By Less Lee Moore
A few weeks ago, Popshifter contributor Millie De Chirico revealed to me the disturbing and compelling nature of Three Frames.
The site is pretty self-explanatory: three consecutive frames of a film are transformed into a looping, animated GIF. If you think that sounds boring, then you haven’t looked at the site.
Continue reading ‘Three Frames’
By Less Lee Moore
Utne Reader recently discussed an ISO50 blog post on ways to get over creativity block. Not just writer’s block, mind you, but the inability to create.
This suggestion from Tom Muller caught my eye:
To be honest, I rarely get stuck in a creative rut, there’s more than enough ideas swirling around in my head, its [sic] just a matter of priorities and time.
And there’s the rub. How in the world do I choose from the zillion paths in front of me, all leading me towards creating something?
Continue reading ‘Attacking Non-Creativity With Creativity’
By Stuart Myerburg
Imagine Philip Glass recording a symphony with Nitzer Ebb, Nine Inch Nails, and Depeche Mode and you have some idea of the singularly daring sound created by These New Puritans on their second album, Hidden.
Frontman and principal songwriter Jack Barnett dubs it a “hybrid,” which is a perfect description of the aggressive, synth-based songs his band couples with classical strings and woodwinds.
Continue reading ‘These New Puritans, Hidden‘
By Megashaun
Desktop is a combination of the creative forces of two men: Keith Thompson (from Electric Six and Johnny Headband) and Zach Curd (from Suburban Sprawl Music’s The Pop Project). When I first discovered the act several months ago, it was mainly with the intention of reviewing their all-too-short debut EP. At only three songs in length, it can’t possibly be difficult to describe them adequately.
But that’s exactly the position I found myself in. Having heard the EP hundreds of times now, I’m still at a loss to talk about it with adjectives other than “kick-ass,” “amazing,” and “awesome.”
Continue reading ‘Desktop EP’
By Jemiah Jefferson
The newest original-material release from Toronto’s ambassadors of brainy party rock shows the four members of Sloan further exploring their masterful sound with these five tracks, one from each member (with an additional track from the prolific Chris Murphy).
Continue reading ‘Sloan, Hit & Run (EP)’
By Christian Lipski
Backspace, Portland OR
February 16, 2010
Although they are from my home base of Portland Oregon, I first heard about Throwback Suburbia from Indiana resident Gidget Bates, a DJ for Woody Radio. They’re her favorite modern band, and they’re neighbors of mine, so I went to see them at local venue Backspace.
Continue reading ‘Embracing Pop: Throwback Suburbia’
By J Howell
Find out how to win a copy of Dreamin’ Man Live ’92 at the end of this article! The contest has now ended.
In short: this record is achingly beautiful. Buy it.
It’s beyond the scope of this review to really go into why Neil Young is, well, Neil Young, and I’m not going to indulge in a long string of superlatives here.
Continue reading ‘Neil Young, Dreamin’ Man Live ’92‘
By J Howell
The moniker “Dex Romweber Duo” is a little misleading on Ruins of Berlin, a record by a band ostensibly consisting of former Flat Duo Jet Romweber and his sister Sara on drums. Ten of the 14 tracks feature at least one other person, though the final track is Dex solo.
Continue reading ‘Dex Romweber Duo, Ruins Of Berlin‘
By Matt Keeley
The Gramercy Theatre, New York NY
February 13, 2010
After seeing POLYSICS for the first time in 2003, I said this:
POLYSICS are pretty much the best band in the universe. POLYSICS are way better than your favorite band. This holds true even if POLYSICS are your favorite band. They’re JUST THAT GOOD.
—Wikia Music, “POLYSICS OR DIE!!! POLYSICS”
By Christian Lipski
In every genre of art, there evolve solidified scenes, where well-defined rules force participants to toe the line and conform, even if the theme itself is nonconformity. And there are, logically, points when those scenes lose their power to enclose, and you suddenly begin to see variety where there once was only similarity. At this point, there are usually no existing words to define the new forms, except to identify what scene they were or are not a part of.
Continue reading ‘Johnny Action Figure, Good Eye‘