BY JONATHAN VALANIA James Mercer’s Rosebud is a beat-to-shit acoustic guitar he bought 10 years ago in a thrift store for the princely sum of $3. When he got it home he took out a Sharpie and scrawled the words YOU WILL BE DEAD across the top a la that iconic photo of Woodie Guthrie holding up guitar with the words THIS MACHINE KILLS FASCISTS written on it. Like all good Rosebuds, it’s hard to find. To get to it you have to go to his home, located in a secure undisclosed location in Portland, unlock the high fence […]
MEDIA: Life After Death Magnetic
INQUIRER: “The music industry was in the toilet, and we were able to weather that,” says Magnet editor Eric T. Miller, who in 1993 cofounded the magazine. (John Cusack was reading it in publicity shots for the 2000 movie adaptation of Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity. “And then the magazine industry was in the toilet, and we were able to weather that — for a while.” And then, in 2008, the economy crashed. “You’re able to weather 90 things going wrong, but 100 things . . . .” In a shrinking market where online music sites and blogs such as Pitchfork […]
Phawker Editor Kills Cowbell With A Single Stephen Malkmus Cover Story; Magnet Back From Dead
That’s a joke, but the truth of the matter is the Cowbell issue with the Stephen Malkmus cover story, penned by yours truly, will be its penultimate, and the forthcoming issue with Beirut will be it’s last. Just heard from Cowbell editor Brian Howard that the magazine will discontinue service in favor of a new partnership with Eric T. Miller to revive Magnet as a print property. Miller will helm the new project and Howard is, reportedly, moving on to whatever comes next. Stay tuned. BRIAN HOWARD: Cowbell, the gritty little indie mag we’ve all come to love so well […]
WORTH REPEATING: Being Stephen Malkmus, Again
Stephen Malkmus, Portland 6/8/11 by JONATHAN VALANIA COWBELL: If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, satire is a close second. After all, everyone knows you’re nowhere until your locale is brilliantly lampooned in Twitter-iffic, Hulu-able form. Case in point is Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein’s hipster burlesque Portlandia, a loving mockery of the bluest city on the angry red planet that is the USA circa now: All lattes and tattoos, skunk weed and microbrews, unlimited wireless for all, a free-range chicken in every pot, and everyone gets around on solar-powered tofu bicycles. This is the place that Stephen Malkmus—the […]
CONTEST: Win Tix To See Pavement At The Mann
UPDATE: We have a winner! Congrats to Vince Pennline who was the first to email us with the correct answer to our question about what happened to ‘the second drummer’ — he drowned, of course, as per the lyrics of “Cut Your Hair.” Thanks to all for playing, and stay tuned for more groovy concert ticket giveaways on a Phawker near you. After years of speculation, the most important American band of the Nineties is returning to the stage with the lineup of Mark Ibold, Scott “Spiral Stairs” Kannberg, Stephen Malkmus, Bob Nastanovich and Steve West reuniting for dates around […]
BEST OF: Our Favorite Albums Of 2009
LA ROUX — s/t The only reason I came to know of La Roux is because my disgruntled friend, Sam of Manchester, England, wouldn’t stop going on about how much he hated the album. We were going over sets for our next DJ event in Tokyo, discussing what kind of music to scrap and what to keep. “I can’t stand them,” he said of the British duo, “but Tokyoites eat it up. Throw it on, and they go nuts.” His eyebrows were furrowed, as always, forming a permanent scowl. “More proof that Japanese people have the shittiest taste in music,” […]
RIP: Jay Bennett, Ex-Wilco, Dead At 45
LOS ANGELES TIMES: Multi-instrumentalist and former member of Wilco Jay Bennett died this weekend, according to a post on the website for Undertow Music Collective. He was 45. A cause of death was unknown. “We are profoundly saddened to report that our friend died in his sleep last night. Jay was a beautiful human being who will be missed,” read the update on Undertow. The company released his 2002 solo album, “Palace at 4 am (Part I).” Representatives from the label and management firm had not responded to requests for comment as of Sunday evening, but the Chicago Sun-Times reached […]
HEAR YE: Neko Case Middle Cyclone
Now playing on PHAWKER RADIO! Comes out March 3rd. She plays the Keswick Theater on April 10th. PREVIOUSLY: As of 2005, Patsy Cline’s 12 Greatest Hits sold 10 million copies. Not bad for a ghost. She got on a plane to Kansas City in 1963 — just a couple years into her newfound fame as the sweetheart of the Nashville rodeo — and never came back, disappearing into the ether of immortality like Amelia Earhart in spurs. Her ghost has been haunting American music ever since, and any vaguely countryish thrush will have to suffer comparisons. Just ask KD Lang. […]
ALMOST FAMOUS: Adventures In Rock Criticism
EDITOR’S NOTE: Recently, Magnet asked me to do one of those Behind The Music-style navel-gazers about some of the cover stories I wrote for the magazine back in the day, with all the behind-the-scenes sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll dirt and gossip that could not be printed in a family indie-rock magazine back in the less-permissive 20th Century. The hard copy came out around Christmas, and last week they posted it to their new-and-improved web site/blog/thingee. I have included this ginormous photo of me, suitable for framing or dartboard-use, which they assured me was going to be the cover. […]
WORTH REPEATING: Hey, Mr. Spaceman*
*First appeared in the December 2001 issue of Magnet. Spiritualized play at the TLA tonight. BY JONATHAN VALANIA Somewhere Over The North Atlantic, Sept . 25, 2001 Ladies and gentlemen, we are floating in space—35,000 feet above the Earth, to be exact. We’re on our way to Ireland to tag along on a Spiritualized tour. It’s gonna be fun, but there are some risks involved. As Americans, we’re traveling under the threat of death from Osama bin Laden, The Evil One, who lives in a cave. During the course of our trip, you might feel a little like Salman Rushdie […]
PHAWKER EXCLUSIVE: The Man Who Howled Wolf
BY JON MICHALS The reason for my weekend trip to Columbus, Ohio was twofold; one to give Ohio a purple nurple for its role in recent elections, two to see Tom Waits. Both missions accomplished. Boo Ya! I made the 7 hour drive out with my friend Mike and this little Chihuahua named Carlos who had some sort of skin disease (don’t ask). Tom came into Columbus, Ohio and literally took over the town for the night. Every bar you went to was playing Tom songs. Every dude in town was a bearded thirty something that you knew was […]