Music
Defibrillator: Ted Leo & The Pharmacist, "Timorous Me," (2001)
As a teenager, I had a minor love affair with Ted Leo. His pop punk anthems soundtracked my learning to drive, I never missed one of his frequent D.C.
Interview: Broken Social Scene
Street: How has the tour been going? Charles Spearin: Good. It seems like a never ending tour.
Guilty Pleasures: R. Kelly's Discography
Most guilty pleasures are more “embarrassing pleasures,” but I really do feel guilty for liking R.
Review: Wake Up!, John Legend And The Roots
Wake Up! sounds like a match made in heaven: alumnus crooner John Legend got together with Philly favorite The Roots for a politically driven covers album.
Venues N' Shit: The Electric Factory
Every issue, we’ll be giving an in-depth look at a different Philadelphia music venue. This week, we start with one of the city’s most iconic: The Electric Factory. Philadelphians are a group prone to repurposing: they’ve successfully recast a simple meat sandwich as a nationally renowned icon (cheesesteaks); made existing near one of the world's biggest cities as a cause for celebration (being 90 miles from NYC) and turned a handful of otherwise grungy city blocks into one of the nation’s most beautiful college campuses (your future alma mater). So it makes sense that one of the city’s most beloved (and well-known) musical venues is The Electric Factory, which used to be, well, an electric factory.
In The News
M.I.A. has announced the dates for her latest tour. She’ll be stopping at the Electric Factory on Sep.
Defibrillator: LFO, "Summer Girls" (1999)
Music has had myriad purposes in my life, but only one song has ever turned me onto a clothing line.
Review: Interpol, Interpol
Rockers stay moody on self-titled album Paul Banks has the second most ominous voice in indie rock today (Tom Smith of Editors takes first prize). While Interpol has surely crafted valuable tracks in the past the part of them that is most singularly Interpol is Banks’s cavernous, almost nefarious bellow.
Review: Lisbon, The Walkmen
On their latest LP, indie rock veterans get lost in the details. As coy and ironic as the modern indie landscape may be, The Walkmen have always aimed for the gut of both their fan base and their steady, shifting musical output.
Summer In Music
We know that by now, summer seems like a sad, distant memory. As you struggle to get into the school grind, take a look back at some of summer’s happenings in music both in Philly and beyond.
The 2010 Summer Playlist
1. Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse — "Revenge" 2. Lady Gaga — "Teeth" 3. Sleigh Bells — "Rill Rill" 4. Big Boi — "Shutterbugg" 5. Wavves — "Post-Acid" 6. Kanye West — "Power" 7. LCD Soundsystem — "Drunk Girls" 8. Foals — "Miami" 9. Neon Indian — "Deadbeat Summer" 10. M.I.A.
Q+A - Netherfriends
Netherfriends is Shawn Rosenblatt, a 23-year-old Chicagoan-via-Suburban Philadelphia who produces buoyant psychedelic pop that ranges from frustrated to ecstatic in tone.
Q+A - Here We Go Magic
Born out of a bedroom psych-folk project by singer-guitarist Luke Temple, Here We Go Magic has bloomed into a buzzworthy indie rock act with two albums under its belt.
The Edge of Darkness
Like a typical suburban family’s home, Dark Night of the Soul is a collaboration on multiple levels.
You Can Ring My Bell
For the most part, tracing the genealogy of most current cutting-edge bands is pretty straightforward.
Stop Forkin' Around
CHICAGO — Over the past several years, the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago’s Union Park has valiantly worked to separate itself from the usual crop of summer festivals, attracting attendees with an ear for interesting bands and a yearning for more comfortable, personal concert experiences.
Oh My Goddess
The sound that dominates today’s dance floor is a heady mixture of R&B and techno, whose building beats and naughty lyrics are best characterized by the likes of Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Ke$ha, the new divas of nightlife.
In the Flesh
In yet another summer of Gaga’s reign, it’s nearly impossible for any other female artist to avoid the dreaded comparison.
Fool's Gold
Let me preface this review by saying 3Oh!3 is not trying to be the next Coldplay. Their music isn’t for the reviewers or the critics.
