Here is a preamble: The Arcade Fire is by far my favorite band of the 21st century. Their 2004 debut Funeral changed my life, and as a Montrealer, I have watched the band garner international success and their side projects, Final Fantasy and La Bell Orchestre, grow up with them.
Winterpills
The Light Divides
After the first few tracks off The Light Divides, the Winterpills' new album, you might think you're listening to the Dawson's Creek soundtrack.
When they took the stage at Johnny Brenda's last Friday - their first ever sold-out show - the five men of Dr. Dog were appropriately West Philly in appearance.
On Saturday evening, February 17th, a sellout crowd at World Caf‚ Live was treated to an entrancing performance by Chris Thile and his prog bluegrass ensemble, the How To Grow A Band, who are currently touring to support Thile's newest album, How to Grow A Woman from the Ground.
Considering The Used haven't released a new record since 2004, any release seems long-overdue. But it's unlikely that Berth, a live album, will satisfy fans like new material - especially with the bands next LP, originally set for release last year, postponed to April.
Heaven only knows what was on Kheaven Brereton's mind when he embarked on his latest venture. Canadian vocalist/emcee/producer of K-OS's third release, Atlantis: Hymns for Disco, is an ambitious array of samples, weaved together with drum machine beats and riddled with spiritual guidance.
Last summer, in the chocolate bazaar of Chocolate World in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a friend and I couldn't help but notice scores of elementary school girls bedecked in black eyeliner and pyramid-studded belts.
ashley tisdale
Headstrong
Call it post-pop. In a world where we readily accept a Paris Hilton solo album, it is no longer a matter of a celeb dropping an LP and getting ignored.
Following the critical successes of the Maximum Black EP in 1999 and the People Get Ready LP in 2000, garage-rockers The Mooney Suzuki looked poised to walk down fame's yellow brick road - the White Stripes holding one hand and The Strokes the other.
For whatever reason, that happy dream didn't quite materialize for The Mooney Suzuki.
Blur's take on the song of unrequited love is easy on the ears, hidden amidst heavy tones of British frustration and veiled happiness; the song is matter-of-factly titled "Good Song."
"Good Song" was so good, in fact, that it inspired design troupe Shynola and artist David Shrigley to create an animated interpretation of lead singer Damon Albarn's lyrics.
Philly rockers stellastarr* are back in town tonight for an appearance at North Star Bar. Street writer Alex Kwan sat down for a phone interview with lead singer and guitarist Michael Jurin and talked about New York's "Sixth Burough", stellastarr*'s new album and the state of the biz.
Street: Hey Michael, good to grab you in between sets.
The Show: Scrubs
The Song: Martin Sexton, "Diner"
Anyone who has ever kept the Garden State soundtrack on repeat knows Zach Braff's knack for musical selection.
There is nothing quite so cloying as the sound of a completely mediocre album. The Safes unleash Well, Well, Well on the world with nary a regard for hooks or cohesion.
It's a bold new age of information. YouTube represents an archive of millions of hidden or long-forgotten documentations of some of the greatest performers in music, free and at the tips of our fingers.
A successful debut LP can be a blessing or a curse. It can be the precursor of legitimate greatness or it can spell doom for a band's future with the weight of unachievable expectations (think of the wasted potential of The Libertines or The Stills). The real pressure for these groups lies on their second album, where they have so much more to lose.
Bloc Party fans everywhere had been crossing off days on their calendars in anticipation of February 6th, the release date of the band's second studio album, A Weekend In The City.
On The Brightness, Ana's Mitchell's third album, the singer/songwriter demonstrates a welcome departure from her earlier, more mainstream-sounding efforts.
Youth Group
Casino Twilight Dogs
Recording an album around the success of a cover of Rod Stewart's "Forever Young" sure has a way of affecting a band's sound.