Ex-Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker may have declared that “shit floats” in his 2006 song “Running the World”, but Montreal garage rockers The Spaceshits debated the anti-gravity tendencies of fecal matter most forcefully. Well, that was until the trashing, spastic rock ensemble fell apart with a dramatic death rattle after one too many violent, confrontational gigs. […]
On the relatively short list of overweight, hairy guys who have stumbled their way into hardened hipster hearts with jarring blends of acidic beats beneath screeching jibber-jabber, Darren Keen falls a distant third. Under the name The Show Is the Rainbow, Keen’s knockoff routine of fake blood, half-nude antics, and projection screen imagery are so […]
Electro-fused ensemble Simian was at its best when the foursome’s melodies were propelled by James Ford’s cannon-like drums and James Anthony Shaw’s rigid keyboards on songs such as “Grey”, “LA Breeze”, and “Little Black Gun”. So when the band fizzled in 2005, it was all too appropriate that those key members would resurface months later […]
It’s not that Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos is a compelling frontman because he’s slyly good-looking. Or that his booming voice sounds devilishly seductive throughout his band’s three excellently danceable LPs. Or that his love of skinny ties and fitted jeans leave him impeccably dressed. Or that he’s incredibly well read, with a knack for discussing […]
At its core, there’s something inherently fanatic about tribute bands. A performer had been so inspirational that striking up a career playing anything but his or her music somehow cannot suffice. There’s an acknowledgment that tribute bands make, saying their own songwriting chops never will compare to the act to which they pay homage. Only […]
As an actor, Will Oldham has portrayed a vanishing demolition-derby driver, a post-graduate townie reluctant of adulthood, and a former Alaskan construction worker. But his most consistent persona has been as Bonnie “Prince” Billy, the pseudonym under which he has consistently released his warbling, folksy tales of Americana upbringings since 1998. Before assuming that role […]
As a member of The Jesus and Mary Chain, drummer Bobby Gillespie split time in the early ’80s between the legendary fuzzy psychedelic noise act and his own group Primal Scream. But when forced by fellow Chain links to choose between joining the group completely and his own side project, Gillespie opted to launch Primal […]
As one of the first breakout artists of the U.K. warehouse scene, Goldie (born Clifford Joseph Price) helped put a face to the emerging early ’90s jungle and drum & bass movements. Although his beats were undeniably innovative, it was his villainous love of gold — with corresponding gold teeth and hair — that vaulted […]
With more than 2.5 million residents, Brooklyn isn’t just a little neighborhood in New York. As the largest of NYC’s five famed boroughs, its population all but surpasses that of the country of Jamaica. Should it ever choose to divorce itself from New York City proper, Brooklyn would become the fourth-largest city in the United […]
From the outside, Spillers Records doesn’t look much different than any other record store. The windows of the Cardiff, Wales establishment are checkered with album covers. Super Furry Animals. Stereophonics. Feeder. Tom Jones. Manic Street Preachers. John Cale. Funeral For a Friend. Dave Edmunds. Duffy. The Pooh Sticks. The acts don’t have to be Welsh, […]