News

Coppola’s Somewhere Trailer Hits the Internet

Matt Kiebus :: Tuesday, June 15th, 2010 12:30 pm

When watching of one Sophia Coppola’s films it doesn’t take long to notice the reoccurring themes: loneliness and complete misunderstanding. The personal struggle of the protagonists is due to being privileged and having issues that normal people could never understand. It sounds pretentious and trite, and without Coppola’s adept touch the results could be disastrous. Instead in the example of Lost in Translation it turns out quite beautiful. Granted Bill Murray’s charm and the beyond-her-years performance by a 19-year-old Scarlet Johansson had a large hand it that as well.

Today Coppola released the trailer to her fourth feature film, Somewhere, starring Stephen Dorff as a washed-up actor biding his time living a lonely life of excess at Hollywood’s famous Chateau Marmont Hotel (think Disney World’s Tower of Terror). You know, typical Hollywood: paycheck movies + a couple strippers doing synchronized pole dances + living in in a minimum $480 a night hotel = misery. Elle Fanning plays Dorff’s daughter whose surprise visit revitalizes his life. MORE »

5 Up and Comers to Check Out at Lollapalooza 2010

Stephen Blackwell :: Tuesday, June 8th, 2010 3:00 pm

The Lollapalooza 2010 lineup has been announced, and although it’s flooded with gigantic acts like Green Day (who Perry Farrell didn’t want on the 1994 Lollapalooza because he thought they were “put together” by Warner Bros), The Strokes, and Lady Gaga, as well as indie mainstays Phoenix, Grizzly Bear, and The National, let’s not forget the little guys, shall we? Here are 5 Up and Comers worth checking out, granted you can get up early enough to see them. MORE »

Phoenix Acoustic Performance on NPR

Johnny Sanford :: Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 1:00 pm

Even though Phoenix sold their music to the greedy powers-that-be, they still rock. They stopped in to NPR’s “Tiny Desk Concerts” and played four of their tracks off of Wolfgang Amadaeus Phoenix completely acoustic. On the setlist: “Lisztomania,” “Armistice,” “1901,” and “Playground Love.” Here’s the link.

Dirty Projectors Cover Dylan’s “Dark Eyes”

Amy Laviero :: Friday, March 19th, 2010 3:20 pm

Dirty Projectors, who just wrapped tours in Australian and Japan, stopped by Triple J’s Like a Version radio show to perform “Cannibal Resource,” as well as a cover of Bob Dylan’s song “Dark Eyes.” Before you go on rolling your eyes at yet another Dylan cover, have a listen. The track does a great job of expanding the originally minimalistic tune, adding harmonies that give it a deeper, fuller sound without straying too far from its roots.

The band will be back in the U.S. to take part in the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, TN.

If you can’t get enough of Dylan cover songs, check out Phoenix’s arrangement of “Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands, recorded in January for the German magazine, musikexpress.

Julian Casablancas of The Strokes Speculates September Album Release Date

Amy Laviero :: Friday, March 12th, 2010 1:20 pm

During a recent interview with theChicago Tribune, Strokes front-man Julian Casablancas confirmed the band’s headlining performance for Lollapalooza. In the interview, Casablancas also speculates a September release for their upcoming album, the first since 2006’s First Impressions of Earth.

Casablancas is excited about the band’s upcoming schedule and proud that they’re “getting the biggest offers of [their] career.” “It feels great, because I remember people writing things like ‘We’ll see if they’re still around in 10 years’ when we first came out.”

Rumor has it that a recently reunited Soundgarden, Lady Gaga, Green Day, Arcade Fire and Phoenix will also be headlining, although festival officials have yet to confirm. Smaller blogs have also been speculating appearances by the XX, Yeasayer, and Hot Chip.

Conan O’Brien To Take It On The Road

Amy Rose Spiegel :: Friday, March 5th, 2010 4:20 pm

A caveat of Conan O’Brien’s exit agreement with NBC states that he’s not allowed to have a TV show for some time. Isn’t it a little outrageous that they can not only kill his show, but his TV career? He can, however, perform his material live, and it looks as though he’s preparing to do just that. MORE »

Vincent Moon Screens Take-Away Shows in NYC This Weekend

Matt Kiebus :: Friday, February 12th, 2010 4:15 pm

La Blogotheque’s founder Vincent Moon is holding a special screening of his “Take-Away Shows & Other Music Shorts” this Saturday at Union Docs in Williamsburg at 7:30 p.m. The 30-year-old Parisian music director has already put his uniquely innovative stamp on music videos. His La Blogotheque website is a collection of acoustic videos shot guerrilla style throughout Paris. Bands ranging from REM, The National, and Arcade Fire to Phoenix, Grizzly Bear, and Vampire Weekend have all participated in Moon’s Take-Away Shows. Moon’s real talent lays in being able to use the backdrop of beautiful city, like Paris, without aid of special effects, quick cuts, and multiple takes to create a striking finished product. The result gives fans a more intimate relationship to the music. MORE »

Bonnaroo Announces 2010 Lineup!

