Welcoming 2010 with PVD and a New York State of Mind
For some people New Years is just another day on the calendar; whereas, others may view it as a precursor to how one plans on spending the rest of the year. Everyone at Roseland Ballroom on New Years Eve brought in 2010 with a monstrous countdown followed by a pounding set by New York favorite, Paul Van Dyk.
Songwriter’s Workshop in Manhattan’s East Village
Edward Rogers is a singer-songwriter, the East Village's man about town and has a weekly radio show, Atlantic Tunnel, on East Village Radio. He has released two solo albums, working with George Usher; his new CD, "Sparkle Lane," comes out on February 2, 2010. In fact, Pete, Don and Joe, the other comrades on this gig, all appear on "Sparkle Lane."
Rakim shoots balls of conscious fire on The Seventh Seal
The number 7 has a lot of significance. The Seventh Seal deals with some revelations in the Bible. Some call it the end of the world, but for me it's the end of the old and the beginning of the new. By me naming my album that, I'm using it metaphorically in hip hop. I'm hoping to kill the old state of hip hop and start with the new.
Pearl Jam’s Backspacer has got some if you need it
McCready said, "I'd sum it up as kind of a tight, concise, rock 'n' roll record with kind of pop or maybe new wave elements to it... It's a really quick record, but I like that element to it. I like the sparseness of the songs and the way that Brendan pulled us together and made us play as good as we could."
Vampire Weekend’s “Contra”
Vampire Weekend is back with their sophomore album, Contra. The four-piece indie rock band met at Columbia University before producing their debut album in 2008. The band has said that their influences are drawn from popular African music and western classical music. Give one of their songs a listen and you'll quickly realize how true this is – and indeed, how great it sounds.
Headbang your pain away with Adelitas Way
It was the Adelita Bar. “There were a bunch of young, really pretty girls and I realized it was basically a brothel,” explains Rick. “I chatted with one girl, questioning why she was living this life? And I wrote a song about it. The band name emerged from the sad stories behind the ‘Way’ they lived at the Adelita—Adelitas Way.
Raekwon keeps Wu alive on Only Built for a Cuban Linx 2
"I'm really confident with what we've put together with II," Raekwon states. "It's another classic. I challenged myself and I didn't try to repeat myself or topics. I just had to make sure I captured the feeling that the first one had and gave to the listener."
Filo & Peri re-invent trance music on Nightplay
A 15-strong-track album of flammable-fresh at-home and in-club orientated music, it will again bring F&P’s name to the very epicentre of the dance scene. Filo & Peri have brought some of the world’s finest (and previously undiscovered) singers and songwriters into the spotlight.
Audio Sheep
Now that MP3s are standardized the CD, like vinyl, 8-track, and cassette before it, is slowly being phased out, but is losing this medium really worth it for music fans?
Music Video Shoot: At Sea’s “Low Light”
AT SEA’s captivating audio presence can be likened to a conglomeration of Jeff Buckley meets Muse meets Pink Floyd. In the spirit of fun — the band is unafraid to explore new territory in all directions, creating both walls of sound and quiet ballads, and performing in various configurations.
Behave Yourself with the Cold War Kids
By Lindsay Wallace The Cold War Kids’ boss Nathan Willett had more than enough of his own toxic-guitar to go around on the band’s latest EP, Behave Yourself, a slight dip in consistency from 2006’s Robbers & Cowards and 2008’s Loyalty to Loyalty. The EP opener, “Audience”, has a chorus you can sing all the way into oblivion while “Santa Ana Winds”... [Read more]
Vampire Weekend’s “Contra”
By Lindsay Wallace Vampire Weekend is back with their sophomore album, Contra. The four-piece indie rock band met at Columbia University before producing their debut album in 2008. The band has said that their influences are drawn from popular African music and western classical music. Give one of their songs a listen and you’ll quickly realize how true this is – and indeed, how great it sounds.... [Read more]
Epic All-Star Remake of “We Are the World”
By Lindsay Wallace Today, the charity song “We Are the World” originally written by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson is being remade to benefit the Haiti relief efforts. Just as the original song included the biggest super stars of the time in 1985, the 2010 edition will include the biggest stars of this generation. With producer Quincy Jones, the all-stars reportedly recording the track include... [Read more]
Music Video Shoot: At Sea’s “Low Light”
AT SEA’s captivating audio presence can be likened to a conglomeration of Jeff Buckley meets Muse meets Pink Floyd. In the spirit of fun — the band is unafraid to explore new territory in all directions, creating both walls of sound and quiet ballads, and performing in various configurations, stemming from an intimate one-man unplugged gig to shows housing a full–band-with- occasional special-guests... [Read more]
Songwriter’s Workshop in Manhattan’s East Village
Edward Rogers is a singer-songwriter, the East Village’s man about town and has a weekly radio show, Atlantic Tunnel, on East Village Radio. He has released two solo albums, working with George Usher; his new CD, “Sparkle Lane,” comes out on February 2, 2010. In fact, Pete, Don and Joe, the other comrades on this gig, all appear on “Sparkle Lane.” Guitarist/composer/producer... [Read more]
Welcoming 2010 with PVD and a New York State of Mind
