This goes under the “want one” category.

I am on vacation and have a spotty connection, but I’ve found a few gems whilst poking around. Go away and see! Amanda Palmer has released a so-cheap-it’s-basically-free (pick your price starting at $0.84) album of Radiohead covers on the ukelele. (link) See Green covers LCD Soundsystem’s “I Can Change.” (link) Allison Crowe is a [...]

1. CHEW. As you read this, I am lounging on the beach. And I may very well be reading volume one of John Layman and Rob Guillory’s Chew. My buddy Chris has been bugging me to read it for about a year now, and Amazon had it as part of their “4 for 3” deals, [...]

I know nothing about UK producers Duncan Stump (Mock) and Nick Woolfson (Toof).  I’ve read that “Tuning Echoes” is their debut full-length.  And electronica, producer-driven music isn’t really my thing, so I’m not claiming to be an expert, but I’m pretty sure this is a good album.  Yeah, it is.  I know it.  It’s pretty [...]

Strutter (Kiss cover)-Drive By Truckers

Okay, so there’s rap/rock, funk/rap, indie rockers who ironically cover rap tunes, electrorap, pop-rap (which universally sucks), and now there’s Chiddy Bang. This rap crew has been getting growing exposure (even on MTV) because their beats are as intelligent as their lyrics.  It’s party rap that’s not stupid, demeaning, or demoralizing, withe beats relying on [...]

This week, I’m introducing a new feature of “top 10s” (or “Top 20s” or “Top 5s” as the case may be) for the comic world.  I hope to be publishing one a week, but I may be getting ahead of myself. This week, my ten favorite non-powered bit players.  In other words, minor characters.  Aunt [...]

The worst thing–and the only bad thing–about The Black Rabbits is their name.  It sounds so common, so plain, so much like so many other bands out there.  In fact, it sounds a lot like a band that The Black Rabbits sound a lot like: The White Rabbits.  It almost made me toss this EP [...]

Ray Charles Can See-The Big Wu Hit the Road Jack-The Shantee What I Say-Natural Breakdown I Don’t Need No Doctor-John Mayer

Dead Heart Bloom are understated. That’s their biggest problem. Their songs, almost all of them, start with a slow quiet roll, burst into chorus, and then roll back. It’s the format pioneered by the Pixies, but without the punk energy. Instead, the choruses are poppy, almost sunny. Almost. There’s an undercurrent of sadness that permeates [...]