No Radio

nprmusic: Can breakup songs be for more than wallowing? And can...

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 16:30:10 -0500

Can breakup songs be for more than wallowing? And can you reclaim music that conjures harsh memories?

"California-based mega-retailer Amoeba Music, the last big record store on the block, has moved into..."

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 15:22:42 -0500

“California-based mega-retailer Amoeba Music, the last big record store on the block, has moved into the digital age with both feet, with its inauguration of a revamped website. And possibly the most intriguing element of that site, and a direct reflection of Ameoba’s dig-deeper philosophy, is the so-called Vinyl Vaults section — thousands of rare and out-of-print LPs, 78s and 45s that flow through the company’s three outlets in any given week — now available for sale via download.”

- — Currently there are about 1,000 digitized vinyl titles available, including some rare Louis Armstrong 78s and 144 Sun Ra records.The cost for the ripped tracks: 78 cents per track for MP3s, 80 cents for Lossless M4As and $1.50 for WAVs. — Heidi (via Variety)

Terrific job, Amoeba Music. If I didn’t love those stores already, I would now.

Next Wednesday, Absolute Punk will be streaming the new 4-way split!

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 21:43:27 -0500

cylsrecords:

Exciting news! Next Wednesday, Absolute Punk will be streaming the new CYLS 4-Way split. For those of you keeping track, this is number three. The first two are still available in our webstore. This one features Dikembe, Hightide Hotel, Jet Set Sail, Monument! We will also be taking pre-orders. Available on black or gold. Here is what the cover looks like:

I know most of the people playing on this split, and it’s probably going to be really great.

Also, support your local DIY label. Scratch that, support every DIY label.

nprmusic: thefader: R. KELLY’S “IGNITION (REMIX)” WAS RELEASED...

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 13:13:09 -0500

nprmusic:

thefader:

R. KELLY’S “IGNITION (REMIX)” WAS RELEASED 10 YEARS AGO TODAY

IT’S BEEN A WILD RIDE

Toot toot, beep beep.

May we have another decade full of R. Kelly.

thestrutny: (via Graphic: Vinyl sales break another record in...

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 20:11:58 -0500

thestrutny:

(via Graphic: Vinyl sales break another record in 2012)

A+, everyone.

Best of 2012

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 14:25:00 -0500

So. Remember that time I said I would work on updating this blog more and then promptly forgot…. Sorry. But, that being said, since the end of 2012 is here, it’s time to boil down what I loved and what I didn’t, and etc.

Top 5 Records of 2012 (In no particular order)

Hop Along - Get Disowned (Hot Green)
Tallest Man On Earth - There’s No Leaving Now (Dead Oceans)
Everyone Everywhere - Everyone Everywhere (Self Released)
Field Report - Field Report (Partisan)
Gregory + The Hawk - Come On (Self Released)

Runners Up/Notable 2012 Releases

R. Kelly - Write Me Back (Warner Bros)
Kaki King - Glow (Velour)
Delicate Steve - Positive Force (Luaka Bop)
Sharon Van Etten - Tramp (Jagjaguwar)
Sigur Ros - Vitoli (XL)
Cody ChesnuTT - Landing On A Hundred (Vibration Vineyard)

Best 7”s/EPS of 2012

Broadcaster - Tightrope Walker (Jumpstart)
Slowdance - “Boyfriend” (White Iris)
My Dad - Stunts
Trust Fall - My Thoughts Exactly

BIggest Disappointments of 2012

Cursive - I Am Gemini (Saddle Creek)
DIIV - Oshin (Captured Tracks)
Minus The Bear - Infinity Overhead (Dangerbird)
Slingshot Dakota - Dark Hearts (Topshelf)
Lemuria - “Varoom Allure” (Bridge 9)

Records You Might Have Missed, But Should Definitely Go Check Out

Menahan Street Band - The Crossing (Daptone)
Night Moves - Colored Emotions (Domino)
Lee Fields & The Expressions - Faithful Man (Daptone)
Tim Maia - World Psychedelic Classics, Vol. 4: Nobody Lives Forever; The Existential Soul of Tim Maia (Luaka Bop)
Black Marble - A Different Arrangement (Hardly Art)
Tamaryn - Tender New Signs (Mexican Summer)
forgetters - s/t
MewithoutYou - Ten Stores (Pine Street)

I feel like I should apologize for my long, long absence. Since moving to New York, things have...

