New Wave legends Tears for Fears surprised fans with their first new recording in nine years: a cover of Arcade Fire’s “Ready to Start.” It might be crazy to call a band with 16 U.K. Top 40 hits “underrated,” but Tears for Fears – to this writer – have only seemed to earn the respect they truly deserve in recent times. In the last decade, Gary Jules and Michael Andrews had a U.K. chart-topper with a mournful cover of the band’s “ Mad World ,” […]
Posts tagged "Arcade Fire"
Spin Cycle: Of Monsters and Men’s “My Head is an Animal”
As I hinted when reviewing Of Monsters and Men’s Into the Woods EP a couple of months ago, the pop and indie universes seem to be on a collision course. This isn’t an entirely new phenomenon – remember all of the hullabaloo surrounding Modest Mouse embracing Top 40 with “Float On” back in ’03? – but we’ve reached a point, culturally, where the dividing line is almost nonexistent. Arcade Fire and Bon Iver have Grammys now, and Gotye and Florence + The Machine are […]
Spin Cycle: “The Hunger Games” Original Soundtrack
It’s the #1 soundtrack to the #1 movie in the land! Taylor Swift! Maroon 5! Kid Cudi! Check out what Brittany has to say about the “Hunger Games” soundtrack!
Spin Cycle: Of Monsters and Men’s “Into the Woods” EP
There’s more to Iceland than Bjork! Check out Of Mice and Men, who have a new album out now!
Eminem, Lady Antebellum Lead Grammy Nominees
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Eminem and Lady Antebellum lead the pack of Grammy nominees. The nominations were announced last night in Los Angeles.
Chart Stalker: The Power of Indie
“Indie Rock” is kind of a stupid term. “Indie” technically is shorthand for “independent” (as in not distributed by a major label), but most people see the word “indie” and think “hipster”. This leads to a bit of confusion. I mean, The Mars Volta record for a major label, and technically, Taylor Hicks and Elliott Yamin are “indie”. It should also probably be noted that most indie companies are actually owned by major labels. So we should probably think of […]
New Release Report 8/3/10: Into the (Arcade) Fire
Every once in a while, the Pitchfork types get it right. Arcade Fire’s one of those bands that the music snobs go absolutely apeshit for, and with good reasons. Their sound is epic and catchy at the same time. So it’s kinda strange that the first words I read about their new album, “The Suburbs”, came in the form of a bad review. Then again, it’s not like Boston’s Weekly Dig is a hallmark of music journalism, anyway. They sort […]
Chart Stalker 7/28/10: Ross Comes Close, But No Cigar
Not even Rick Ross’s big ass chain with his head on it was enough to dislodge Slim Shady from the top of Billboard’s album chart this week. The Miami rapper’s fourth album, “Teflon Don”, scans 176,000 copies, coming just under 10,000 units short of the top spot. Em’s “Recovery” is in week 5 at the top spot, with 187,000 copies sold. In just five weeks, it’s sold 1.7 million copies, thanks to Eminem’s loyal fan base and two huge hit […]