// Category Archive for: Music

Air, Love 2

By Emily Carney

Gainsbourg (both Papa Serge and daughter Charlotte), Brel, Françoise Hardy, Jane Birkin, Dalida: these are all various names in French Pop that have made a massive impact even in the Anglo-Saxon world of music. Unfortunately in the United States, most French music is consigned to the “World Music” bin in record stores, guaranteeing that most of the record-buying populace won’t hear of it.

One notable exception is the French duo Air, comprised of Nicholas Godin and Jean-Benôit Dunckel (whose side project called Darkel yielded the lovely 2006 song, “At the End of the Sky”). This band has truly earned its place in the canon of French Pop.
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These Freaks We’re Talking About: Pulp

By Less Lee Moore

While many music fans were taking sides in the media-fabricated battle of the bands between Blur and Oasis in the early ’90s, there was one band who would eventually turn that war into a stalemate: Pulp.
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Otis Redding, The Best: See & Hear

By Adam McIntyre

A new release of a refreshingly different kind, Otis Redding: Respect Live 1967 is the bonus DVD accompanying Shout Factory’s new best-of Otis Redding CD. Despite being presented sort of strangely, the DVD of a pair of performances from 1967 is mandatory viewing for a vast cross-section of music lovers.
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Electric Six “Rocks Ass” At Dante’s

Dick Valentine

By Christian Lipski
Photos by Deborah Lipski

Dante’s, Portland OR
November 13, 2009
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No More Heroes: Happy Mondays/Psychedelic Furs

By Emily Carney

The Ritz, Ybor City (Tampa) FL
September 29, 2009

When I discovered that the Happy Mondays were coming to town (shortly after the Gogol Bordello War of 2009), I was beyond psyched. I was a massive fan of this band in the early 1990s. While my fellow middle-school-aged peers in Florida were jamming along to the sounds of Stevie B. and Taylor Dayne, my musical world was fully entrenched in “Madchester”—with bands like the Stone Roses, the Inspiral Carpets, and of course, the Mondays. So one can imagine my excitement as I commuted an hour away from my apartment in St. Petersburg, Florida, to see the band; I even momentarily forgot that the Psychedelic Furs were also on the bill that evening.
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The Flaming Lips, Embryonic

By Adam McIntyre

Nothing makes me sicker than hype, and people hyping things up unnecessarily, so I’m going to make this review as short as possible because there is about to be a tsunami of nauseating hype surrounding the new Flaming Lips album, Embryonic.
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Sync Diary: Music, Movies, Madness!

By John Lane

Dark Side of the Rainbow (also known as Dark Side of Oz or The Wizard of Floyd) refers to the pairing of the 1973 Pink Floyd music album The Dark Side of the Moon with the visual portion of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. This produces moments where the film and the album appear to correspond with each other.
—“Dark Side of the Rainbow,” Wikipedia

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Top Five Alternative Holiday Songs

By Lisa Anderson

Carols are an inevitable part of the holiday season. Most of us have carols, whether sacred or secular, that we love, and others that we hate. It’s not unusual to end up sick of all of them by the end of the season, either—especially for someone who works in retail. I’ve decided to make a list of five of my favorite contemporary holiday songs. They all take a fresher and more realistic view of the season, as well as not being so overplayed that they barely register.
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I’m A Writer, Not A Fighter: The Secret Cult Of Gilbert O’Sullivan

By Emily Carney

Most music fans probably associate Gilbert O’Sullivan with a song called “Alone Again” by Biz Markie from Biz’s 1991 album I Need A Haircut. Markie sampled Gilbert’s 1972 hit, “Alone Again (Naturally),” without securing the necessary copyright clearance to sample the song; O’Sullivan famously sued the living shit out of Markie, and set the legal precedent that all samples had to be cleared with record labels prior to using them. (The Jams/KLF would run into a similar issue when they flagrantly —and hilariously—sampled “Dancing Queen” by ABBA, who were clearly pissed).

While I like Biz Markie, I can safely and proudly announce that I am a bigger fan of Mr. Gilbert O’Sullivan. While many may dismiss his music as early 1970s AM-radio schlock, I see O’Sullivan as the forerunner of singer-songwriters such as Morrissey and Orange Juice’s Edwyn Collins. He truly deserves to have a secret cult following—his music’s appeal transcends mere “hipster-y” trends and inane revivals. (Remember when Tony Bennett did a song with Bad Religion? What the fuck?)
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Morphine, At Your Service

By Noreen Sobczyk

Morphine’s music is like a steamy, illicit affair in a slightly dodgy hotel room. It’s dark and smoky and might take you someplace you oughtn’t go, but you are compelled to travel none the less.
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