Thursday, May 12 2011
Boundless: An Interview with Bruce Cockburn
One of the most prolific singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s, Bruce Cockburn is also the most eclectic, very likely the most honest, and certainly the most overlooked. Upon the release of his 31st studio album, Small Source of Comfort, I had the opportunity to talk with him about his new record, his career, and even Justin Bieber.
Wednesday, May 11 2011
Here We Rest: A Conversation with Jason Isbell
Three records and a few hundred shows into his solo career, former Drive-By Trucker Jason Isbell seems to have found his groove.
“You Can’t Blame Those Who Have Tried”: An Interview with Cedella Marley
In this revealing and open interview, Cedella Marley discusses her father's legacy, the planned bootleg series ahead, and what's currently missing in the current state of reggae music ...
Tuesday, May 10 2011
Hyphenated Bosch: A Mike Watt Interview
“I know it’s weird. All these little creatures… It’s almost like a mirror in my head broke into 30 pieces." Minutemen and Stooges bassist Mike Watt talks with PopMatters about life as a middle aged punker and his new rock opera, Hyphenated Man
Monday, May 9 2011
There Is Nothing to Grieve: An Argument Against a Neutral Milk Hotel Reunion
On 4 December 2010, Jeff Mangum, indie rock's most reclusive star, performed a full acoustic set, the first in at least a decade. But does that make the possibility of a Neutral Milk Hotel reunion a good idea?
Everywhere She Goes: An Interview with Lissie
The Rock Island native got huge in Europe before starting a glorious iTunes-assisted crossover to America, and speaks to PopMatters about what it all means ...
Monday, May 2 2011
The Natural Order: An Interview With Dave Heumann of Arbouretum
With a spiritually-engaged, elementally-fuzzed guitar aesthetic that sounds like a collaboration between Neil Young and Jimi Hendrix, Arbouretum’s Dave Heumann has found a rhythm over the course of three albums. Now with his fourth, The Gathering, he adds a new influence to the mix, the pioneering psychoanalyst Carl Jung.
Friday, April 29 2011
Dancing Till the World Ends: Why Does Contemporary Pop Love War?
The Europop renaissance in Top 40 music has ushered in a peculiar fascination with the sounds, smells and visions of war. Seeing pop as a kind of warfare, or warfare in pop, provides a psychic escape for the listener.
Thursday, April 28 2011
After the Boom: An Interview with Roommate
What began as an assignment handed down from a roommate while he was gone has turned into Kent Lambert's main gig, a far cry from being a filmmaker in New York ...
Wednesday, April 27 2011
Ready to Go: An Interview with Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco
With the controversial departure of half of his band, Brendon Urie has bravely soldiered on with Panic! at the Disco, relocating to California and unleashing one ambitious new disc ...
Tuesday, April 26 2011
The Dismemberment Plan’s “Emergency & I”: A Record of Colossal Possibilities
This is an album that reaches out, grabs you by the throat, and just doesn’t relent. There’s not a misspent note or dishonest emotion.
Monday, April 25 2011
Another Shade of J: An Interview with J Mascis
With Another Shade of Why, the famed Dinosaur Jr. guitarist makes his most Dinosaur Jr.-sounding solo disc to date, and sits down with PopMatters to discuss vocal exercises, "English folky bands", and his tips for those just about to try skiing ...
In Every Direction: An Interview with Junip
Where José González confesses to yawning on record, and the band decides to keep it in the mix.
Friday, April 22 2011
Faun Fables Finds Solace in the Kitchen
A gothically threatening background of strange weather, violence and uncertainty is pitted against the warmth and light of loving domesticity on Faun Fables’ fifth LP Light of a Vaster Dark. Songwriter Dawn McCarthy, says that she has stared down the darkness and found comfort in the homely rituals of cooking.
Thursday, April 21 2011
“Fighting What’s Right in the World”: An Interview with Tim Heidecker
Heidecker and Wood have now turned their form-rattling attention to a strictly musical genre: soft rock. Starting from Nowhere is a hilarious and totally authentic sounding collection of songs that could have been beamed in from the 1970s or 1980s AM dial.
A Heart That’s Pounding: An Interview with Sally Seltmann
Sally Seltmann (formerly New Buffalo) has made one of last year's best records, but few have heard it. This may be about to change.
Tuesday, April 19 2011
‘Creative License: The Law and Culture of Digital Sampling’
“We thought sampling was just a way of arranging sounds,” says Chuck D… Public Enemy wanted “to blend sound. Just as visual artists take yellow and blue and come up with green, we wanted to be able to do that with sound.”
Coachella 2011, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Heatstroke
I wouldn’t change a thing about Coachella. Even the stuff that irritated me.
Monday, April 18 2011
From the Fringe of Islam: An Interview with Michael Muhammad Knight
Famous amongst orphaned Muslims -- teens and adults trying to find a place in a religion known for stringency -- Knight’s first book, The Taqwacores straddles the line between manifesto and coming of age novel.
“I Feel Finally, Fully Myself”: An Interview with Alexi Murdoch
After turning down major labels, soundtracking acclaimed indie-films, and letting his new album simply sit around for a few months, Alexi Murdoch finally comes around to an important revelation: that he's never been more at ease with himself than he is right now.