Illustration by OLAF HAJEK Being Stephen Malkmus is … easy. You’re born upper-middle class in Los Angeles, the son of a general property/casualty insurance agent. You live on Citrus Avenue in the City Of Angels, where the sun shines all the time. When you’re eight, you move upstate to the tony suburban subdivisions of Stockton, where you’ll live out your formative years. You meet this kid named Scott Kannberg on your soccer team. You play wing. You learn to play guitar by aping Jimi Hendrix on “Purple Haze,” which features this tricky E chord. When you finally pull it off, […]
ALBUM REVIEW: TV GIRL Death Of A Party Girl
It was a brutally cold February in my sophomore year when I stumbled upon TV Girl somewhere in a Spotify rabbit hole. French Exit, their debut album, drove its catchy hooks into my ears and dragged me from the bitter, isolated cave of hibernation that I bury myself in every winter. French Exit was a splatter of color in the dismal, grey cityscape. It was a humid exhale into still lungs, the world ballooned with breath. TV Girl’s latest album, Death Of A Party Girl, sustains the dream pop, neo-psychedelic feel of previous work. Petering delivers prosaic storytelling in […]
SPIRITUALIZED: I’m Your Man
RELATED: Spiritualized have announced news of their new studio album, And Nothing Hurt, out September 7th via Fat Possum in the US and Bella Union in the UK/Europe. Spiritualized have also announced select live performances in support of the album, including two U.S. dates. From the opening lullaby of “A Perfect Miracle” through to the Morse Code fadeout at the close of “Sail on Through,” Spiritualized wrap layer upon layer of gloriously transcendent sound together to create a mesmerizing and cinematic collection of songs. There are points where the waves of blissful noise are almost overwhelming – the thunderous climax of “On […]
HOT DOC: Open Letter From Rose McGowan On Behalf Of Asia Argento Regarding Anthony Bourdain
EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is any open letter penned by Rose McGowan on behalf of Asia Argento re: the sad passing of Anthony Bourdain Dear Fellow Humans, Sitting across from me is the remarkable human and brave survivor, Asia Argento, who has been through more than most could stand, and yet stand she does. She stood up to her monster rapist and now she has to stand up to yet another monster, suicide. The suicide of her beloved lover and ally, Anthony Bourdain. I write these truths because I have been asked to. I know so many around the […]
THIRTY YEARS AFTER: Q&A With The Posies
BY SOPHIE BURKHOLDER Thirty years ago, the Posies recorded their debut album Failure in a small amateur home studio in Bellingham, Washington. In 2016, they released their eighth studio album, Solid States, and now they’re off on a 30th anniversary tour (which stops at World Cafe Live on Wednesday) in celebration of reissues of Dear 23, Frosting On The Beater and Amazing Disgrace that will feature previously unreleased bonus tracks. Though they’ve gone through a series of line-up changes in their rhythm sections, the Posies have always included core members Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer. We got them both […]
CINEMA: All In The Family
HEREDITARY (Directed by Ari Aster, 127 minutes, USA, 2018) BY DAN TABOR FILM CRITIC Hereditary is the feature length directorial debut from Ari Aster who made a name for himself with a disturbing viral short about a family harboring a dark secret called The Strange Thing About the Johnsons (2011). It is also arguably the best horror in the last five years. Hereditary premiered at Sundance in January, and quickly became the film to see this year for horror fans when the buzz surround it hit a fever pitch with some calling it the scariest horror movie in years. […]
BEWITCHED: Q&A With Hereditary‘s Milly Shapiro
BY DAN TABOR FILM CRITIC One of the most striking aspects of the supernatural horror thriller Hereditary is the performance by 15-year-old newcomer Milly Shapiro as Charlie, the daughter of Ann Graham (Toni Collette). In the film, Charlie is her Grandmother’s favorite and because of that intense relationship, when she passes away the young girl is lost and retreats inward. As Ann begins to uncover the mystery behind her mother’s legacy, Charlie is left to figure out what life without her grandmother is as she struggles to find her way in this strange world. It’s a subtle performance filled […]
WHITE DENIM: Magazin
White Denim’s spaceball doth ricochet. They play Johnny Brenda’s on June 24th.
EXCERPT: Ziggy Played Guitar
VIA ROLLING STONE: A small crowd of sixty or so music fans stood in the dance hall of the Toby Jug pub in Tolworth, a suburban neighborhood in southwest London, on the night of February 10, 1972. The backs of their hands had been freshly stamped by the doorman. A DJ played records to warm up the crowd for the main act. The hall was nothing fancy, little more than “an ordinary function room.” The two-story brick building that housed it – “a gaunt fortress of a pub on the edge of an underpass” – had played host to numerous […]
WORTH REPEATING: You Aren’t Listening
Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins gave a silent news conference today, speaking out about the White House lies, Trump, and why NFL players take a knee via a series of cue cards. NEW YORK TIMES: The president labeled the Eagles as unpatriotic because they do not conform to his view of the national anthem. His press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, accused the team of pulling “a political stunt” because many players declined the White House invitation. “The vast majority of the Eagles team decided to abandon their fans,” Ms. Sanders said. Hardly. Since the start of the 2017 season, this group […]
BEING THERE: The Voidz @ Boot & Saddle
Photo by JOSH PELTA-HELLER Monday night marked the start of a month long residency at the Boot N’ Saddle for The Voidz, former Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas’ new project. The show kicked off with Promiseland, a one-man band of electronic distortion and screamed poetry. Known for his crowd interactions, he walked throughout the small room and worked the crowd like a good hype man should. Promiseland’s powerfully loud set combined with the seedy backroom ambiance of the western-themed bar and the loop of Pixies and Sonic Youth on the PA between acts should have been the perfect build-up for The […]
KEVIN KRAUTER: Rollerskate
Kevin Krauter plays PhilaMOCA on July 22nd. RELATED: Best known as one of several guitar players, songwriters, and vocalists in the Hoosier indie-rock band Hoops, Krauter has been making music all by his lonesome for much longer. He grew up in a family heavily involved in local musical theater, even appearing in three productions of Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. He played in high school bands, but didn’t get serious about writing and recording until he enrolled at Ball State in Muncie, Indiana. His first efforts — recorded in his dorm room — weren’t intended for any kind of […]
BEING THERE: Japanese Breakfast @ UT
Photo by JOSH PELTA-HELLER Despite torrential downpours and flooded streets, Union Transfer was packed last night for a sold out show headlined by Japanese Breakfast. The first opener was the Philly-based pop punk Radiator Hospital. Bed-headed and chronically-blushing, Sam Cook-Parrott wrapped himself around the mic in a wide-legged straddle, his voice pitched at a droning whine. The set primarily featured tracks from their latest release, The Songs You Like. LVL UP followed with a moody lo-fi set that contrasted pleasingly with the barbed edges of Radiator Hospital. Even with their mellow vibe and blasé attitude, the band unboxed some energetic […]