Earlier this week, we had the privilege of hearing the new Atlas Sound record. Our professional opinion thus far is that the album is really good, and it got us thinking about how much more we like Bradford Cox’s solo project than his work with Deerhunter. Anyway, this in turn got us thinking about other cases where we’ve enjoyed a musician’s side project more than their “real” band. We’ve pulled together a selection of our favorites after the jump, and for these purposes, we’re calling anything formed while the musician was still in their former band a side project (so Sebadoh count, but a band like, say, New Order doesn’t). Anyway, as ever, we’d love to hear your suggestions.
The first album from Mister Heavenly, Out of Love, officially dropped this week, heralding the official arrival of Sup Pop’s newest indie rock supergroup. Now, though a supergroup, especially in the obsessive fan atmosphere of indie rock, always sounds like a good idea — take four musicians from great bands and they’re obviously make a great band, right? Right — they can run the gamut from wonderful to acceptable to underwhelming to just plain bad. However, since we’ve been digging Mister Heavenly’s new release these past few days, we’ve been inspired to chronicle some of the best indie rock all-star teams in recent history, from the very large and very famous to the more obscure. Click through to see some of our favorites, and let us know which of yours we’ve missed in the comments.
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.
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. Last week we heard a snippet of Humbert Humbert’s musical tastes, so just to be fair, we thought we’d investigate the other side of the coin. This week: Dolores Haze, better known as Lolita herself.
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.
With echoes of the Postal Service, Sufjan Stevens, and Le Loup, Queens-based dream poppers Freelance Whales layer dance beats beneath hazy melodies.
Combining more traditional instruments with harmonium, banjo, and glockenspiel, the quintet’s quirky approach might read like an indie-rock throwback — but its blend of delicacy and sounds bordering on the animal-like keep it current. Following an initial self-release, Freelance Whales’ debut LP, Weathervanes, is out this week on Frenchkiss/Mom + Pop Records.
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.
1. Natalie Portman has been tapped to play Jane Foster in Marvel’s upcoming Thor movie, directed by Kenneth Branagh.
2. Megan Fox was once a lowly extra in Bad Boys 2. And there’s a video to prove it.
3. What would it sound like if The Postal Service went postal? A scary “Christian scream-core” band called Confide.
4. Thanks to a new 3-year contract, Ryan Seacrest is now making a truly obscene amount of money for hosting American Idol.
5. Andy Rooney is at it again… and this time he’s going off about melons.
