With every new cultural trend, a counter-trend inevitably evolves to rebel against it. We are living in an era when the most popular music is beaten to a shiny, shiny Auto-Tuned pulp. It is no surprise, then, that many of those making music outside the mainstream have shifted into reverse and record on old, obscure equipment that submerges the music in a bath of clipped sound and fuzzy distortion. Some of these artists choose lo-fi for practical reasons -– studio time is expensive. But in this day of cheap recording equipment and open-source software, it’s not hard to sound professional, even recording out of a bedroom. More and more artists are choosing lo-fi as an artistic statement, and using its limitations to their advantage.
However, there comes a time in most lo-fi artists’ careers when it makes sense to move on to less fuzzy pastures. This transition can be a difficult one, often diminishing a band’s intimate, retro charm and angering a fanbase dedicated to the old sound. (Dylan going electric, anyone?) But sometimes it works out. After the jump, we’ve complied a list of artists that navigated the passage from lo-fi to hi-fi with grace and ease. We’re not gonna lie: we love the early stuff. But as their production values escalated, their music kept pace, and for many of these artists, their best work is surely still ahead of them.
If you’ve ever wondered what your favorite literary characters might be listening to while they save the world/contemplate existence/get into trouble, or hallucinated a soundtrack to go along with your favorite novels, well, us too. But wonder no more! Here, we sneak a look at the hypothetical iPods of some of literature’s most interesting characters. What would be on the personal playlists of Holden Caulfield or Elizabeth Bennett, Huck Finn or Harry Potter, Tintin or Humbert Humbert? Something revealing, we bet. Or at least something danceable. Read on for a cozy reading soundtrack, character study, or yet another way to emulate your favorite literary hero. This week: Cervantes’ lovable adventurer, Don Quixote.
In an ongoing project, artist Joe Simpson (no, not that Joe Simpson) creates beautifully detailed, near-photorealistic portraits of his favorite musicians. He meets with the musicians, takes their photographs, and then works from the photos to create these amazing oil paintings. At present he has completed about 14 paintings — he aims to create around 30 before the project goes up as a solo exhibition later this year. Click through to see our favorite pieces so far, and for more of Simpson’s beautiful musician portraits and to see a few of his other projects, check out his website.
We are total Gleeks. And while we love hearing top ten hits in four-part harmony every week, our favorite episodes are those that pay tribute to particular pop artists. After the wildly popular Madonna episode (and confirmation of a followup), and in anticipation of tonight’s Lady Gaga spectacular, we started thinking about which indie artists we’d most like to see covered by the McKinley High School Glee Club. Is it so crazy to hope that Puck sports an ironic mustache or Rachel Berry trades in her patterned sweaters for thick-rimmed glasses? We don’t think so.
The winner of our The Indie Rock Coloring Book contest has been announced! It is the beautiful marker coloring to your right. Brought to you by the Canadian nonprofit organization, The Yellow Bird Project, The Indie Rock Coloring Book was inspired by and created in association with indie rockers such as Rilo Kiley, Devendra Banhart, MGMT, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Iron & Wine to name a few. The winner will be receiving a copy of the book and one of The Yellow Bird Project’s indie act designed T-Shirts. Don’t feel bad if you didn’t win, you can still get a copy here! Contest winner and runner-ups after the jump. Read More »
Barry Hogan, you warned us: The schizophrenic lineup that the Flaming Lips curated for 2009′s All Tomorrow’s Parties fest could only have been dreamed up by indie-rock’s favorite acid-damaged elder statesmen. You saw the Lips’ penchant for both the beautiful and the deranged reflected in the juxtaposition: well-mannered indie-folk acts like Iron & Wine and Sufjan Stevens sharing the stage with drone and agro-rock heavyweights like the Melvins, the Jesus Lizard, and Boris. Rounding out the lineup’s highlights were sets from festival favorites like Animal Collective, Deerhoof, and the Flaming Lips themselves, while the Feelies and Suicide gave performances of their respective debut albums in their entirety.
This charity project revives a timeless childhood pursuit, guided by artists including MGMT, Stars, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Iron & Wine.
The Indie Rock Coloring Book is an offering from the Yellow Bird Project, a Canadian nonprofit that sells musician-designed t-shirts, with proceeds going to the artists’ favorite charities. The book features work by illustrator Andy J. Miller, inspired by bands supporting the project. It even includes other activity-book staples, such as a maze and connect-the-dots. Read More »
Last week was a ridiculously big one for music fans for two reasons: Vecktimest and Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. But for those of you wearying of all the Grizzly Bear/Phoenix hullabaloo, Flavorpill’s got a new roundup of lower-profile but equally awesome MP3s, only one of which happens to involve either of the aforementioned artists. (Cut us a break. It’s a remix.) Click through for downloads from our last Viva Radio playlist, and be sure to check back and listen to the show itself — we update every week. Read More »
