Artwork by JECTS EDITOR’S NOTE: To mark the 50th anniversary of the release of The Velvet Underground & Nico, we are excerpting the Velvet Underground passage of the career-spanning Q&A I did with John Cale for VICE/NOISEY last year. DISCUSSED: His opiated childhood; his abuse at the hands of a church organist; discovering Fluxus at the University of London; being taught the deafening power of silence by John Cage; exploring the infinite cosmic possibilities of drone and the raw power of an amplified viola with The Theater Of Eternal Music; inventing the Velvet Underground with Lou Reed; thriving amidst the […]
THE VELVET UNDERGROUND: Sunday Morning
To mark the 50th anniversary of The Velvet Underground’s seminal debut, The Velvet Underground & Nico, visual artists James Eads and Chris McDaniel (aka The Glitch) have collaborated on this mesmerizing animation scored with the album’s opening track, the gorgeously somnambulant “Sunday Morning.” [H/T: Dangerous Minds] In related VU debut tribute news, Philly homeboy Mike “Slo-Mo” Brenner has arranged, performed and recorded this gorgeous recreation of the album from beginning to end on slide guitar. Here’s a taste, you can hear the whole album HERE. You can catch him performing select VU covers, along with his own material, ever Sunday […]
BEING THERE: Pissed Jeans @ Boot & Saddle
Photo by JOSH PELTA-HELLER “Our drummer quit.” Pissed Jeans drummer, Sean McGuiness, was running a little late last night. The other three members of the band, vocalist Matt Korvette, bassist Randy Huth, and guitarist Brad Fry, stood on stage at the Boot & Saddle, hands visoring the stage lights from their eyes as they peered deep into the sold out crowd, searching for some sign of their missing drummer. It wasn’t too long before McGuiness appeared and made his way up front, wading through the crowd. Once all the components were in place, Korvette produced a copy of HELP! by […]
NPR 4 THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When U Can’t
Illustration by SEAN MCCABE FRESH AIR: If you want to understand the far-reaching domestic goals of the Trump presidency, you have to understand the working relationship between Steve Bannon, Trump’s chief strategist, and Jeff Sessions, the former Alabama senator and new attorney general. That’s according to my guest, Emily Bazelon, a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine whose latest article is about how Bannon and Sessions have long shared a vision for remaking America. Now, she says, the nation’s top law enforcement agency, the Department of Justice headed by Sessions, can serve as a tool for enacting that […]
Q&A: Connor Barwin, The Hippest Guy In The NFL
EDITOR’S NOTE: This short but sweet-natured 2014 Q&A with then-Eagle defensive end Connor Barwin ran in advance of one of his indie-rock fundraisers to fix up long-neglected playgrounds in depleted neighborhoods in North and West Philly. To mark the sad occasion of Barwin being released by the Eagles we present this reprise edition. Godspeed, Mr. Barwin. We will, on multiple levels, be poorer for your absence. BY JONATHAN VALANIA If Eagles defensive end Connor Barwin did OK Cupid, it would read something like this: Chiseled 27-year-old 6’4 260 lb Fred Flinstone-type with Cosmo Kramer haircut and biceps the size of […]
CIRCUS: Written By Tom Waits & Kathleen Brennan
Written by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan, illustrated by Joe Cole and narrated by the inimitable Ken Nordine, Circus is part of a remarkable collaborative story book project called Stories For Ways And Means that includes Nick Cave, Frank Black, Jim James, Will Oldham, Devendra Banhart and more. All proceeds benefit non-profit community literacy groups like Room to Read, Pencils of Promise, and 826 National to name but a few. MORE
NPR 4 THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When U Can’t
FRESH AIR: In 1944, World War II was dragging on and the Nazi forces seemed to be faltering. Yet, in military briefings, Adolf Hitler’s optimism did not wane. His generals wondered if he had a secret weapon up his sleeve, something that would change the war around in the last second. Author Norman Ohler tells Fresh Air’s Terry Gross that Hitler did have a secret, but it wasn’t a weapon. Instead, it was a mix of cocaine and opioids that he had become increasingly dependent upon. “Hitler needed those highs to substitute [for] his natural charisma, which … he […]
FLEET FOXES: Third Of May/?daigahara
After six years of silence, Fleet Foxes have suddenly reactivated. This is a teaser track from the long-awaited third album, Crack-Up, due out June 16th. They play the Mann with Animal Collective on July 31st! PREVIOUSLY: When the Fleet Foxes tour for Helplessness Blues wrapped in Japan on January 20th 2012, drummer Josh Tillman, aka Father John Misty, sent the following letter of resignation to Fleet Foxes mainman Robin Pecknold and the rest of his band mates. This letter has never been made public: MORE RELATED: I Went To Father John Misty’s House & All I Got Was Stoned…And This […]
Q&A: Lou Reed On Guns & Ammo
“I write a song called ‘Heroin’, you would have thought that I murdered the Pope or something” – Lou Reed on March 20, 1987, as told to Joe Smith, via Library Of Congress RELATED: A John Cale Q&A
CAMERON AVERY: C’est Toi
From Ripe Dreams, Pipe Dreams, the debut solo album by Tame Impala bassist/Pond Drummer Cameron Avery, out March 10th on Anti. He plays Ortlieb’s on Saturday March 11th.
MEDIA: The Return Of Mr. Natural
By 2012, you’re making fun of his hair apparatus and explaining to him that his ties were being made in China. I always regarded him as, if you’re going to have New York City, you gotta have a Donald Trump. He was a joke of a wealthy guy. We didn’t take him seriously. He’d sit down, and I would just start making fun of him. He never had any retort. He was big and doughy, and you could beat him up. He seemed to have a good time, and the audience loved it, and that was Donald Trump. Beyond […]
EXCLUSIVE: Wayne’s World
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Flaming Lips play a sold out show at the Fillmore tomorrow night. To mark this auspicious occasion, we are posting the complete text of my 2014 MAGNET cover story. You lucky ducks! BY JONATHAN VALANIA FOR MAGNET MAGAZINE We’d been traversing the spine of Tornado Alley for the last two hours when the stewardess announced that we would be landing in Oklahoma City in a few minutes, and that we should fasten our seatbelts and return our minds to the upright position, when the drugs took hold. We are, as the saying goes, off to see the […]