’s seminal debut, Ready To Die.

There’s a cool video making the rounds called “100 Bass Riffs: A Brief History of Groove on Bass and Drums”.  It’s a great way to explore the development of music in the last fifty years, and the musicians will impress you with not only their pure skills, but their memory and stamina as well.

Pitchfork interviews Karen O for their 5-10-15-20 feature, as she explains how certain songs affected her over the course of her life.

NPR’s Drum Fill Friday has Jim Eno from Spoon as their guest picker, and I had a real tough time with this one–see if you can do better than 2 out of 5.

And finally, take a look at why “Grandmaster Flash” keeps trending on Facebook.  Unfortunately, it’s not due to everyone re-posting “The Message”.