Last month, I briefly discussed, with some trepidation, Issuu’s methods of displaying magazines online. Since then, the new issue of Death + Taxes has shown up on said site; should one want to see my reviews of Bell Orchestre, Obits, or Zero Boys, that’d be the place to go. (I feel slightly awkward now.)
Category Archives: Review
Me @ Volume 1- A Quick Technical Note for the Weekend
- Afternoon Bites: Stephen Fry, Geoff Dyer on criticism, the Month of Letters challenge, and more
- The Week In Reviews: Jay-Z at Carnegie Hall, the journalism of Charles Dickens, Edward St Aubyn’s prose, and more
- Afternoon Bites: Hanksy Speaks! Chabon on comics! Straub on Walhberg! and more.
- Coming Soon to a Lower East Side Near You*
February 17, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: Magazines, self-promotion
in which efforts at self-promotion dovetail with previous ruminations on online magazines
Categories: Me, Music, ReviewTags:: Magazines, self-promotion
February 9, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: School of Seven Bells, self-promotion
In which I chat with School of Seven Bells
Categories: Me, Music, ReviewTags:: School of Seven Bells, self-promotion
School of Seven Bells piece, for Death + Taxes, by me. “It’s a blessing and a curse, starting a new project when people are aware of what you’ve done,” says Curtis, sitting beside Alejandra Deheza in a bar in the East Village. “People have really heard the process, the development of these songs. It’s weird … Continue reading
December 10, 2008, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: The Tallest Man on Earth
brief, live: the tallest man on earth; mercury lounge, 12.09.08
Categories: Live, Music, ReviewTags:: The Tallest Man on Earth
I would deem it quite significant that the audience for The Tallest Man on Earth‘s Mercury Lounge show watched for nearly half the man’s set before a photograph was discernibly taken. One might even have characterized the shared mental state of the room as “enraptured”. Kristian Matsson plays guitar as though seeking to redefine the … Continue reading
November 24, 2008, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: live music, stars of the lid
brief, live: stars of the lid; le poisson rouge, 11.21.08
Categories: Live, Music, ReviewTags:: live music, stars of the lid
I’ve been a Stars of the Lid fan for a while, now, and until last Friday they’d been high on the list of groups I’d never seen live whose music I love. I’d missed their Wordless Music show earlier this year, and — as a friend of mine in Seattle had described their music on … Continue reading
November 13, 2008, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: Church of Sweden, Frida Hyvönen, live music, show review
Live: Frida Hyvönen; Church of Sweden, 11.12.08
Categories: Live, Music, NYC, Review, UncategorizedTags:: Church of Sweden, Frida Hyvönen, live music, show review
Attendance, the flyer said, would be capped at 90. I’d guess that the chapel in New York’s Church of Sweden — on 48th Street just off Fifth Avenue, unobtrusive among financial offices and gleaming glass hotels — seated 75 at most, and a few songs into her set, Frida Hyvönen suggested that those standing come … Continue reading
October 31, 2008, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: Demons in the Spring, Joe Meno, Spinto Band
critical discourse for 10.31.08
Categories: Books, Me, Music, Review, ReviewsTags:: Demons in the Spring, Joe Meno, Spinto Band
Two new pieces up: For the Portland Mercury, my take on the Spinto Band. For Lit Mob, my take on Joe Meno’s collection Demons in the Spring.
