By John

Published: December 7th, 2007

This is how you do it in 2008 Freshout style.. If you put on a Groundation album, you will hear smokey, moody reggae infused with technical jazz elements and the nasally, rebellious vocals of a Jamaican activist or African refugee. You will never for a second doubt the authenticity But if you were to watch a video or go to a performance, you may be surprised at what you find. Groundation are far from Jamaican. And they are certainly not African. Groundation are former jazz students from Sonoma State University. Two of its members are now college professors, including lead singer Harrison Stafford, who started the first reggae music history course. These are white intellectuals playing reggae and jazz at ...

By John

Published: December 7th, 2007

Getting sick of all the flowery, bubbly Christmas songs this holiday season? Do you long for a little musical experimentation with your Egg Nog? Then Mistletonia should make its way into your stocking and, subsequently your stereo. A little moody, a little strange, but also very inviting, Mistletonia is a compilation from Australian indie label Mistletone Records. And while none of these tracks are likely to become Christmas classics, they do provide a welcome break from the schmaltzy sap dripping from speakers this time of year. Hmm, a little moody, a little strange, but also very inviting. Sounds like the holidays themselves if you ask me.

By John

Published: November 29th, 2007

In an article for SPIN Magazine, rock-critic journeyman Chuck Klosterman described a Detriot garage rock scene filled with bands listening to old Kinks records, drinking for three and basically being "no-nonsense buzzsaws." Recently, one of their own left the yard to bring their Nuggets-inspired rock to the nation's...libraries?! In December of 2004, teen librarian Bill Harmer contacted Detroit garage trio The High Strung to see if they would be interested in participating in a “National Rock N' Roll Library Tour.” The band casually agreed and then, just as casually, forgot all about it. In the meantime, Harmer traveled to numerous library conferences, pitching the idea and, before he knew it, he had an entire summer of bookshelf-rattling rock in the most ...

By John

Published: November 27th, 2007

In 2005, "desert-pop" act The Format was touring on the strength of their underground hit debut "Interventions and Lullabies," while writing new tunes for an album with Atlantic Records. When they finally finished the album, the band was convinced that they had a gem on their hands. Atlantic execs disagreed. "They kept asking us why it didn't sound like our last album," said vocalist Nate Ruess in a radio interview. Frustrations were revealed in the power-pop track "The Compromise," where Ruess sings "Sit your partner behind a desk where they'll do absolutely nothing so its your job to dance and smile the whole time." Ouch. The band threw their angriest finger skyward and started their own label, Vanity Records, ...

By John

Published: November 27th, 2007

In January, the massive EMI Group announced that they would merge Capitol and Virgin Records. Anyone with half a brain knows what comes next. This "restructuring" came with a pink slip for a number of bands, namely Kevin Devine, The Redwalls, and the Shout Out Louds. EMI Group CEO Eric Nicoli sited a need to improve digital capability. Kevin Devine, an alt-country singer-songwriter featured on Austin City Limits, was one of the first artists to respond to the news. “I hold no ill will and harbor no grudge against Capitol Records; I'm thankful I had the opportunity to make a record I love with a producer I've long respected and admired in studios I'd read about but never expected to track in." ...

By John

Published: November 21st, 2007

Amy Winehouse is no stranger to public embarrassment. Drunken Red-Carpet appearances, lame-duck performances, and drug problems have made the bee-hived babe easy tabloid fodder. These monumental meltdowns have led many critics to declare her career on the decline, despite mainstream success and critical acclaim for her powerful, soulful throwbacks. After a cancelled tour, a stint in rehab and the recent incarceration of her husband, her verbal assault on fans at a recent performance in Birmingham, England may be the nail in the coffin.But fans of funk need not fear. While devotees of Winehouse will surely be dismayed to find her career in such peril, they should take note of Amy’s backing band The Dap Kings. Funk vets, the Dap ...

By John

Published: November 21st, 2007

I know what you're thinking but Bryan Adams stopped making music. So has The Band. But are you really worried? The makers of Canadian VO , kick-ass maple syrup and national health care wouldn't let us down for long.It turns out, the past 5 years have seen a huge influx of movie studios and record production houses into Canada. Nowhere is this more true than in Toronto.It was here that Jason Collett first created Radio Mondays, a singer-songwriter meetup that spawned his involvement with influential alt-pop pioneers Broken Social Scene. The ideas shared at Radio Mondays would go on to birth numerous Toronto acts like Hayden, Tamara Williamson and The Weakerthans. While BSS was on hiatus, Radio Mondays went ...

By John

Published: November 20th, 2007

The newest addition to my running "Why didn't I think of that?!" list is the fully independent compilation entitled "Are You Still With Me?! A Tribute to Huey Lewis and the News." That's right, the protective bubble of irony sheltering indie rock has finally burst. The darlings of the uncool-is-cool genre have gathered en mass to pay homage to the man who wrote "Its Hip To Be Square." Yes, really.Conceived as a joke by 2 friends (their names are unknown, as all that has surfaced on this is the project's MySpace page) in 2004, the collaborators spent the last 4 years compiling bands and now have a partial tracklist of un-mastered cuts. Among the artists featured are My Brightest Diamond, ...

By John

Published: November 13th, 2007

If you are going to call yourself a Garage Rock band, there is a bit of a protocol, a normative standard if you will; dirty kids playing dirty riffs out of dirty equipment, keeping pretension at an all-time low, and letting homage and classic styles ride shotgun. But beyond these basic premises, one thing is for sure: you better rock the shit out of every live show you play. If you can't do that, then you may never leave the garage.Enter Dark Horse and the Carousels, a Philadelphia quartet loaded down with clever songwriting and simplistic but on-the-nose musicianship reminiscent of early Rolling Stones. Their sound is grimy but full of straight-ahead rock energy coupled with the insane, palpable passion ...