Twenty years ago this week, a trio of wildly influential albums came out. Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Blood Sugar Sex Magik gave that L.A.-based band their biggest success, turned rock/rap into an official “thing” and gave Rick Rubin producer cred after a couple of years in the wilderness. A Tribe Called Quest’s The Low End Theory turned that group from De La Soul Jr. into one of hip-hop’s most original and inventive acts. Meanwhile, Nirvana’s Nevermind helped bring alternative rock […]
Indie Rock
Spin Cycle: Girls’ “Father, Son, Holy Ghost”
If a cursory glance of Pitchfork’s “one-record-you’ve-heard-of-a-week” album review archive makes you shake your head, convinced that you just don’t get indie music anymore, you’re within your rights; if only something could come along, make you feel, transport you back to a bygone era. Something like that. Enter Girls. Their 2009 debut album Album seemed to often be a case of “I know I like this because several tastemaking critics have told me so” – far from bad, but often sort of […]
Spin Cycle: Ladytron’s “Gravity The Seducer”
Of the slew of huge releases this week, Ladytron’s Gravity The Seducer was the one that kept flying under the radar for me. Primus, Anthrax, Staind, even Bush were the ones I kept citing off the top of my head when talking about releases for the 13th. And then Gravity… slowly crept up and knocked me on my ass. Let’s be clear on one fact: Ladytron do not make bad albums. Like a finely tuned machine, they churn out albums […]
Spin Cycle: Mike Doughty’s “Yes And Also Yes”
There are not many artists in 2011 as prolific as Mike Doughty . He’s just unleashed his first entirely electronic album (Dubious Luxury: check out the review later this week), there’s a book due next year, oh, and a little thing called Yes And Also Yes which you are reading about right now and hopefully buying after finishing this. Of the music that is thrown at consumers/listeners year after year, it’s very rare that you find one single album that is consistently […]
The Blerd13 with…Mike Doughty!
Mike Doughty is a busy man. There’s the electronic/samples Dubious Luxury record which was released in early August, a new solo album due this week, and then the highly anticipated book due early next year. Mr. Doughty recently answered some burning questions that Popblerd! had about the book, the albums, label changes and some interesting musical collaborators . Keep reading to see if some of your questions were answered, too! 1. With a new album, book, and tour coming up, it seems like […]
CSS liberate you from boredom on latest.
Electro-rock is alive and well in 2011 thanks to bands like Cansei Der Ser Sexy also lovingly known as CSS. Their latest, La Libreacion, is, quite simply, a slab of danceable electro goodness. For those of you who love the video game aesthetic of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, La Liberacion is for you. If you love Ladytron but wish they weren’t so serious all the time, La Liberacion is for you. Album number three starts off the best way any album could with a song […]
CSS liberate you from boredom on latest.
Electro-rock is alive and well in 2011 thanks to bands like Cansei Der Ser Sexy also lovingly known as CSS. Their latest, La Libreacion, is, quite simply, a slab of danceable electro goodness. For those of you who love the video game aesthetic of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, La Liberacion is for you. If you love Ladytron but wish they weren’t so serious all the time, La Liberacion is for you. Album number three starts off the best way […]
Blerd Radio Episode 9: Holy Crap! The Summer’s Over
And here’s the latest podcast from the lovable Mike and Jesse in which we discuss….what did we discuss again? There was a lot of Sesion Dark Lager consumed. Oh yeah! We talked (Ok, Mrs. Jesse talked about) about the UK’s Special Needs invading NYC on Labor Day as well as 8.24 new releases, a preview of the upcoming RHCP album, and some more debating on the always infuriating Big Box exclusives argument (We’re looking at you, Hov). We also gave […]
The Viewfinder: MuteMath’s “Odd Soul”
MuteMath are one of those bands that always brings a smile to my face. From the opening march of “Collapse” on their S/T debut through the Twilight single “Spotlight” through the epic “Burden” on their sophomore album Armistice, MuteMath have always delivered in full by infusing electro with live instruments that just reaches for the stars in every song. Their third album, Odd Soul, is due in October and the title track and video have just been released. Electro-Black Keys […]