2013, the Year of Dave Grohl

Grohl jolted us when he arose from the ashes of Nirvana as the frontman of The Foo Fighters, but no one could have predicted how far his passions would eventually take him. As the most popular and one of the most sought-after drummers around, this guy’s the Bonham of our generation. He continuously proves himself as the musician that never quits, but hey, maybe it’s just all of those fresh pots. In recent news alone, he has given word of another contribution with Queens of the Stone Age, reminded us about the true love that can exist with music as Keynote Speaker at SXSW and just finished up a tour where he shared the stage with many of his personal heroes. But above all these things, his most impressive output is his directorial debut, Sound City. As Grohl told Rolling Stone, “It’s the most important thing I’ve done, because it’s not for me.”
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By Carey Uhl Posted in Reviews Dave Grohl, FEAR, Fleetwood Mac, Josh Homme, Neil Young, Nirvana, Paul McCartney, Queens Of The Stone age, Rage Against The Machine, Stevie Nicks, The Foo Fighters, Tom Petty, Trent Reznor, Weezer

Red Bull brought everyone back to the heyday of hip-hop’s golden era Friday night at the Sound Select stage at SXSW. Following a rock-tinged start with Brooklyn-based all-female band Heliotropes, and English rockers Little Barrie, things quickly changed tempo when the entire stage went back in time. Read more…

By Carey Uhl Posted in Reviews, Show Reviews Heliotropes, Little Barrie, The Geto Boys, Ultramagnetic MCs

Day 3 in Austin brought Cool Kids and Master P. to the Redbull Sound Select Stage. Check out our selection of photos after the jump.
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By Carey Uhl Posted in Reviews, Show Reviews Cool Kids, Master P

We’re back from day two with a new set of photos from the Redbull Sound Select Stage at SXSW. This selection includes photographs of The Black Cadillacs, Those Darlin’s, Johnny Fritz and John McCauley & Friends, who were eventually joined by Deer Tick.
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By Carey Uhl Posted in Reviews, Show Reviews Deer Tick, John McCauley & Friends, Johnny Fritz, those darlins

The Red Bull Sound Select Stage brought the heat when Best Coast, Beach Party and Big Black Delta took the stage on the 12th at SXSW. Check out photos from the show below.
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By Carey Uhl Posted in Reviews, Show Reviews beach party, Best Coast, Big Black Delta

Mixed Treasure

How could a proper sailor turn a cold shoulder to a collection of various artists that boasts names like Tom Waits and Keith Richards, Frank Zappa, Dr. John, Iggy Pop, Macy Gray, Courtney Love, Johnny Depp, Patti Smith and orchestral duo Nick Cave and Warren Ellis? Son of Rogues Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs & Chanteys, the (overly) generous second offering produced by Hal Willner, contains 36 songs of classic maritime tunes and spans over 140 minutes. Face the music or walk the plank, ye scoundrels.
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By Carey Uhl Posted in Reviews Courtney Love, Dr. John, frank zappa, Hal Willner, Iggy Pop, Johnny Depp, Keith Richards, Macy Gray, Nick Cave, Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, Patti Smith, Shilpa Ray, Tom Waits

Wash the Sound

Gothic post-rock outfit, Esben and the Witch, have returned with their second long-player, picking up right where their 2011 debut Violet Cries left off, but perhaps less dark in tone and more polished in overall sound. And while Wash the Sins Not Only the Face is not a perfect album, it will certainly appease those looking for an audio compliment to their Brothers Grimm collection.
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By Carey Uhl Posted in Reviews Esben and the Witch

In what will come to be known as the year of revealing, for music and world news alike, there is no question that 2012 had surprises around every corner. There have been an unprecedented number of standout albums this year and a frighteningly large amount of disappointments as well. Some bands reformed, some bands split up, and a record number of debut bands came racing out of the gates. The Superbowl XLVI halftime show featuring Madonna, LMFAO, Nicki Minaj, MIA, and Cee Lo Green demonstrated the power of pop music by setting the record for the most watched TV event of all time (118 million). Let’s not forget that it was a year of sorrow for fans, family, and friends of musical legends Whitney Houston, who died at the untimely age of 48, Donna Summer, 63, and Doc Watson, who left us at 89, and then the very recent loss of the musical giants Dave Brubeck and Ravi Shankar. While 2012 had its ups and downs, we would like to reflect on all of the amazing music that was released over the last year. Here are our 2012 Albums of the Year:
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By Carey Uhl Posted in Features A Fine Frenzy, A Place to Bury Strangers, Amanda Palmer and the Grand Theft Orchestra, Anywhere, Back Moth Super Rainbow, Between the Buried and Me, Carina Round, Cat Power, David Byrne and St. Vincent, Devin Townsend Project, Dntel, Drop the Lime, Extra Life, Flying Lotus, frank ocean, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, heartless bastards, Horse Feathers, Howlin Rain, husky, Jack White, Ken Stringfellow, Lavender Diamond, mark lanegan band, patrick watson, Redd Kross, Santigold, Scott Kelly Steve Von Till Wino, Sharon Van Etten, Sleigh Bells, Starring, taken by trees, TEEN, The Big Sleep, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, the darkness, The Mountain Goats, The XX, Twin Shadow, Virgin Forest

2012 was a thunderous year for music. So much is released on a daily basis, in fact, that many find it impossible to keep up with all these happenings. Fortunately for you, that’s what mxdwn does best. The following tracks signify what matters in music in our modern age. Sit down, chill out, and listen to what we consider to be the most important songs of the year.
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By Carey Uhl Posted in Features Alt-J, Amanda Palmer and the Grand Theft Orchestra, Andre 3000, Andrew Bird, Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, Beck, Ben Folds Five, Ben Howard, Between the Buried and Me, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Bob Mould, Cat Power, Dethklok, Devin Townsend Project, Extra Life, Flight of the Conchords, Florence and The Machine, Foxy Shazam, Gorillaz, Grimes, Horse Feathers, Howlin Rain, Jack White, James Murphy, Josh Homme, Ken Stringfellow, M.I.A., Only You, passion pit, patrick watson, Santigold, Scott Walker, Sharon Van Etten, Sleigh Bells, TEEN, the darkness

There have only been pleasant surprises since Victoria Bergsman opted out of her Swedish pop outfit, The Concretes, in favor of pursuing a solo career under the moniker Taken by Trees. Though her solo debut was strong with Open Field, it seems that with Bergsman, good just gets better. Since then, she’s taken us to the lush soundscapes of Pakistan with East of Eden and most recently, transported listeners to Hawaii with Other Worlds. Since each of her records drastically differ, we were all too pleased to sit down with Bergsman at The Fonda Theatre in Hollywood to try to figure out what sort of role environment plays in her songwriting process.
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By Carey Uhl Posted in Features taken by trees, The Concretes, victoria bergsman