// Category Archive for: Music

When You’re Not Excited, You’re Not a Fan: An Interview with Nardwuar the Human Serviette

Interviewed by Less Lee Moore

Because the United States tends to dominate the entertainment industry, frequently one will hear entertainers referred to as another “version” of a well-known American pop culture icon. That’s what makes Vancouver’s Nardwuar the Human Serviette so special. There is no American equivalent. He is unabashedly Canadian.
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Sex, Death, and Philip Michael Thomas: The Five Most Incomprehensible Music Videos of the 1980s (In No Particular Order)

By Emily Carney

You are getting verrrry sleepy. . .

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Tans Are Okay and Love Is The Best: Q & A with Castanets

By J Howell

Over the last couple of years, Castanets has likely seen more time in my CD player than any other single band. I was fortunate enough to meet them in Brighton, England a while back, and then a few months later I hosted them (along with tour mates Shapes & Sizes) when they were in my town. Aside from making some beautiful music, Ray Raposa and the ever-changing cast of Castanets are also great people. This spring, I conducted the following interview via email, in bits and pieces over a few weeks, as time allowed while Ray was traveling.
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The Days of Future-Past

“He had been a tool in their hands, his childhood image had been used as bait to condition him, he had lived up to their expectations, he had played his part. Now he only waited to be liquidated with, somewhere inside him, the memory of a twice-lived fragment of time.”
—From La Jetée, written and directed by Chris Marker, 1962

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The Amsterdam of the South: Todd Rundgren Plays Atlanta

By Adam McIntyre

“You’re the Amsterdam of the South! I’ve never seen so much good green. Bless you for that. Good on ya! And 50 miles outside of town? Squidbillies.”
Todd Rundgren addressing Atlantans at the Variety Playhouse Theater; April 17, 2008
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From Jesus to Micky Dolenz

By Michelle Patterson

In the winter of 1986, I was in the fourth grade, and being raised in a strict Evangelical Christian household. Cable television was off limits, especially the sinful offerings on MTV. Mostly, this was HBO’s fault. HBO, in its early days, was all T & A movies and raunchy comedy specials. One could tune in at any time of the day and see a naked pair of practically any body part.
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Because It’s Real: Q & A with Jont

By J Howell

You may know of Jont from his song, “House of Dreaming” from the soundtrack to The Wedding Crashers. I first met Jont through MySpace two years ago, when he was first entertaining the idea of taking Unlit (explanation below) on the road in the States. It seemed like a beautiful thing to have at my home, so I told him I was in. The Unlit we held here in Kansas City was one of the most amazing, fun things I’ve ever been a part of.
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Hating The Eighties: Frank Tovey and Fad Gadget

By Emily Carney

Frank Tovey

During the first years of the 1980s, electronic music underwent a mutation into synth pop. In the United States, the new synth pop seemed to be represented by two imports from England, namely Gary Numan and the Human League. While Gary Numan specialized in overly serious songs about urban alienation (and aliens!), the Human League shifted their focus from overly serious songs about urban alienation to slick, well-produced hits about guy-girl relationships and “good times.” While both entities have been idolized by fans and musicians (particularly within the last decade), another pioneer of electronic music has been overlooked, even posthumously.

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Play Me I’m Sick

By Michelle Patterson

Sunday is the day that I clean: when I secure my ear-buds into my ears, put my iPod into shuffle mode to zone out the surroundings, and just focus on the tasks at hand. Dust bunnies be damned! Suddenly, a song begins and I feel nauseated. I just want to forget about cleaning and focus on how to get the room to stop spinning. (more…)

Crush Encounters of the Pre-Pubescent Kind

By Ann Clarke

We all had crushes as kids. My crushes changed as I aged, mostly because my tastes evolved, or the crushes in question began to look horrible with age. The strange picks I will highlight below, however, only cover the years before puberty.
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