Warpaint -- a lady Joy Division for the next generation?
I mean rlly, do such things have to be justified? They do? Whoops. Probably a good thing I wrote something about it then:
“The Fool is built on Joy Division’s post-punk low end, moody chords, droning vocals, and doomy lyrics.”
But that’s not all. Read the entire review over at Spin.
Dean Spunt on the skins, No Age drummer and PPM Records owner
It’s awesome time in L.A., people. Either get on the Good News train or get left behind. Music, frankly, is great — always has been, but when so much great music exists in one’s own backyard, when the people responsible for tending the flame all seem to gather within the same ten-mile stretch, when there’s no shortage of good ideas or good tunes, well, a person is likely to get real happy and start writing silly things like this.
Far less silly, and actually quite informative, is “Twelve Indie Labels You Should Know, a Primer” (I say “prymer,” please don’t say “primmer”) which is on the L.A. Times blog, Pop & Hiss, right now, as I type. This piece is the culmination of a three-parter. Read the Sunday print feature, “L.A.’s Indie Labels Succeed with a Jack-of-All-Trades Approach,” if you please. And find a supplemental piece (with a choice MP3) over yonder.
Amanda and Britt Brown of Eagle Rock indie label Not Not Fun pose for Los Angeles Times (photo by Jay L. Clendenin)
Well, it has been a long, long time coming, but I’m pleased to share my debut pair of links over to the Los Angeles Times. The main feature, which runs in print in Sunday’s Calendar section, profiles the ways in which independent labels in L.A. are adapting to the changing landscape of the music biz. Read about it here:
L.A.’s string of indie labels succeeds with a jack-of-all-trades approach
With noted input from the Dangerbird, Stones Throw, Alpha Pup and Not Not Fun imprints, plus tons of help from folks at Sargent House, Hydra Head, Southern Lord, Anticon, Manimal Vinyl, and Post Present Medium.
Also, there’s a supplemental blog piece to read, featuring a free download of Aloe Blacc’s stunning “I Need a Dollar” here:
Indies in L.A.: Alpha Pup and Not Not Fun talk the thriving L.A. scene
Sister Mantos, "Tough Love or the Fands of Hate"
New tunes in the INCHES column! Fantastic fuchsia wax was photographed! A free song offered up for the jeep! Top ten vinyl sales chart shared by Vacation Vinyl! Plus, music critique-ry! Get over there already!
Kutmah's much needed passport?
Quick blog bits from around the L.A. underground (and up). Share ’em.
(all stories via West Coast Sound, via L.A. Weekly)
* After being expelled from the U.S., DJ Kutmah delivers a fifty-minute mix featuring a ton of unreleased gems — including a Flying Lotus track and a Fugees remix by Jonwayne.
Abe Vigoda, not throwing shade
Quick bloggy bits from around the L.A. underground (and up). Share ’em.
(all stories via West Coast Sound, via L.A. Weekly)
* The press release for Crush promises “glassy shards of ‘cold wave’ pop, with synthesisers, sequencers and altogether broodier beats.”
Aloe Blacc puts a soul spin on "Femme Fatale"
We’re getting caught up on two weeks of intense blogging for West Coast Sound. These posts round up covers, versions and remixes (sometimes MP3, sometimes video) worth a good listen.
(all stories via West Coast Sound, via LA Weekly)
* “Blacc’s ’60s soul recreation of ‘Billie Jean’ lends significant gravity to the classic, slowing things down considerably and adding mournful horns to the mix.“
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
We’re getting caught up on two weeks of intense blogging for West Coast Sound. Here’s a round of straight news (“news news,” if you will), with a little playful vitriol thrown in for good measure (ahem, Ima Robot).
(all stories via West Coast Sound, via LA Weekly)
* “Just as the Magnetic Zeros’ reputation begins to eclipse the fame of Ebert’s former group, he resurrects the early-aughts dance-punkish outfit.“
Baths and R Kelly get their wrassle on.
Quick bloggy bits from around the L.A. underground (and up). Share ’em.
(all stories via West Coast Sound, via LA Weekly)
* “Hot doesn’t begin to describe what happens here.”
I’ve been neglectful. Terribly so. Below you’ll find some recent bloggins from the L.A. underground. Click on the links to get the full story, each of which hails from LA Weekly‘s growingly excellent West Coast Sound blog.
Some old school Tonalism.
Chris Writes Things 