Summer officially arrives this week, bringing with it afternoons in the park and rooftop parties and beaches. The thing is, though, every summer needs a soundtrack, and while every year there seems to be a rush to anoint a certain tune The Song of the Summer™, Flavorwire decided to go one better and choose a quintessential summer album for every one of the past 50 years, as something of a sequel to last month’s list of the 50 albums you need to own, 1963-2013. Click through and get… Read More
The Clash
Great Musicians on the Concerts That Inspired Them to Make Music
If you aren’t already, it’s time to follow The Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle on Tumblr — his blog is as witty and entertaining as one might expect, and he updates it fairly frequently. In particular, it was interesting to see him recently post a photo of a very young version of himself at a Nick Cave show. It turns out he’s quite the Cave fan, and that seeing The Bad Seeds play on the tour in question was quite the formative experience on both Darnielle himself and on his nascent musical project. He’s not the first musician to be inspired to form a band after seeing a hero play live, of course — so here are some other recollections of great musical… Read More
The 50 Albums Everyone Needs to Own, 1963-2013
No one buys albums anymore, goes the music industry truism. And yet, for all that the format’s commercial viability may or may not be on the wane, sitting and listening to a great album from start to finish is one of the greatest pleasures that music can bring. Flavorwire recently got to thinking about how one might build a record collection if you really only did buy one record a year. So here’s the result of our thought exercise: 50 albums you really should own, one a year from 1963 until the present… Read More
10 Musical Preferences That Might Get You Arrested (Or Killed)
If you’re like us, you probably couldn’t quite stifle a rueful sigh at the news earlier this week that a woman in Colorado was arrested for assaulting her boyfriend after he refused to stop blasting Macklemore’s “Thrift Shop” on the stereo. It seems there’ve been several such reports of late, and while there’s nothing funny about domestic assault, the whole thing did get us thinking about songs that have managed to get their fans into hot water. We decided to investigate further, and came up with this selection of music that has landed fans in trouble in various amusing, ridiculous, and/or depressing ways. … Read More
Why The Clash Really Were The Only Band That Mattered — To Me
It’s always a strange thing to get upset about the death of someone you don’t know personally, but I remember exactly how I felt when I heard that Joe Strummer had died of a heart attack at just 50, a decade ago today. It wasn’t a melodramatic, teeth-gnashing kind of feeling — it was more like a quiet hollowness, a sadness that a person who’d been an indirect but significant influence on my life was no longer on this earth. As we get older we tend to forget how profoundly art — and, especially, music — affects us when we’re young. So if you’ll permit a bit of personal reminiscence here, dear readers, here’s why Joe Strummer and the Clash really were the only band that mattered to me for a while in my life, and are part of the reason why I’m sitting here writing this for Flavorwire, 10 years after Strummer passed away. … Read More
10 Great Anti-Consumerist Anthems for Buy Nothing Day
As we noted on Wednesday when we discussed Black Friday and its associated Record Store Day releases, we’re not such big fans of the whole getting-up-early-to-battle-other-shoppers-for-discounted-flat-screen-TVs idea that comes with the day after Thanksgiving. In fact, we’re much more in favor of the inverse Buy Nothing Day concept, and not just because we loathe shopping at the best of times and thus buying nothing isn’t exactly a stretch for us. As such, we thought we’d get into the non-spirit of the day with some of our favorite anti-consumerist anthems. … Read More
A Brief History of Hilariously Inappropriate Campaign Songs
It’s Election Day, and really there’s not a great deal more we can say here beyond that we hope you all get out and exercise your right to vote. (And, y’know, don’t fuck it up.) God only knows what sort of a world we’ll be waking up in once all the counting is done, but if nothing else, it means the election hoopla will be over for another four years. As ever, we’ve endured rather than enjoyed the endless campaigning that election year brings, but if nothing else, the music chosen by this year’s candidates has provided its usual comedy value. So to soundtrack your voting efforts, here’s a selection of hilariously inappropriate campaign songs from over the years — honestly, when will politicians learn to start listening to the lyrics? (We also hope that everyone reading this in NYC stops by Le Poisson Rouge on Bleecker St. for our Lunch Break party today, at which LCD Soundsystem’s Pat Mahoney will be spinning precisely none of these songs.) … Read More
10 Bands That Changed the Sound That Made Them Famous
This week’s most notable release has been Fragrant World, the curiously titled new album from Yeasayer, which came across our desk a couple of weeks back and has been on occasional rotation at Flavorpill central since. Our impressions of the record are that it sounds basically like its predecessor, 2010′s Odd Blood, and thus nothing like the band’s debut, 2007′s All Hour Cymbals. Given the acclaim that their debut received, it’s curious and rather disappointing that Yeasayer have moved away from its wide-eyed eclecticism toward a more conventional sound. Still, they’re hardly the first band to change the sound that brought them to the public’s attention — we’ve put together a selection for your reading delectation after the jump. … Read More
10 of the Best Political Songs You’ll Ever Hear
Last week we published a list of what we considered to be some of the worst political songs ever — the trite, the mawkish, the hopelessly naïve. Predictably enough, the feature generated plenty of comment section debate, including one call for a corresponding list of good political songs. We actually ran a feature a while back about good 21st-century political anthems, but still, your wish is our command — so without doubling up any, here’s a selection of songs we consider to be as moving and effective as those other songs are banal and ineffective. Your comments are, as ever, welcome. … Read More
15 Unusual and Amazing Hostels Around the World
The word “hostel” doesn’t usually inspire positive thoughts, but not all boarding houses are boxy, dreary, or terrifying to shower in. Traveling cheap doesn’t have to be a regretful experience, which is why we’ve traveled far and wide for you, searching for incredibly designed and unique accommodations around the world. These hostels offer amazing surroundings and experiences, while still catering to the budget conscious and those looking for sociable vacation adventures. From mountains and treetops, to haunted castles and art-friendly communes, check out our list of unconventional hostels past the break, and mention your personal favorites in the comments below. … Read More
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