Arrested Development (the TV show) had one of its best lines in mid-2004, when perennial alcoholic Lindsay Fünke made this offhand remark about fashion: “It’s the 21st century. We should be dressing like the ’80s.” It was ironic at the time, but now, at the tail end of 2009, after surviving an age that resurrected high-waisted jeans, we’ve come to realize she was dead right. Fashion wasn’t the only thing the first decade of the 21st century lifted wholesale from the ’80s.
Presented here are five blatant examples of bands who have begged, borrowed, or stolen from their ’80s predecessors. In the comments, let us know what ’90s sounds will see a revival in the next decade. We’re putting our money on grunge and Limp Bizkit-style nu metal.
Read More »
Spank Rock, Photo credit: Thomas Meggs
Last Saturday Flavorpill headed down to Coney Island to check out the Village Voice’s annual Siren Festival, which was headlined by ’90s alt heroes Built to Spill. It was a long, beer-fueled day, but as the photos in our image gallery suggest, solid sets by Spank Rock, Grand Duchy, Japandroids, Future of the Left, Frightened Rabbits, Micachu & the Shapes, and The Raveonettes (who we interviewed last week) made the mild sunburn well worth it. Drop a comment if you were there too, and let us know who you think stole the show.
Since breaking on to the scene in 2001 at Denmark’s SPOT Festival, the Raveonettes have hooked fans with a haunting sound that blends modern sensibilities with vintage garage rock. Rolling Stone editor David Fricke is the fairy godmother in their indie rock Cinderella story: A stunning review of their festival debut brought record deals and now, three albums later, Sune Rose Wagner [guitar, instruments, vocals] and Sharin Foo [bass, guitar and vocals] are prepping for their upcoming October release, In and Out of Control. We hopped on the phone with Wagner, who was fresh from the studio in Copenhagen, about the band’s latest efforts. Read More »
This week, we came across a post on the Guardian‘s music blog entitled Reader Recommended: Songs named after Towns. Inspired, we decided to compile our own list of songs named after US towns. Gosh, we’re clever. Although the list could have included hundreds of tunes, we had to be selective — you will not find overplayed tracks like “New York, New York” and “Viva Las Vegas” on this list. Sorry. As always, feel free to add to our list in the comments. Read More »
OK, we’ll admit that a few weeks back we posted an item that was anti-holiday music. Maybe we were having a bad day. Or maybe it was the fact that a cheeky Flavorpill staffer had decided to put on the Chipmunk’s Christmas album. But over the past few days we’ve come across some new (and free!) indie gems that it would be positively Scrooge-like not to share with you guys. Check ‘em out after the jump and leave us links to any songs you’ve found in the comments please.
Read More »