How one welcomes the New Year varies in significance depending on who you ask. For some people it’s just another day on the calendar; whereas, others may view it as a precursor to how one plans on spending the rest of the year. Everyone at Roseland Ballroom on New Years Eve brought in 2010 with a monstrous countdown followed by a pounding set from none other than New York favorite, Paul Van Dyk.... [Read more]
Headbang your pain away with Adelitas Way
“‘Invincible,’ the edgy, empowering rocker that kicks off the self-titled debut from Adelitas Way is also an apt description for singer Rick DeJesus’ undaunted focus and determination. Born and raised in a rough Philly neighborhood, he saw family members in jail and on drugs, and a friend shot in the head and killed by drug dealers. Rick’s future was likewise bleak — “my... [Read more]
Filo & Peri re-invent trance music on Nightplay
A defining beacon of U.S. trance since their earliest volley of hit releases, Filo & Peri, have been shaking loose the floor tiles of the world’s dancefloors since 2003. Through an initial convoy of tracks (including ‘Ordinary Moment’ and ‘Shine On’), their sound has become indelibly engrained in the consciousness of electronic dance music lovers everywhere. Two years ago ‘Anthem’... [Read more]
Audio Sheep
Hard to believe it’s been a decade since Shawn Fanning’s original Napster took the music industry by storm when it popularized P2P (Peer-to-Peer) file sharing. Before Napster hit the mainstream there were only a few ways one could exchange music: either with a CD writer (which was also considered new technology at the time) or by recording the album onto a cassette tape (which was considered crappy... [Read more]
Echoes from the Broken Glass on Sparkle Lane
In Lewis Carroll’s Through The Looking Glass Alice wonders what life is like on the other side of a mirror. Following her curiousity Alice enters the mirror where she discovers a vast world of unanswered questions and paradoxes that actually exists within herself. Her journey is one of self-discovery, an introspective look at her own reflection, and on his newest album, Sparkle Lane, Edward... [Read more]
Raekwon keeps Wu alive on Only Built for a Cuban Linx 2
The years 1992-1993: A down period for East Coast rap, as New York MCs cowered at the larger-than-life exploits of the West Coast movement, fronted by Death Row Records, Dr. Dre, and his protégé Snoop Dogg. Enter a nine-man battalion from Staten Island, with honed lyrical swords and gobs of mystique. Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). Prominent members included Raekwon, the RZA, the GZA, Method Man,... [Read more]
Pearl Jam’s Backspacer has got some if you need it
For its ninth album, Pearl Jam chose to return to producer Brendan O’Brien. The album was the group’s first album produced by O’Brien since the 1998 album, Yield. “At this point, I think we’re willing to let somebody cut the songs up a little bit,” says lead vocalist Eddie Vedder. “In the past, Brendan would say, ‘It’s a great song, but I think... [Read more]
Rakim shoots balls of conscious fire on The Seventh Seal
After months, if not years of Internet speculation and rumor, the man many call The God MC, Rakim Allah released his long awaited new album The Seventh Seal on November 17, 2009. Guest artists include Busta Rhymes, Jadakiss, Maino, Tracey Horton, IQ, Styles P, and others, including Destiny Griffin, Rakim’s own daughter. The artist’s Ra Records shares the imprint in a joint venture with Tuscan Villa... [Read more]
Muse proves The Resistence is far from futile
Opening with “Uprising,” Muse starts to haunt the soul with their string lead riff that plays along a distorted guitar that is reminiscent of something Queen would do. The song is more or less about conspiracies and an ending that won’t happen, an apocalypse. “We will be victorious” Matthew Bellamy’s powerful rich vocals soar above the throttling drums and guitar.... [Read more]
Jamie T adds some hocus pocus to Kings & Queens
Jamie T does things his own way. Take his novel approach to getting around the sophomore slump. How did the 23-year-old outfox any demons that might’ve dogged him while crafting Kings & Queens, the follow-up to his 2007 debut Panic Prevention? “I didn’t do my second album,” he says. “I did my third one instead.” He makes it sound so easy. Such is the insouciance of youth. After... [Read more]
Snoop’s Back Upside Your Head with Malice N Wonderland
Multi-platinum hip hop icon Snoop Dogg just released his tenth studio album, “Malice N Wonderland,” on December 8th, courtesy of EMI’s newly re-launched Priority Records, where he also serves as Creative Chairman. Fans can log on to Snoop’s MySpace page (www.myspace.com/snoopdogg) to exclusively hear the album in its entirety. In honor of the milestone album, Snoop performed... [Read more]
311’s Uplifting New York City Show
Uplifter is the ninth studio album by American rock band 311, released on June 2, 2009 by Volcano Records. It is the band’s first album in nearly four years, the longest gap between albums in 311’s career. Uplifter was produced by Bob Rock, famous for working with other bands such as Metallica, Mötley Crüe, and Bon Jovi. It debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200, their highest position to... [Read more]
Sonic Boom Boom, POW!
By Sam Frank: My favorite video game as a child was always Street Fighter 2. All the characters had their own special moves that, once mastered, would enable you to beat unsuspecting opponents. Immediately following the moves were sound bites like Ryu’s famous “HA-DOU-KEN” after his fireball or the “SHYO-RYU-KEN” Ken would belt out during a dragon punch. Another memorable... [Read more]
