We've got issues.
The recipe for an iconic record goes something like this: Take impressionable youth, mix in a fresh take on heartbreak, cook in the heated soul of a teenager and let cool. Those who lament a dearth of classic albums these days often forget that last part, that bona-fide legendary music isn’t always readily apparent, that it takes time for it to rise above the riff raff and noise. Continue reading
From Austin, Texas, to Eugene to Bear Valley, Calif., Phoebe Hunt is on her way to camp. Not some Salute Your Shorts summer getaway, but The Big Sur Fiddle Camp. Hunt is going to rule that camp, as she’s been playing the fiddle for over 22 years, starting with a Suzuki violin, and hearing her soulful Southern voice, you would think the singer-songwriter would have been singing for decades too. Continue reading
Once upon a time there was fuzz, and it was accidental. Then there came distortion. Then there came cleanliness, godliness and indie-pop. And then, quite inexplicably, there was fuzz again. We’re talking about production value here, and if there’s one band since indie-infamous Sleigh Bells that know how to do lo-fi right, it’s Unknown Mortal Orchestra. Take Ty Segall’s garage, Starfucker’s pop-chops, Wavves’ “I just don’t give a fuck” attitude, and the beauteous magic of a child’s imagination. Mix them all together. Gargle. Continue reading
Banjos and beaches, mandolins and margaritas, fiddles and fish fries: some unlikely pairings in a paradise that is more Jimmy Buffet than Bill Monroe. But Mountain Song at Sea’s maiden cruise in February left the typically landlocked bluegrass stomping grounds far behind to bring together acts from across the nation like the Grammy-winning Steep Canyon Rangers and local favorites Betty and the Boy, who will be reunited again April 7 at WOW Hall. Continue reading
Vincent van Gogh walks into a bar and the bartender offers him a drink. Van Gogh responds, “No, thank you. I’ve got one ‘ere.” What did blue say to orange? “I never say no to a complement.” Continue reading
Before Hannibal Buress started doing stand-up comedy at 19 in Chicago, he wanted to be the “black Howard Stern.” Since then he’s written for Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock and has appeared on Louie, Conan and Jimmy Kimmel Live! In 2012, he released his first Comedy Central special “Animal Furnace,” and now he’s working on his new web series Talking to Strangers, in which he interviews musicians like The Root’s Questlove. Just don’t ask him when it premieres, because, well, he has no idea. Continue reading
Yes, yes, yes: Spring Breakers, the latest film by aging wunderkind Harmony Korine, is a veritable fiesta of tits and ass. And we’re not talking about your daddy’s Mousketeer variety of bikini-and-tramp-crack-clad tits and ass, a’la Annette Funicello, but the sort of gone-wild nekkid tits and ass that shake and undulate in drunken slow motion, so that even on the most toned collegiate body you can see ripples of cellulose motoring around under the burnt umber of tanned skin. Continue reading
Christopher Owens’ former group Girls set the indie world on fire with their 2009 underground hit Album. Owens’ singing voice drew comparisons to Elvis Costello; the songs evoked ’60s power-pop, ’70s punk and contemporary indie rock. Continue reading
In five years, when zombies overrun us, Alfred Darlington is going to look back on these days as the golden age of electronic music. Darlington, better known by the production moniker Daedelus (pictured), tells EW that he would prefer the zombies to be of the slow, mindless variety. Continue reading
Blissful blues. Sounds like an oxymoron, but that phrase hits at the essence of The California Honeydrops, who take the catharsis of singing the blues to a devil-may-care, happy-go-lucky level. The New Orleans-inspired stylings of the five-piece band from Oakland overflow with unabashed, easygoing joy, or in the spirit of The Big Easy: Laisser les bon temps rouler! Continue reading