Johnny Sanford :: Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 12:00 pm

In the mood to take a trip to the backwaters of Tennessee this summer for 3 days of peace, love and long bathroom lines? Well, here’s your chance to get to gator country and see some bitchin’ music. This year, Bonnaroo’s organizers have let the artists announce themselves. And so far it’s a big ticket! Tickets go on sale at 12pm today, and the list of artists we’ve gathered so far is after the jump! MORE »

Free Stuff = The Best Kind of Stuff

Amy Laviero :: Friday, February 5th, 2010 2:00 pm

Free concert, free drinks, free prizes!

Baeble Music is holding a free, hi-def screening party for a pre-recorded Passion Pit concert that took place last September in Central Park. If you need more incentive to check it out, there will also be free booze between 7:00 and 8:00. The screening will take place next Wednesday, February 10th, between 7:00 and 10:00 at Public Assembly in Williamsburg, 70 North 6th street between Wythe and Kent.

They are also giving away three Passion Pit prize packs, each with a signed vinyl of Manners and a signed poster from the Central Park concert. To enter the contest, log-in to Facebook, connect with Baeblemusic.com, and leave a comment about the concert on this page. The announcement didn’t specify what kind of comments they are looking for, but it said that winners will be announced via Facebook.

Phoenix Take To The Streets

Isaac Lekach :: Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 4:30 pm

Check out Phoenix performing in the streets of Paris after the jump. Vincent Moon, the man behind the Take Away Shows, was behind these clips. In related news, Phoenix was nominated for a Grammy! Big ups to our Issue 21 cover boys!

Noah And The Whale live at Mercury Lounge

Alex Moore :: Thursday, November 5th, 2009 1:20 pm

Noah And The Whale played at Mercury Lounge last night, the last of three shows in New York, and their last stateside for a while.

The band turned in a precise, beautifully-arranged set of songs from their new record, The First Days Of Spring.

The new record is a decidedly dark, emotive departure from their more cheerful debut Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down. It’s the kind of touching, heavy record that can be tricky to pull off live, and the band rose to the occasion.

Noah’s next tour is a string of dates in Europe with Phoenix. Stay tuned at this blog for an exclusive daily tour diary from the band as they make their way across Europe. More photos from the show after the jump.
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How to Make Money in Indie Rock, 101

Stephen Blackwell :: Thursday, October 29th, 2009 4:15 pm

Getting paid in indie rock is no easy feat. As selling music gets tougher and tougher, bands have to do all sorts of things to, you know, diversify their revenue streams. Nobody wants their cash position negatively effected. And touring isn’t cheap. You’ve gotta rightsize that capital outlay.

When we put Blonde Redhead on the cover of an earlier issue of Death+Taxes, they reiterated several times throughout the interview they had no money. I think a lot of people consider Blonde Redhead to be one of the largest indie bands in the world, myself included. So where does that leave, say, Wooden Birds. Probably in the doghouse, if its members weren’t composing ad campaigns for CitiBank. MORE »

Noah and the Whale Invade NYC

Stephen Blackwell :: Thursday, October 29th, 2009 10:00 am

London band Noah and the Whale begin their residency at the Mercury Lounge on November 2, which wraps up the group’s current US tour. They’ll be bringing their pretty, Sigur Ros-esque jammage to town for three nights accompanied by a screening of their film, The First Days of Spring at Pianos on November 1. (Charlie will be doing a Q&A that evening.)

After that, the band will head back to Europe to support Death+Taxes 21 cover band, Phoenix.

I wonder what those guys are going to talk about? Why Fender Twin Reverbs from the sixties are way better than the re-issues? Conscientious objection? We’ll find out soon, as I hear Noah and the Whale will be hosting a tour diary right here on this very site. I’d post the Euro dates after the jump, but we just don’t have enough European readers to justify all the copying and pasting.