Preview: Boston Calling Festival
This weekend, Boston officially becomes a city with its very own music festival. Boston Calling will descend on City Hall Plaza this Saturday and Sunday with two stages and 18 acts in total. Before you head downtown, check out the Tastemakers rundown of the lineup, complete with set times and recommendations. Saturday offers by far the more sugary, pop-leaning lineup, contrasting with Sunday’s more rock-oriented fare. This is good news… continue reading
Daft Punk – Random Access Memories
Moldy | Stale | Edible | Fresh | Tasty!
Before my own attempt at throwing together my profusion of thoughts about Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories, I decided to parse through some of the already 3-to-5-day-old reviews of an album that became universally listenable less than a week ago. It might’ve been in hopes of accidentally absorbing an opinion to regurgitate, but a unanimous rating of “4/5″ from the top four Google search results killed my appetite for subconscious… continue reading
Up and Coming: An interview with HRVRD
Naming yourself after the most recognizable university in the world is a ballsy move. It sets the bar awfully high for a band with only 7,500 Facebook fans. HRVRD is caught in the middle of a miserably competitive music scene where bands with good amounts of success aren’t guaranteed a bright future, but the North Carolina post-hardcore turned indie-experimental (or something) quintet are acing all their classes. I caught up… continue reading
The Best Albums of 2012
10. Fiona Apple – The Idler Wheel is Wiser than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Chords Will Serve You More than Ropes Will Ever Do by Mackenzie Nichols (Journalism) Fiona Apple’s The Idler Wheel… marks the diva’s triumphant return to the music business after her notorious onstage meltdown and the following decade-long hiatus. The album is a folk-rock depiction of the artist’s dark, romantic mind, and fittingly,… continue reading
Mixtape: Color Spectrum
These relationships are synesthete approved. Really though. I sat down with a sound to color synesthete and hammered out this playlist from red to silver. Enjoy.
K104.7 Not So Silent Night
When the K104.7 Not So Silent Night concert took over the Mid Hudson Civic Center on December 4th, some of the biggest pop/rock artists of 2012 hit the stage. And what do you get when you put The Wanted, Boys Like Girls, Rita Ora, and Austin Mahone in one room? A lot of screaming girls. Around 3000 to be exact. Up and comers Olly Murs, The Ready Set, and Chris… continue reading
Apple Owns My Soul (And probably yours too)
Owning music is a thing of the past, according to the recent news unintentionally made by Apple, Bruce Willis and poor adherence to journalistic standards. These three clashed in early September, when a story was published in The Daily Mail that famed movie star and resident badass Bruce Willis was suing Apple. The story alleged that Willis would file a lawsuit because Apple would not let him bequeath his music… continue reading
A CMJ 2012 Photo Recap
One of the great things about having my co-op in New York City this Fall is that I got a chance to witness what the CMJ Music Festival is all about. I could elaborate and talk about who the headliners were and who people were most excited to see (Kimbra, Angel Haze, and Icona Pop are three names that I kept hearing), but instead I’m just going to tell you… continue reading
Frank Turner @ Webster Hall NYC 9.29.12
I was originally going to start off by saying that to many, Frank Turner is flawless…you know, in the Mean Girls quote way. It got even better when I came across this gifset on Tumblr. I was lucky enough to see this “flawless” individual in action when he played the first of two nights in New York City at Webster Hall. Armed with my camera and knowledge of two, maybe… continue reading
River’s Edge Music Festival @ Harriet Island 6.23-6.24.12
On Saturday, the Scissor Sisters played to a frenzy of fans on a tiny island in the middle of the Mississippi River. They weren’t there for the weekend’s Twin Cities Pride Festival; The Scissor Sisters were just one of thirty-some acts to play the first ever River’s Edge Music Festival on Harriet Island in St. Paul, Minnesota. The two-day, three-stage festival was the first of a five year deal between… continue reading
An Interview with James Morrison
For someone who has been in the business for six years, James Morrison appears to have finally found solace in the truth threaded in his newly released album The Awakening. The English singer-songwriter and guitarist elaborates on what fueled this album that deals with personal battles and joys, as well as what his genuine feelings are about the fame he’s collected throughout his career. With a background that includes sold out… continue reading