In Rip it Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984, ZE Records co-founder Michael Zilkha explained that the quirky disco bands he championed like Was (Not Was) and Material didn’t make the commercial impact he wished because, “all my bands were too clever, and it took me forever to understand that ‘clever’ isn’t necessarily it…. Truly […]
Back when Lee and I were in Flowlines together, we had a disagreement about songwriting. The way I saw it, if I employed a distinct musical technique on a song (say a shuffle beat, or an Andalusian cadence), then that was my one opportunity to use that technique, and so I had better nail the […]
She introduced me to her friend. “This is Zac. He’s really funny.” “Oh, yeah,” the guy said, sizing me up, probably rightfully concluding we were chasing the same girl. “Make me laugh.” Ugh, gauntlet thrown. After giving him the side eye, I chuckled. “Fuck that, man. Make me come.” He laughed. Mission accomplished. Well…I won […]
This week let’s do something dumb.* While the experience of going onto Twitter is akin to wading into a pond filled with radioactive medical waste, occasionally a stupidly engaging bar conversation rises above the sewage and flits across my timeline like a majestic dragonfly. Last week, Granite Mtn. asked the mostly bot-filled void, “Why […]
When first heard the term “blackgaze,” I thought of these guys: But apparently the term is a portmanteau for the music of bands like Deafheaven (and Alcest and Oathbreaker), who draw from both the filthy well of black metal and the angelic pond of shoegaze. In fact, any music that includes a soupcon of black […]
This week, we’re finishing out the rest of Loudwire’s top ten black metal albums. Again, we’ll be evaluating the albums on the quality of their production (PQ; scale of one to three tapes) and how well their story could be adapted into a Netflix true crime documentary series (Netflixability; one to three burned churches). SATYRICON’S […]
Last October, we explored Pitchfork’s list of their top industrial albums and listened to a bunch of Germans get all sweaty. This week (and next) we’re examining the music the most translucent people in the world (Scandinavians) made between burning churches and murdering each other and themselves, black metal. Our list comes courtesy of the […]
Do you like the Ramones and the Velvet Underground? Oh, do I! Would you like it if the Shangri-Las recorded their pop hits with off-brand Japanese fuzz pedals? Who wouldn’t? Do you want to listen to an album that’s central to shoegaze, goth, noise pop, and indie rock? Take my $20 and mail it to […]
In preparation for writing this column, I often burn an MP3 disc of songs to crank in my car’s CD player. I still don’t think there’s a better way to listen to music. With this admittedly lofi system, I don’t have to hassle with my phone or Spotify or Bluetooth or an aux cable. The […]
For the most part, I like simple pleasures, like lollipops in my mouth, butter in my ass, and distorted guitars in my music. My boo is gnarly guitar rock. I love her with all the heart and we have a healthy, disgusting sex life. But every now and then, the perverts from other genres create […]