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 21:19:03 -0500

I feel like I should apologize for my long, long absence. Since moving to New York, things have really taken off. Working in the music industry really hasn’t provided me unbiased opinions about the music I’d be listening to. However, I think that there’s a good chance that I can set my biases aside. I’d like to get this joint back up and running, so here’s to more populated futures!

Aspiga To Release New Full-Length Every Last Piece Via Paper + Plastick Nov. 20, New Tour Dates Announced

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 16:58:46 -0400

Great friends making a great splash. Do yourselves a favor and check these guys out.

exit384media:

Three-piece New Jersey punk-rockers Aspiga have announced a new full-length record, titled Every Last Piece, that will be made available via Paper + Plastick Records on vinyl and digital formats on Nov. 20. The band has also announced a two-week tour with Broadcaster that begins this week.

Recommended If You Like: The Weakerthans, Jawbreaker, Japandroids, Against Me!

Every Last Piece is Aspiga’s third full-length release and debut for Paper + Plastick. It follows up the band’s 7” split with Hanalei, which came out via Jump Start Records. The new album is seven songs long, amounting to 24 minutes of runtime, during which Aspiga ranges from slower, emo-indie parts to heart-racing, yelping punk portions.

Founded in 2006, Aspiga’s three members are no newcomers to playing music, but Every Last Piece is the first proper, thought-out recording for the band in its six years of existence. While previous releases have been rushed or simply recorded in basements, vocalist / guitarist Kevin Day says that Every Last Piece is the most real representation to date of Aspiga’s true sound.

“I think this is going to be great for us in two ways,” Day says. “First, this is going to be a release that truly represents the way that this band sounds. Second, we are working with a label that is going to allow more people to hear this album. My goal for this record is to connect with other people. Whether it’s one person or a 2000 people, I just want people to put this record on and say, ‘Hey, I’ve felt this way before.’”

The trio recorded its new album in late January of 2012 with producer Dave Downham at Gradwell House in Haddon Heights, N.J., a studio that Day calls a staple in the southern New Jersey scene. While there, Day, drummer Ray Solowij and bassist Alec McVey focused on fleshing out songs that were conceived in Day’s room and composed in Ray’s basement.

“The three of us had never entered a professional studio before and actually laid down any music together,” Day says. “As a three piece band, we were looking at ways to avoid having a thin sound but also trying to avoid massive layers of instrumentation that we wouldn’t be able to replicate live. I think we did a great job at making sure both of these ideals were met. In all honesty, I think this is the first true representation of how this band is supposed to sound; it’s raw and it urges the listener to feel something.”

Aspiga’s Every Last Piece will come out on Nov. 20 via Paper + Plastick Records. Please post the album announcement, with the album art and tracklisting below, on your websites. Please also post the tour admat with the dates for the band’s tour with Broadcaster. Be sure to email Thomas Nassiff at exit384media@gmail.com to set up an interview or feature. If you’d like to be added to the press list for an advance copy of Aspiga’s new record, please email Joshua Martin at joshua.martin@paperandplastick.com.

Aspiga - Every Last Piece
November 20, 2012
Paper + Plastick Records

1. Save Your Spit
2. Welcome To the Sympathy Party
3. Winter Cleaning
4. Users
5. Parade On Me
6. On The Defensive
7. The Excavation

Read More

The RIAA ruins yet another person's life. No surprise there.

Sat, 25 Aug 2012 11:52:49 -0400

The RIAA ruins yet another person's life. No surprise there.

New Frightened Rabbit single from their upcoming State Hospital...

Mon, 20 Aug 2012 22:03:50 -0400

New Frightened Rabbit single from their upcoming State Hospital EP.

forgettheradio: Jason Noble, of famed Louisville bands Rodan,...

Sun, 05 Aug 2012 00:11:27 -0400

forgettheradio:

Jason Noble, of famed Louisville bands Rodan, Shipping News, Rachel’s, and Per Mission, has lost his battle with cancer. He went surrounded by family and friends. A huge inspiration to many genres, he will be missed.

The Tallest Man On Earth- There's No Leaving Now

Thu, 19 Jul 2012 12:53:11 -0400

The Tallest Man On Earth really doesn’t need much of an introduction. If you’ve read my blog you know a little bit about him. And my affinity for his music. His first tour in the United States (If memory serves correct) was with indie darling(s) Bon Iver and more or less, shortly afterwards he was on the fast track to popularity. Chalking that ascent up to his picture perfect guitar work, on stage charisma, and Bob Dylan-esque warble; Kristian Mattsson, The Tallest Man On Earth (Who is actually not all that tall in real life. We once had some beers and talked about global politics, fascinating guy), has blazed some trails. Along with his in-house producer, fianceé Amanda Bergman, have released five records in six years, and each progressively better than the last.