October 27, 2008, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: 1928 Recordings, Browns, CMJ, CMJ2008, The Muslims, The Sundelles, Union Pool
live: the sundelles, browns, the muslims; union pool, 10.26.08
Categories: CMJ2008, Live, Music, ReviewTags:: 1928 Recordings, Browns, CMJ, CMJ2008, The Muslims, The Sundelles, Union Pool
Sunday night — a couple of hours ago, actually — I stopped by Union Pool for a 1928 Recordings showcase. I’d heard solid things from a few friends about The Muslims, who were headlining and figured, hey, seemed like a fine idea. Spoiler alert — it was. Sunday nights post-CMJ are always interesting — though … Continue reading
October 27, 2008, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: CMJ, CMJ2008, Emmy the Great, Glasslands, pianos, the dutchess and the duke, the end of the world
live: the dutchess and the duke, the end of the world, emmy the great; pianos, 10.25.08 / the end of the world; glasslands, 10.25.08
Categories: CMJ2008, Live, Music, ReviewTags:: CMJ, CMJ2008, Emmy the Great, Glasslands, pianos, the dutchess and the duke, the end of the world
Back upstairs at Pianos on Saturday afternoon, for a day party booked by Bowery Presents. I’ve now seen The Dutchess and the Duke five times in 2008, in spaces ranging from basements to mid-sized theaters, playing guitars electric and acoustic. The sound I found so bracing initially has only gotten tighter — there’s a force … Continue reading
October 26, 2008, Author: , 1 Comment
Tags:: Hardly Art, pianos, pretty & nice, Sub Pop, Suicide Squeeze, The Coathangers
live: pretty & nice, the coathangers; pianos, 10.24.08
Categories: CMJ2008, Live, Music, ReviewTags:: Hardly Art, pianos, pretty & nice, Sub Pop, Suicide Squeeze, The Coathangers
Upstairs at Piano’s, Friday night: the Hardly Art / Suicide Squeeze / Sub Pop showcase. The downstairs component is well-reviewed by Marc Hogan for Pitchfork, and includes a photo of Steve from Blood City joining Oxford Collapse onstage. (That’s two-thirds of a Coup Fourre reunion, fellas…) During said Oxford Collapse set, Adam commented that the … Continue reading
October 26, 2008, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: Adept, Cakeshop, CMJ, CMJ2008, Subbacultcha, Women
live: adept, women; cakeshop, 10.22.08
Categories: CMJ2008, Live, Music, ReviewTags:: Adept, Cakeshop, CMJ, CMJ2008, Subbacultcha, Women
Belated CMJ blogging, you may ask? It begins here. Wednesday night found me briefly at Cakeshop, there to see Alberta’s Women, whose disc on Jagjaguwar has been gratifying my noisepop receptors a lot lately. The night was hosted by the Dutch magazine/collective Subbacultcha!, and I walked in partway through a set from their countrymen Adept. … Continue reading
September 16, 2008, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: becky stark, cake shop, harper simon, human highway, jim guthrie, nick thorburn
live: becky stark, harper simon, human highway; cake shop, 09.15.08
Categories: Live, Music, NYC, ReviewTags:: becky stark, cake shop, harper simon, human highway, jim guthrie, nick thorburn
So hey, Cake Shop. Tropical wallpaper stretching for a dozen feet as you approach the stage, hanging red garlands and tiny white lights dangling amidst soundproofing foam. It’s become one of my favorite places to see shows in New York — actually, given that I once saw Daphne Brooks read from her book on Jeff … Continue reading
September 15, 2008, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: air bombay, live show, pianos, pigeons, pretty & nice, show review
live: pigeons, air bombay, pretty & nice; pianos; 09.05.08
Categories: Live, Music, NYC, Review, UncategorizedTags:: air bombay, live show, pianos, pigeons, pretty & nice, show review
Pianos on a Friday night is a strange place to be. The bar portion, which one has to traverse in order to get to the venue in the back, was on this particular night full of well-dressed, well-off types making loud conversation. The actual performance space, which had added a bar since the last time … Continue reading
September 12, 2008, Author: , 2 Comments
Tags:: bound stems, Death+Taxes, Oxford Collapse, Robert Christgau
death, taxes, and me.
Categories: Me, Music, ReviewTags:: bound stems, Death+Taxes, Oxford Collapse, Robert Christgau
In the new issue of Death+Taxes (the one with CSS on the cover), I have a pair of reviews, along with a piece on Oxford Collapse. Two more reviews (of Adem and Bound Stems) are now up on their site, where another two should be joining them one of these days. The Oxford Collapse piece … Continue reading
September 2, 2008, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: gorilla coffee, james jackson toth, the dutchess and the duke, union hall, wooden wand
live: the dutchess and the duke, james jackson toth; union hall, 09.01.08
Categories: brooklyn, Coffee, Live, Music, NYC, ReviewTags:: gorilla coffee, james jackson toth, the dutchess and the duke, union hall, wooden wand
Union Hall is around four blocks from Gorilla Coffee in Park Slope, and on nights when my supply of coffee is low and I find myself bound for the venue in question, I’ll generally make a stop beforehand for a freshly ground pack. And so on nights when I find myself standing in Union Hall’s … Continue reading
August 12, 2008, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: shaky hands, shannon mcardle
in which I write about the sound of guitars
Categories: Me, Music, ReviewTags:: shaky hands, shannon mcardle
Two of the three reviews on Paper Thin Walls today are pieces I wrote: a review of Shaky Hands, and a review of, and brief interview with, Shannon McArdle.