The Occupy movement is famous for welcoming anyone who wants to join. But you can’t help but wonder if, for campers who’ve endured taunts and snow and pepper spray, some musical guests are more welcome than others. Yes, it’s a thrill to see Philip Glass using the people’s mic at Lincoln Center, but too many of the celebrities who visit OWS seem (at the risk of being uncharitable) to be using its fame for their own good instead of vice-versa. One wonders, for instance, how many impassioned discussions of banking regulations and foreclosure statistics were ever interrupted by the comment, “You know who I’d love to hear right now? Third Eye Blind.”
With that in mind, we offer ten dream concerts for OWS — double bills of music that’s relevant and rousing, from artists (unlike these movement-friendly newcomers) with enough name recognition to draw both fans and media attention to Zuccotti Park, or anywhere else the 99 percent are trying to make themselves heard. Read More »
This week brings fresh tracks from bigwigs like the Arcade Fire and Kele Okereke of Bloc Party, as well as familiar indie favorites such as Deerhunter and Best Coast. And, as per usual, we’ve also showcased a slew of great, new bands that are impatiently waiting to top your summer queue (Active Child, First Rate People). The bounty abounds! Be sure to Right Click + Save As your next ten after the cut.
This week marks our 30th mixtape. We may not be getting all “XXX,” Roman-style, but we have managed to narrow the week’s choicest mp3s down to our ten favorites. Keep your eyes peeled for new material from the Arcade Fire, Maximum Balloon (Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio), and some long-lost cousins of Phoenix. Right Click + Save As individual songs, or scroll to the bottom to get the entire mixtape, after the jump.
This week’s mix features some names we’ve mentioned before, including Mystery Jets and Alex Winston. But the purpose of these revisits is not just to listen to these reliably brilliant acts, but to showcase their dizzying range. Also look out for new tracks by the Arcade Fire and Au Revoir Simone, as well as a promising solo debut by New Pornographers’ singer-pianist Kathryn Calder. Don’t forget to Right Click + Save As the next ten at your own pace or scroll to the bottom to download the entire mixtape after the jump.
The concept behind Peter Gabriel’s forthcoming album Scratch My Back is simple: The artist records his favorite tracks by everyone from David Bowie to Radiohead to The Magnetic Fields, and the musicians he has selected complete the song swap by covering a selection from Gabriel’s extensive songbook.
The list we’ve assembled here was inspired by a different kind of reciprocity — that is, of indie rockers showing appreciation for their own kind. So far, only one of these tributes has been mutual but that isn’t to say that we shouldn’t keep our fingers crossed for more. After the jump, check out ten indie acts covering 10 other indie acts’ singles. We think you’ll agree that imitation is the highest form of flattery.
It’s highly unlikely that Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan envisioned running a label twenty years after founding Merge Records; after all, they “never [even] had a five year plan.” [emphasis added] But that’s what they’ve found themselves doing. And it just so happens that what began “as a lark” is now one of the most successful labels in the country.
Indeed “Merge’s slow and steady rise from Laura’s bedroom to the Billboard Top Ten is, in many ways, an object lesson in what went wrong with the major labels.” And John Cook’s excellent chronicle of the rise, Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records, the Indie Label That Got Big and Stayed Small, can be considered an object lesson in what goes right when someone truly digs the music. But Ballance and McCaughan aren’t just avid fans, of course; they’re players with a fan base of their very own. In fact, their band Superchunk is both a large part of Merge’s success and one of the most influential indie bands ever. Read More »
, can be considered an object lesson in what goes right when someone truly digs the music. But Ballance and McCaughan aren’t just avid fans, of course; they’re players with a fan base of their very own. In fact, their band Superchunk is both a large part of Merge’s success and one of the most influential indie bands ever. 
