Thrilled to see this Exploding Hearts feature by Matt LeMay. I interviewed Matt for my MTV Hive feature for Guitar Romantic’s 10th anniversary. He had so many amazing things to say that I had to cut due to word count. (Same with my King Louie Bankston interview, which was endlessly quotable. I used about 1% of it.) All of my favorite things he told me are included in this feature. Definitely read it.
Fun fact: I got my first-ever noise complaint on Sunday because of Guitar Romantic. It is impossible to listen to that album at a reasonable volume.
iTunes Shuffle as Writing Prompt
#1: Dustin Wong - “Purple Slipped Right” (from Dreams Say, View, Create, Shadow Leads)
I think I’m remembering this correctly: The first-ever in-person interview I did with a musician was with Dustin Wong. He was in Ponytail, I worked for a college paper, and I sat down with him at a festival press tent. He was incredibly nice, and I was ridiculously nervous to even be sitting there. I remember sweating a lot and not really enjoying the festival in anticipation of this interview. Looking back, it’s pretty funny to think that I was so shaken by the experience. He was patient and kind, he thoughtfully answered a lot of very dumb questions, and he tolerated when I didn’t ask follow-ups and wrapped up way too early. I may have addressed him by the wrong name. It was rough.
The editor of the paper eventually pulled that interview and most of my coverage from that event; I wrote a lengthy overview of the festival and interviewed four artists, and most of it went down the drain. But it does mean the world is spared from what would’ve been an awful piece of journalism.
This song and album are stellar— narrowly missed my top 50 last year.
(Source: Spotify)
Helped Morgan on day 1 of her show installation; this is going to rule. (Opening this Saturday, free performance from Blues Control.)
Late in saying R.I.P. Al Neuharth, founder of USA Today and Gannett.
In high school, I got the Al Neuharth Free Spirit Scholarship. I met some amazing people during that conference, and that experience cemented my dream of becoming a music writer. I saw him speak a couple of times, and although I remember very little of what he said (except that he had nice things to say about Huntington), I certainly owe him a lot.
4. All the Rock Stars were women: Anyone I saw who exuded real starpower was female: Janelle Monae and Karen O most obviously, but even Natasha Khan of Bat for Lashes, Grimes’ Claire Boucher, and Savages’ Jehnny Beth feel like charismatic lightning rods while even stylish and accomplished male-fronted bands such as Vampire Weekend, Phoenix, Hot Chip, and Blur – let alone your James Blakes or Ben Gibbards – simply didn’t. It was only the women who projected those qualities.
Been thinking about this, the Buzzfeed “where are the ladies at Coachella” piece, and Jessica Hopper’s tweet that this year’s Pitchfork Fest is “so goddamn girly”.
P4k this year isn’t overrun with good-but-boring-to-watch dude bands like Scott mentions— no Fleet Foxes, TVOTR, Vampire Weekend, Modest Mouse, etc. I’m definitely looking forward to Swans, Kells, METZ, Pissed Jeans, Mikal Cronin, Mac DeMarco, and of course, Lil B. But really, I’m way more excited for White Lung and Savages.
Also: the Breeders, M.I.A., Björk, Joanna Newsom, Chairlift, Frankie Rose, Angel Olsen, and Waxahatchee are going to be there.
It’ll be a good year. You should go.
peach kelli pop - red leather
(source: allicula)
Reviewed two great Bay Area records from Castle Face: Thee Oh Sees’ Floating Coffin and White Fence’s Cyclops Reap.
Exist Yesterday.: Happy April 11: The Top Four 4:11 Songs In My (Admittedly Cloud-And-Other-Factors-Depleted) iTunes Library →
4. Robin Thicke, “Sidestep”
3. Michael Jackson feat. Siedah Garrett, “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You”
2. Pulp, “Underwear”
1. Helium, “What Institution Are You From”
4. Kristin Hersh, “Sundrops” (the version on Strings)
3. Miss Kittin, “Play Me a Tape”
2. Sky Ferreira, “Everything is Embarrassing’
1. Bjork, “Human Behavior”
4. Magazine, “A Song from Under the Floorboards” (1980)
3. Frank Sinatra, “Lonely Town” (1957)
2. Outkast, “Hey Ya” (2003)
1. The Beach Boys, “Surf’s Up” (1973)
Accounting for the potential variations via vinyl rips, etc.:
4. Joe Bataan, “What Good Is a Castle, Pt. 1” (1975)
3. RAMP, “Daylight” (1977)
2. Kelis, “Caught Out There” (1999)
1. Missy Elliott, “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” (1997)
4. Smith Westerns, “Dye the World” (2011)
3. Neil Young & Crazy Horse, “The Losing End” (1969)
2. Jessica Pratt, “Bushel Hyde” (2012)
1. The Flaming Lips, “The Observer” (1999)
Thanks Tyler Nickell
