The Unsung Heroes of Krautrock: The Neu! Vinyl Box Set

By Emily Carney

I guess this story begins with Kraftwerk, where a lot of musical stories begin—and end. I’ve been obsessed with Kraftwerk since I was a kid—I can remember having the Bavarian picnic scene from Trans-Europa Express on my wall for years—but I hadn’t heard their “Krautrock” efforts until quite recently (well, in the last decade). After getting into the first two Kraftwerk records, I became curious about Neu!, who actually began as an offshoot of Kraftwerk circa 1971.
Continue reading ‘The Unsung Heroes of Krautrock: The Neu! Vinyl Box Set’

Concrete Blonde, Bloodletting 20th Anniversary Edition

By Noreen Sobczyk

Did you ever notice that Johnette Napolitano rarely, if ever, gets mentioned in those Top Women of Rock lists? Even if Concrete Blonde never had a good song on any album besides Bloodletting (which, rest assured they did), this album alone is enough to put her in the Top 20. Napolitano has the swagger, songwriting talent, and the vocal ability to assure her space as, perhaps not the Queen of Rock, but as a high-ranking member of the royal court.

On Bloodletting, Napolitano shows her vulnerability, desires, and strengths in spades on classic songs like the dysfunctional love song “Joey” (the band’s biggest commercial success); “Tomorrow Wendy” (a cover of the heartbreaking Andy Prieboy song about a friend dying from AIDS); and “Bloodletting (The Vampire Song);” one of the best vampire songs ever written, arguably second only to Bauhaus’ “Bela Lugosi’s Dead.”
Continue reading ‘Concrete Blonde, Bloodletting 20th Anniversary Edition’

Top Five Hilarious American Commercials (As Of RIGHT NOW!)

By Ann Clarke

I hate most commercials. Probably 99 percent of them! I especially hate commercials with those goddamned whining wuss-bags playing an acoustic guitar, or a whispery girl with a ukulele. Fuck that bullshit!

In the midst of having to suffer through that torture, I noticed a few diamonds in the roughage. . . and let me just say these are brilliant, and whoever came up with these advertising concepts has my unyielding respect for going against the current shitty trends in commercialism.
Continue reading ‘Top Five Hilarious American Commercials (As Of RIGHT NOW!)’

Japanese Gum, Hey Folks! Nevermind, We Are All Falling Down!

By Hanna

Japanese Gum are an Italian experimental music duo (based in Genova). Hey Folks! Nevermind, We Are All Falling Down! is their first full-length album, consisting of songs previously released on EPs and some new songs.
Continue reading ‘Japanese Gum, Hey Folks! Nevermind, We Are All Falling Down!‘

San Diego Comic-Con Diary, Day Four

By Christian Lipski

Read:
Day One’s Diary
Day Two’s Diary
Day Three’s Diary

And then there was the last day. We eventually got up and packed our bags for checkout, and made our way to the convention floor for our last visit. Since it’s the last day and exhibitors want to ship as little as possible back home, there are rampant sales and many attendees only buy Sunday tickets.

Mile High Comics put their entire stock on sale for 50% off, for example. Independent publishers were willing to make deals, for the most part.The show closes at 5 p.m. as well, so the action in the convention center was tinged with both sadness and anxiety.
Continue reading ‘San Diego Comic-Con Diary, Day Four’

San Diego Comic-Con Diary, Day Three

By Christian Lipski

Read:
Day One’s Diary
Day Two’s Diary

After going to bed sometime after 1 a.,m. the night before (late dinner), Saturday morning was pretty much a wash. I had a press conference for Futurama at 11:30 a.m., so I took off for the convention center. The room was about two-thirds full, and we all shifted about until the event began.

Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, Billy West, Maurice LeMarche, and Lauren Tom filed in to have their pictures taken before ascending the dais. They apologized for the absence of the voice of Bender, John Dimaggio, but it was explained that “Dimaggio” was Italian for “running late.” He did show up presently, and the conference began.
Continue reading ‘San Diego Comic-Con Diary, Day Three’

San Diego Comic-Con 2010 Diary, Day Two

By Christian Lipski

Read:
Day One’s Diary

By the second day I feel much less pressure; I’ve already made a day’s worth of forays into the wilds, and though I haven’t seen nearly all of what there is, I have a good sense of the floor’s layout and content. I also know that it’s nearly useless to try to get into large sessions, since the amount of time you need to devote to the line-waiting is better spent wandering the floor below.
Continue reading ‘San Diego Comic-Con 2010 Diary, Day Two’

San Diego Comic-Con 2010 Diary, Day One

By Christian Lipski

Wednesday night was a long night of travel, so we didn’t get to sleep until 1 a.m. Upon rising at seven, I cursed the medium of the sequential image as we struggled to get ready.

We go to the parking garage at 10:30, and walked the mile to the Convention Center. You know you’re getting close when you see the TRON banner start to appear on lampposts, and even a replica of Flynn’s arcade from the movie. The amount of people in costume increased, and so did the amount of people handing out flyers and laminated cards and magazines. These last items tended to create a kind of carpet on the sidewalks that led to the doors of San Diego Comic-Con.
Continue reading ‘San Diego Comic-Con 2010 Diary, Day One’

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.
Continue reading ‘Sextreme Ball 2010: My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult/Lords Of Acid’

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.
Continue reading ‘The Futurebirds, Hampton’s Lullaby‘