photos, reviews, san diego

Live Review: The Swell Season & Ryan Bingham at House of Blues, August 17, 2010

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It’s hard not to love The Swell Season. Since winning the hearts of audiences — and an Oscar — with the 2006 film Once, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova have maintained that adoration through rigorous touring, refreshing humility, and the recent release of their second album, Strict Joy.

Before The Swell Season took the stage at House of Blues on Tuesday, singer/guitarist Ryan Bingham opened up with some astonishingly derivative blues and folk. His raspy voice dripped with affectation as he rambled on about times changing and winds blowing like some copy of a copy of a copy of Bob Dylan. Continue reading…

interviews, listen

Poetic Memory: Bazile (List)

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Photo credit: Caroline Poe

Bazile is a solo artist from Austin, TX who writes music that he calls “Space Folk.”

Originally from Mississippi, Bazile grew up listening to film scores, and that appreciation has greatly contributed to his style of songwriting. And although his songs are often cinematic, Bazile truly shines when it’s just his voice and guitar.

Bazile took two years to record his debut album, The Sojourn of Professor Narducci, and it was a long, deliberative process. The end result, however, is a captivating work that succeeds in balancing the music with his often melancholy lyrics. For a sample of the album, check out “Solder City” and the Sufjan Stevens-esque “Life of Particles” (MP3s). Bazile’s Poetic Memory is below.

san diego

Crank Up the Hot Hot Heat

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This summer has been an unseasonably cool one for San Diego, but the mercury is finally about to rise. On Saturday, August 21, the chilliness will come to an abrupt halt when the Belly Up cranks up some Hot Hot Heat. Wordplay!

Hot Hot Heat are the Canadian party-pop band responsible for 2002’s Make Up the Breakdown and its marble-mouthed hit single, “Bandages.” Along with other popular bands of the era like The Strokes and The Vines, Hot Hot Heat were welcomed as rock saviors, come to make the airwaves safe for good music and rescue us from boy-band tyranny. Their intentions were noble, but you need only turn your radio dial to whichever Justin Bieber songs are playing right now to see that it didn’t work. Continue reading…

music news

Sufjan Stevens Releases Surprise EP Today

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The once-prolific Sufjan Stevens released a brand new EP, entitled All Delighted People, for download today. A CD and vinyl release of the EP is planned for later this year. Here’s the scoop:

All Delighted People is built around two different versions of Sufjan’s long-form epic ballad “All Delighted People,” a dramatic homage to the Apocalypse, existential ennui, and Paul Simon’s “Sounds of Silence.” The EP includes two versions of “All Delighted People,” which Sufjan debuted on his 2009 tour. Along with six other new songs, the collection is his first original song-oriented material since 2006.

The EP is Stevens’ most coherent work in years, and a return to the (somewhat) more conventional songwriting of his Illinois and Michigan albums. Its eight tracks are brimming with the naked emotion and orchestral swells that make him one of music’s most fascinating songwriters.

So what are you waiting for? Buy it or stream it here.

music news, teevee

Battle of the Animation Bands Comes to LA

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Cartoons and indie music? This is one of those times to wish LA was closer. According to a post by Jerry Beck from Cartoon Brew, “Women In Animation International (WIA) is planning a Battle of the Animation Bands concert, an evening of indie music, to be held in late September in Hollywood that will feature bands created at animation, visual effects and game studios.”

The combination of music and art in the form of animation is nothing new. Actually, the history of cartoon bands (also known as virtual bands) spans over a half a century. From The Simpsons to South Park, animators are able to create the fictional bands seen only in our dreams. Here is a little Cartoon Bands 101 with some of the more well-known animated musicians: Continue reading…

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