I have a problem with Coldplay. It’s not that they suck; they really don’t suck. They’re clearly talented musicians, and Chris Martin — as he proved all those centuries ago with “Yellow” — is clearly a talented singer. What bothers me is not that Coldplay sucks, but that their records suck. I don’t understand why […]
Tag Archives: Music
New Red State Soundsystem single – “Entropy”
The new Red State Soundsystem single, “Entropy”, was inspired by Neil Gaiman and Mike Carey’s take on the character of Lucifer in DC’s Vertigo comics line (specifically Gaiman’s Sandman and Carey’s Lucifer). It’s also a bit of an experimental track. The vocal treatments were achieved by tripling the lead vocal, pitch-shifting it, and doing some other […]
Tully Goes Down To The Docks
So, I’ve released a new track for sale on Bandcamp, entitled “Tully Goes Down To The Docks”. It’s priced at a minimum of $1.00, but you can pay whatever you think it’s worth. This piece (arranged for toy piano and strings with some digital effects) is one of my generative pieces, meaning it’s entirely composed […]
Why cloud storage for music is really an opportunity for labels
As anybody who knows me knows, I am profoundly ambiguous about the effects of the network on the music industry — particularly the independent bits of it, such as artists (like myself) who fund, produce and distribute their own music without the benefit of big labels. However, I am completely unambiguous about the recent explosion […]
The Indelicates – David Koresh Superstar
I’ve given up trying to explain The Indelicates to people, but if you put me against a wall and put a gun in my mouth and told me to describe them, I’d say “Mrrgh mrrff wgggffh fggghh”. Then, when you took the gun out of my mouth, I’d tell you that The Indelicates are like […]
The New Record
I sat down and talked with Aaron Archer (my extremely talented guitarist and friend) about the next Red State Soundsystem record (the next LP, not the Sophia Sessions EP of acoustic versions of Ghosts In A Burning City songs that I’m recording right now), and what it’s going to sound like. I told him I wanted […]
“Heroes” « Pushing Ahead of the Dame
There’s a lassitude, an echoing, fading grandeur, in the sound of “Heroes”: its dragging beat; its backdrop of squalls and what sound like wayward radio signals; its lyric, set at the continent’s scarred heart; Bowie’s extravagant, metal-edged vocal; Robert Fripp’s feedback ostinato. “Heroes” is Bowie at his most empathic and at his most desperate, a […]
Music For Writing Desks
I’m currently working on a nasty horror short story for my friend Jarret Keene’s upcoming anthology of Las Vegas horror stories. When I write, I listen to music; generally instrumental stuff. When I’m doing horror, I tend to listen to a lot of post-rock stuff like Mogwai (the track “Auto Rock” being a favorite), as […]
A Pitchfork Band Review: Crystal Wolf Loves Foxes Too
As anybody who’s ever heard a musical note knows, tiny Muenster, Texas (pop. 1566) has become the new indie hotbed. Muenster bands such as Punky Brewster Soundsystem and Lars And His Horse People were the bands to watch at SxSW this year, not to mention Helsinki’s IceeBalls Music Showcase and Rumpster Magazine’s Provo-based RumpFest. Raconteurs […]
I Like This Band
I’ve written a tiny web app called “I Like This Band” that allows you to enter a band’s name in a search form and get a random list of 20 similar bands. Click on any band and you get bands similar to that band, or click on the “Google ’em” link to Google the band. […]