There’s No Leaving Now, his 2012 follow up to 2010’s EP Sometimes The Blues is Just A Passing Bird, is in the same stylistic aesthetic. Big jazz-box guitar work, with just a little accompaniment behind it (Often just soft percussion or slide/lap steel guitar work), the record offers more of that fully realized sound and really blows it out of the water. Many would describe it as a “mature” sound, but that seems cliché and not quite right. His prior releases, a self-titled record (2006), Shallow Grave (2008), and The Wild Hunt (2010), all offered this very raw sound. The music itself offered little dynamic changes, and it very much echoed early era Bob Dylan and other Americana folk records. Now, we see a little bit of Mattasson’s roots with blues based, garage rock band Montezumas blending through while still holding on to that very strong folk base.

Songs like ‘1904’, ‘Revelation Blues’, ‘Bright Lanterns’, and the title track, all offer some of Mattasson’s (And Bergman’s) best work yet. Musically and lyrically. Mattasson’s true gift is to turn what seems like nonsensical lyrics into a beautiful passage. It’s no wonder how he became as successful as he did. There’s No Leaving Now is another great example of sparse, beautiful music. It’s taken me quite some time to really find the right words to use when talking about this record (Since I’ve let myself get carried away in the past). It really is quite a fully realized record and you can really feel the care that went into making each song truly stand out on its own.

There’s No Leaving Now is out now on Dead Ocean records.

Major labels are paying students to narc. Sigh.

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 21:09:11 -0400

Major labels are paying students to narc. Sigh.

nprmusic: XL Recordings, the home of Adele and Vampire Weekend,...

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 11:00:16 -0400

nprmusic:

XL Recordings, the home of Adele and Vampire Weekend, has found huge success while remaining small. The secret to success, says founder Richard Russell (pictured): “The music’s got to be great, it’s got to be sold as well as possible, and everyone’s got to get paid.”

via XL Recordings: A Record Label With A Midas Touch

Brilliant article

Henry Rollins: Quit Complaining About How Music Sucks

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 14:47:11 -0400

Henry Rollins: Quit Complaining About How Music Sucks

Taking a few steps backwards and posting the video for...

Thu, 31 May 2012 14:24:55 -0400

Taking a few steps backwards and posting the video for ‘Tibetan Pop Stars’ off of Hop Along’s Get Disowned. I fail to really explain how much I love this record, and especially this song. Hopefully the amazing attention to detail that went into the illustrations for the video will help highlight that.

nprmusic: One of the bands I tour with, Black Tusk, includes a...

Thu, 24 May 2012 17:48:53 -0400

nprmusic:

One of the bands I tour with, Black Tusk, includes a carpenter, a landscaper and a bartender within its ranks — all of whom are heavily tattooed and terribly well-read. My friend Elizabeth Cline just published a book on sustainable fashion practices — and plays in Mortals, a brutal all-female sludge band based in Brooklyn. I’m writing this piece for NPR, and just got a massive tattoo of a goat’s head on my right arm in tribute to Swedish black metal gods Bathory.

—Kim Kelly (pictured) previews the scene at this weekend’s Maryland Deathfest in Metalheads Are People, Too

My good friend Kim wrote an awesome piece for NPR on metal. Definitely a great read!

It’s 80 degrees today, summer is here, we all need a...

Wed, 23 May 2012 10:32:40 -0400

It’s 80 degrees today, summer is here, we all need a little soul jams now.

Also, welcome back D’Angelo.

Your rainy day accompaniment brought to you by The Jesus and...

Mon, 21 May 2012 18:27:16 -0400

Your rainy day accompaniment brought to you by The Jesus and Mary Chain.

thedailywhat: Early Bird Special: Bee Gees lead singer Robin...

Mon, 21 May 2012 10:23:51 -0400

thedailywhat:

Early Bird Special: Bee Gees lead singer Robin Gibb lost his years-long battle with colon and liver cancer Sunday. He was 62.

Here’s what Rolling Stone had to say about the trio’s hit “To Love Somebody”: “You know you’ve written a standard when both Gram Parsons and Clay Aiken have recorded it. Robin transforms into a mighty blue-eyed soul crooner over a heaping helping of strings and horns, and, of course, his brothers’ sweet harmonies.”

[rollingstone]