music – Page 25 – Vol. 1 Brooklyn

Ministry/Faith No More – April 4, 1986: An Excerpt from “No Slam Dancing No Stage Diving No Spikes”

February 26, 2014 No Comments

Today, we are pleased to have an excerpt from No Slam Dancing No Stage Diving No Spikes, Amy Yates Wuelfing and Steven DiLodovico’s oral history of Trenton’s City Gardens. Specifically, it’s about a time in the mid-80s when two now-beloved bands–Ministry and Faith No More–shared the same bill one April evening. All did not end happily: synthesizers were destroyed, enemies were made, and a member of Judge makes an appearance. Read on for the whole story. We’ll be hosting the book’s […]

music, Style

Naomi Yang and Gary Graham Visualize a Molly Drake Song

February 25, 2014 No Comments

Late last year, Ba Da Bing! released an album collecting songs recorded by one Molly Drake. You might know her as mother to Nick; however, the music that she made is powerful in its own right, and suggests that the younger Drake did not have a monopoly on the emotionally harrowing music heard on the likes of Five Leaves Left. (The BBC has more on this album’s genesis.) And now, designer Gary Graham and photographer/musician/Exact Change co-publisher Naomi Yang have made […]

music

Listening to Glenn Branca on a Friday Afternoon

February 21, 2014 No Comments

Living in New York lately has involved plenty of encounters with things that loom: by which I mean the weather we’ve had for the past few weeks. Even more specifically, precipitation, along with massive waves of cold. Maybe it’s time to listen to some music that taps into that deeply elemental sensibility we’re becoming increasingly familiar with. Thus: Glenn Branca. The Free Music Archive has his excellent 2011 set from the Primavera Sound Festival, and it’s ideal music for today. […]

Band Booking, music

Band Booking: Reading About Jung and American Legends with The Casket Girls

February 12, 2014 No Comments

Savannah’s The Casket Girls play hypnotic, hallucinatory pop music. Their new album True Love Kills the Fairy Tale moves from ethereal to booming and back again, hitting the right pop-song beats but never letting the listener get too complacement. In advance of a pair of shows in New York next week, I checked in with members Phaedra Greene, Elsa Greene, and Ryan Graveface to learn about the group’s history, their use of the studio, and more.

Featured, Interviews, music

Songs Played A Million Different Ways: Talking Power Pop With Radiator Hospital

February 4, 2014 No Comments

Those with a fondness for smart, energetic pop songs would do well to check out the music made by Radiator Hospital. Last year’s Something Wild was one of my favorite albums of the year, and they’re equally at home in the live setting. Since then, Radiator Hospital has released the more stripped-down Mall of America; Total Request, a split with Kyle Kaos, is Radiator Hospital’s latest. I checked in with Sam Cook-Parrott via email to discuss arrangements, music distribution, and his power pop roots.

Books, Events, music

Announcing “No Slam Dancing No Stage Diving No Spikes” at WORD Jersey City

January 28, 2014 No Comments

UPDATE: This event has been rescheduled for Monday, April 7th. Until the early 1990s, City Gardens hosted a stellar array of bands at a space in the middle of Trenton, New Jersey. Now, the venue’s history has been told via an oral history, No Slam Dancing No Stage Diving No Spikes, by Amy Yates Wuelfing and Steven DiLodovico. We’re especially happy to be presenting this event with the book’s authors, as this book helps shed light on (and pay tribute to) a […]

Band Booking, music

Band Booking: Butchers & Bakers on Noise-Pop and Russell Hoban

December 9, 2013 No Comments

Earlier this year, we published “Tiny Heel,” a story written by Rebecca Keith. Keith is also the singer and keyboard player of Butchers & Bakers, whose latest 7″ ably balances pop hooks with noisier elements. I caught up with Keith and guitarist Eli Jacobowitz via email to discuss songs about brunch, literary influences, and what the future holds for this band.

music

When I Was A Child I Listened to Swell Maps

November 25, 2013 No Comments

I’m curious to see whether music critics will hail Haim’s Days Are Gone as a triumph when they issue their 2013 best of lists, or if they’ll use their big moment in the winter sun to proudly flip the band a middle finger from behind their computers because they don’t think the trio is deserving of the tag “indie” (and, technically speaking, they aren’t actually indie), and they don’t believe the group is worth the hype. I’d like to hope […]