Of Note
“A lot of people had no idea it was us when they first heard it.” Chris Frantz reflects on the surprise success of a song that he, his wife Tina Weymouth, and a handful of …
Jon Spencer named his band the Blues Explosion, but it was never about the blues. With Judah Bauer and Russell Simins, Spencer tapped into the vein of the truest American roots music — plantation, country, …
Since their debut release two years ago, School of Seven Bells has racked up a lot of comparisons to My Bloody Valentine and the Cocteau Twins, but there’s nothing special about that: Pretty much anyone …
What do these bands have in common: Vivian Girls, Crystal Stilts, and Dum Dum Girls? They all play simple, melodic rock ’n’ roll that’s steeped in ’60s girl-group sounds, flavored with ’80s–’90s indie pop, and …
In 1986 Charles Thompson dropped out of college and decided to form a band with his friend Joey Santiago. “I broke it to my dad [a medical doctor] by lying to him,” says Santiago via …
I used to think Phoenix was no more than a band of trendy French guys who had managed to leverage their connection to the band Air into a friendship with filmmaker Sofia Coppola and a …
Contrary to what you might think, true indie rock was invented during the late 1970s by bands that recorded in analog studios, released music on records (or cassette tapes), and hoped for a sweet record …
“The Stones were on tour, and the saxophonist they had with them wasn’t working out.” Ernie Watts, on the phone from his Los Angeles home, is having a bad case of jet-lag after performing with …
“We were working part-time all the time/ We were banking on the kindness of strangers and loved ones and those who fall between/ To give us everything, ’cause we need everything.” Those are the opening …
It was pretty cool to see Arcade Fire’s new album go to the top of the album charts. But let’s face it: The Suburbs went to number one with sales of fewer than 150,000. Ten …
“Reggae had started to get big in San Diego and Tijuana in the 1970s and 1980s.” Adrian Cisneros, known as AK, grew up in Chula Vista listening to his mother and his uncle play reggae …
Look up the video for “Buddy,” the third single from De La Soul’s 1989 debut album 3 Feet High and Rising, and you’ll see a kind of alternate reality — hip-hop as it might have …
“The only thing I can think of is my natural hyperactivity, but also the love of punk music,” Dave Lombardo offers by way of explanation. He is often credited with having created an almost impossibly …
When people in the rest of the country or the rest of the world think about California, they think about sunshine and blondes at the beach — still! They still think about that stuff! But …
Girl in a Coma is a San Antonio trio started by Phanie Diaz and Jenn Alva. Later, they drafted Phanie’s sister Nina. Nina has one of those innocent honey-sweet voices that could melt rocks. By …
Can there be such a thing as 21st-century gothic? The gothic imagination is all about superstitions that linger on after science has seemed to explain them away...but maybe the old superstitions are done lingering. I …