Cloud Nothings are set to release their third studio album early next year. Why should you care? Well, simply put, Cloud Nothings are one of the best bands out there right now. Their most recent album, Attack on Memory, was one of 2012’s best and saw the group take a huge step forward. What follows is a brief primer of Cloud Nothings for those who want to get some exposure to the band before…
Aesop Rock, early 2000s. (mushrecords.com) “People can label me whatever they like. I don’t really care any more…I get told that I’m weird—but you forget that the whole reason you liked [Boogie Down Productions] in the first place was because you never heard anything like that before.” – Aesop Rock, quoted in the Harvard Crimson, 2003 As Ian Bavitz was writing the songs that filled out the 70 minutes of Bazooka…
I’m sure if any of us searched the dusty corners of our musical memory banks, we’d find the unmistakable and unforgettable lyrics to James Blunt’s breakout hit ‘You’re Beautiful.’ The catchy track that earned him a #4 spot on Billboards top songs of 2006 list. Well if you’re one of those people whose been living in 2006 for the past seven years, you’ll be excited to know that James Blunt has returned. His new single…
Photo by marfis75, via flickr. So, you’ve assembled your band, you’ve swam through the ocean of agony that is finding a group of musicians you can reasonably, prospectively be expected to live in a van with, you’re all on the same wave length (just about) and you’ve put together a pulverising 20-30 minute long set that’s as tight as a drum (pardon the expression) and you’ve melted the very ears off…
City and Colour may have emerged onto the music scene as a small side project from Ontario native, Dallas Green, but with three platinum albums and a history of performing alongside alt-rock heavyweights like Neil Young, it’s hard for this “hipstered-out” Clark Kent to stay out of the limelight. Back in 2005, the former Alexisonfire vocalist released a solo LP entitled Sometimes. This was one of the first times Green had truly ever showcased his abilities as…
Is This It cursed The Strokes. While it’s a nearly perfect record and one of the most influential albums of the aughts, The Strokes could never again live up to the standard set by Is This It, at least in the eyes of music critics. When the band released the excellent Room on Fire in 2003, they were criticized for repeating the style of their debut. The Strokes responded by releasing First Impressions of Earth…
Silvertone, 1989 Hello, ZME. It has been a while, hasn’t it? You’ll have to forgive me. I fell off the face of this benevolent cyber-planet due to some bizarre misconception that I had anything better to do. Fortunately, a complete and utter submersion into academic navel-gazing had recently gifted me with the epiphany that, contrary to the elevated sense of self with which coming of age in the 90’s injected me, I really…
Source: www.21st-apothecary.com Being in a band is very often a losing battle. Some bands never taste success, failing to perform a single gig before their career’s inevitable collapse under the strain of a heterogeny of big personalities with small tempers. And often, these types of bands can be seen from a mile away, each character precious about his or her contribution to what little music is produced from them, and almost always, it speaks through…
Here’s something that you don’t see often anymore: an audience cheering at a jazz spot when the musicians on stage introduce the first few notes of one of their original tunes. Perhaps it’s simply because few are playing the album releases on repeat in their home or car as they would with a number of rock or pop artists. Maybe it’s because that there just isn’t anything to “sing along to.” Yes, it’s a pain…
What’s that old adage? “When you assume, you make an ass out of you and me.” Yeah, well in this case, my assumption didn’t hurt anyone. In hindsight, it was a tad lazy – and perhaps made an ass outta me – but certainly not harmful in any way. Here’s the thing: I got an email from ZME’s esteemed editor and founder Tibi asking me if I’d have any interest in reviewing a book called…
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Tyler Sonic
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Steve Lampiris