It seems like any time an established recording artist has a book of poetry published, it’s probably “for fans only,” and it kind of comes across as a corporate cash in. Maybe I’m just one of those kinds of fans, but I think David Berman is an exception to the rule. In 1999, the same …
The final month of 2009 was a celebration for music snobs, enthusiasts, and especially media outlets, as they compiled and published two lists, “of the Year” and “of the Decade.” At least in the circles that I tend to observe, the celebration seemed like a party with two guests of honor: Animal Collective and Radiohead. …
This is a mix I made in anticipation of an entry I hope to post later this week. It consists of 8 songs that I think demonstrate a trend that was developing in 2000 that continued to evolve throughout the decade. What I’m thinking of is the use of electronic elements in non-dance music. Not …
…or, Sitcom Darwinism This is the picture of evolution, with survival demanding adaptability, adaptability yielding change, change as progress, progress shaping history… The sitcom was called “Family Matters,” a trite play on words that reflected the lack of creativity and originality with which the show was conceived. Eventually it would come to be known for …
or, Conquest & Surprise I won’t waste my time rehashing all that the phenomenon of music-as-download hath wrought and all that it hath yielded, but I will remind you what it promised, which is discovery. The dream was for a hard-working band of unknowns, preferably from the middle part of the United States, to be …
Destroyer’s 2009 EP, Bay of Pigs – a two-song, 21 minute outing — is its so called “Disco Record.” That’s because there are post-techno disco elements, of course, but I think it’s worth noting that the EP consists of only a few danceable minutes, maybe only two, ignoring the idea that one can dance to …