Even if “Lean On Me” has been played a billion times, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s a great song. And even though Bill Withers basically retired from music in 1985, the fact that he’s a great songwriter remains.
Aside from the numerous Grammys Withers has won since his retirement (thanks to re-recordings and samples taken from his songs), little news has come from the Withers camp — until now. On May 11, filmmakers Damani Baker and Alex Vlack released “Still Bill,” a documentary about their quest to track him down. Continue reading…
Red Wire Black Wire are originally from Connecticut but now call the hip streets of Brooklyn their home.
Drawing from a palette of new wave influences that includes Depeche Mode and The Human League, the six-piece use synth-heavy, melancholic rock songs to paint a surrealistic picture of life in the big city. The success of their first LP, Robots and Roses, has helped the band build up a solid fan base in New York. Red Wire Black Wire are currently preparing an as-yet-untitled EP of remixes and B-sides for release this year.
Lead singer Doug Walters recently gave us a peek at the music that has shaped his band’s sound. His Poetic Memory is below. Continue reading…
For a show whose key components included a smoke machine and a guy singing soprano, there was nothing cheesy about The Besnard Lakes‘ May 12 performance at the Casbah. Over the course of three albums, the Montreal four-piece has made its name playing loud, epic art-rock with a sugary Beach Boys center. Their cinematic compositions could have sounded sloppy or unruly in a live setting, but the band proved that they needn’t rely on recording studio trickery. Continue reading…
If you go to a lot of concerts — as many of you do — a certain malaise begins to set in. Even if you’re discerning enough to attend only worthwhile shows, after a while they all start to feel the same. There are the lackluster opening acts, the wallet-draining drinks, and the way the tallest guy in the place inevitably decides to stand — or worse, sway — directly in front of you. After a while, the ringing in your ears and the joint pain from standing for three hours can threaten to drown out an otherwise fine music experience.
But then there are the shows that remind you why you go out — and they snap you out of your funk. Saturday’s show at the Casbah was just such an event, thanks to powerhouse performances by precocious punk divas The Glossines, L.A. Spector-pop ensemble Jail Weddings, and Arizona blues oddity Bob Log III. Continue reading…
