Why the success of Jonathan Coulton is absolutely irrelevant to the music business
Ra Ra Riot’s Rebecca Zeller shucks off classical convention for rock abandon
Recent attacks on UC Santa Cruz Professors reveal faultlines within the already-contentious animal rights movement.
A throwback to a time when punk rock could conceivably change the world, the all-woman five-piece Mika Miko is unapologetically punk rock.
ALBUM REVIEW: Having refined a signature doom-laden dirge, The Black Angels rose to prominence with 2006’s striking breakout Passover. Two years later, the Austin outfit is still channeling waves of feedback-drenched, portentous rock on their latest, Directions to See a Ghost, though the effect isn’t quite as powerful the second time around.
"Doves" mp3
The Black Angels break out of their well-defined sound at points, showing more rhythmic flair than seen on Passover, what was strikingly compelling on that album bears the mark of stasis on Directions to See a Ghost. The band does show some signs of progression—the lyrics are more affecting and personal than on the Vietnam War-themed Passover, and the swaths of far-out psychedelic guitar are applied much more liberally. And considering the disaster that was the hidden acoustic track on Passover, it’s a welcome surprise that they avoid acoustic meanderings here.
Without a doubt, The Black Angels have refined their drunken amalgam of Joy Division and Black Sabbath to a science. But considering how much promise band holds, it’s hard not to want the band to reach outside of its comfort zone more than it does here.
All the same, the band puts on a blistering live set. They’re on tour this summer, visit the band’s website for details.
Net neutrality is more than confusing tech-speak. It’s a battle for the only vestige of free media.
Orchestral metal three-piece Russian Circles summons an epic cacophony
DJ Spooky creates art out of Antarctic climate change
Don’t celebrate the Senate’s repudiation of media consolidation quite yet
Late-career reappraisals shine a light on the work of two forgotten folk greats
A closer look at the Afghanistan adventures our President missed out on this past week
In search of the herbivore’s Holy Grail: a veganized KFC Famous Bowl
An interview with punk-ass Baltimore design studio Post-Typography
Searching for the elusive figure of Bonnie “Prince” Billy
Songwriter David Singer’s pop muse matures gracefully.
An interview with Nick Butcher and Nadine Nakanishi of Chicago print studio Sonnenzimmer.
Has there ever been a time during which adults gazed at their own navels and tried to recapture their youth as the Internet era?
French poet French Valery famously said, “everything changes but the avant-garde.” The same could be said of the recurring pet arguments online.
Let the story of Microsoft’s doomed Plays For Sure be a cautionary tale to those who support DRM.
Paul M Davis