// Category Archive for: Music

Sextreme Ball 2010: My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult/Lords Of Acid

By Christian Lipski
Photos by Deborah Lipski

Praga Khan’s girlfriend
tempts the audience

Dante’s, Portland OR
July 14, 2010

Touring together for the first time in 15 years, Lords of Acid and My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult are the main events on the Sextreme Ball 2010 tour, which began in Seattle on July 13. Both bands were part of the techno music movement of the late ’80s/early ’90s, and judging from the first two sold-out shows, both are still popular among the electronica crowd.
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The Futurebirds, Hampton’s Lullaby

By Adam McIntyre

On Hampton’s Lullaby, The Futurebirds create lush, reverby indie pop with varied acoustic instrumentation and those western Americana leanings. These guys from Athens harmonize, they twang with beards, they do some pretty damned interesting gritty guitar solos. . . and did I mention that they like reverb?

They’ll probably stop just short of reminding you of My Morning Jacket (though they do remind me a bit of a favorite band of mine, Hands Down Eugene) and in spite of the steel guitars and southern-sung style, they’re unlikely to evoke a country vibe. More like Pernice Brothers having a country-tinged lullaby writing session.
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Hungry For Love, Part Two: Ten More Obscure Yet Hilarious Videos

By Jim R. Clark

This is Part Two in our series on bizarre videos you may have forgotten about or never seen.

To read Part One, go here.
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The Cure, Disintegration Deluxe Edition

By J Howell

Oh, to revisit the heady days of 1989. . . as a young person, two things (at different times, and both seemed to recur often) were the focus of my adolescent adulation. These were head and shoulders above everything else (and made a killing from my obsessive need for more and more merchandise): Star Wars and The Cure.

Before I give myself an opportunity to digress on the efficacy of the Lucas Merchandising Machine, let’s talk about The Cure. Rhino has just released a curated-by-Robert-himself reissue of Disintegration in three discs: the first, a remaster of the record; the second, a collection of rarities; and the third, an expanded version of Entreat, a live record from the “Prayer” tour following Disintegration that was originally released in 1990.
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Underground Girls Blog: Q&A With Mandy Mullins Of Garbo’s Daughter

By Less Lee Moore

The lovely and talented Mandy Mullins, who has been an integral part of so many of our Popcasts here on Popshifter, was recently featured on the Underground Girls blog where fellow groovy girl Kelly Fever describes her as “one of the grooviest girls in the pop music scene” and I couldn’t agree more.

Read their Q&A with Mandy to find out more as she discusses her influences, her idols, her guitar, plus Stryper, Sassy Magazine, The Beatles, The Osmonds, and Bubblegum!

Hitting The Penthouse And Pavement: Whatever Happened To Ian Craig Marsh?

By Emily Carney

Confession: I am a massive fan of the early output of the Human League (Reproduction and Travelogue era) and Heaven 17. I still have my vinyl copies of Penthouse and Pavement, The Luxury Gap, and How Men Are at my disposal. If anyone needs some surprisingly undated anti-capitalistic-fat-cat synthesizer masterpieces, please locate these albums right now.

At any rate, the small contingent of Heaven 17 fans which still linger to this day are well aware that the group still exists with two of its iconic three-man lineup—Glenn Gregory, the Rutger Hauer-esque, smooth-as-hell lead singer; and Martyn Ware, the mustachioed evil synth genius who had an ax to grind with one Phil Oakey (you know, the asymmetrically-haired one from the Human League).

But my question is, what the hell ever happened to my personal favorite member of H17, Ian Craig Marsh?
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The Birthday Cakes, Expansion Pack

By Jemiah Jefferson

Okay, these guys are total freaks. And I think I love them. Don’t be fooled by the cheerful grins on this trio of damn handsome ginger brothers, nor by their love of really dreadful ’80s sweaters and paint-streak-patterned T-shirts: The Birthday Cakes are ready to rock your face off and make you howl at the moon (or at least roll up a really good werewolf mage).
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Eureka! Rooney At The Wonder Ballroom

By Christian Lipski

The Wonder Ballroom, Portland OR
June 24, 2010

A backdrop painted with a California sunset hung at the back of the stage, setting the scene for the music to come. Though not all the bands came with the West Coast sound, the vibe was there anyway.
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Young Doctors In Love, 5 Golden Greats EP

By Less Lee Moore

Toronto five-piece Young Doctors In Love has recently released 5 Golden Greats, an EP that is aptly titled and perfectly suited for sunny days and hot weather. These five tunes are catchy without being repetitive, hefty without being heavy, and unique without being precious.
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Peggy Sue, Fossils And Other Phantoms

By J Howell

Watch the video for “Watchman” and download the song here.

Peggy Sue singer Katy Young recently said of Fossils And Other Phantoms that the main themes of the album are “absences and presences, and the emotional and physical beings that remain after various endings.” This is a break-up record, but fortunately, it’s a damn fine one.

Peggy Sue—composed of Young, co-singer/guitarist Rosa Slade, and drummer Olly Joyce—mine some raw emotional territory on Fossils, and it’s a rather melancholy record. In places, it’s reminiscent of, say, Beth Orton, but with a somewhat more aggressive point of view. While the subject matter may not exactly be fun, and thus some songs may not quite enjoyable as such, the presentation is admirably insightful and interesting.
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