This is not unprecedented; I will occasionally become so taken with a song that it will be the only music I can think about for several days. Since 2003, when this phenomenon first manifested (“Fishing the Sky” by The Appleseed Cast, which is now my ringtone), I have not stopped enjoying any of these tunes. […]
Stephen Carradini
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June tunes
It’s hard to emerge from the shadow of a legend, but Murali Coryell has made peace with the fact that his father is famed blues guitarist Larry Coryell. “He does things I can’t do. I do things he can’t do. We’re equal. So let’s play together!” the younger Coryell said. And they will, as both […]
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The Gardes — Make Out the Sound
If you chuckled just now, you have the right sense of humor to enjoy the goofy, low-key songs contained in “Make Out the Sound.” Its nine, seemingly off-the-cuff performances are marked by low-to-mid-fi acoustic guitar, tambourine and a general feel of gleeful subversion, making early Mountain Goats and They Might Be Giants equally effective RIYLs. […]
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Delay Trees — Delay Trees
Delay Trees’ self-titled album is the best DCFC album that Ben Gibbard didn’t write. It’s put out by four Finns, proving once more that Scandinavians are just cooler and better than you. The resemblance is eerie at first: Rami Vierula’s easy-going, high-pitched keen echoes Gibbard’s, while the band’s dreamy soundscapes within indie-pop structures call up […]
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. — It’s a Corporate World
Ben Folds has it: Pretty much anyone can cover a Folds tune and it will be money. MGMT was apparently able to write two of the best pop songs of last decade (“Kids” and “Time to Pretend”), but no more. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. has already been anointed with the MGMT mantle as the next […]
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Label love
“Record labels are the best way for an unknown artist to have their music distributed for sale,” said Travis Searle, co-owner of both Guestroom Records and its label, Guestroom Records Records. “We didn’t even think about it being a digital age. It doesn’t matter to us. We like listening to music on vinyl, so that’s […]
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Hangin’ out in the Alley
The artifact isn’t for sale, but pretty much everything else is on the block at 918½ W. Britton. That includes firstedition Elvis Presley 45s, rare pressings of Neil Young albums and much more vintage material. The recently opened store is run by Ronnie Jay Wheeler, who is also an Americana artist with two records to […]
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Main squeeze
There’s your average merchandise: CDs, T-shirts, stickers, maybe buttons for the punk-inclined. But then there’s the distinctive item that Amber Lee Baker and Renee de la Prade have on sale during their shows: “The Accordion Babes Album & Pin-up Calendar.” “It was Renee’s idea,” Baker said. “A friend of hers saw some hot pictures that […]
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Heavy Years: 2000-2010 — Chris Mills
It’s a straightforward, difficult-to-Google proclamation that belies a wry, self-aware sense of humor and a lack of concern for popular acclaim. “Heavy Years: 2000-2010” is a great introduction to his enthusiastic, acoustic-based, alt-country/rock/pop ballads. His well-developed melodic touch (horns everywhere!) and impressive lyrics show that although Mills knows all the rules, he has more fun […]
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Simple Plan — Get Your Heart On!
No matter what happens, anyone who can put together melodies and evocative (not necessarily deep, just evocative) lyrics will find success if they want it. Enter Simple Plan and their new album, “Get Your Heart On!”, which drops June 21. With a thinly veiled double entendre in the vein of Blink-182’s “Take Off Your Pants […]