blog
September 3rd, 2010
A Few Words and a Free Download From Their Debut EP to Help Answer That Question
By Adam Hildebrand
Rumor has it that Headless Horseman’s Conner O’Neill and Fareed Sajan were dumped on the curb as newborns by a half-breed demon on a windy New York Halloween night. For whom? Nobody knows. Two orphans from the same clan—abandoned. And in some Ring Cycle style twist of fate they were separated as infants only to be reunited later in life as the band Headless Horseman . . .
Well, anyway, that’s the legend. And who knows? It could be true. One thing’s for sure, though, they’ve made some pretty sweet sounds in their debut EP, HDLSS.
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August 9th, 2010
by Amy Hildebrand
For those of you who are in their mid-to-late twenties, I’m sure you can recall the sudden death of the Notorious B.I.G. I remember when I heard about it. I was in the seventh grade, wearing an oversized boys’ Gap sweatshirt, sitting in mandatory choir when I received the news. I had no clue who “Biggie” even was, but regardless, I found it sad that his life had to end while he was at the top of his game. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who felt this way. The controversy over his death spread like wildfire in the tabloids, leaving the unstable masses crying out for someone to tell them it was going to be okay. And so, Diddy (or Puff Daddy at the time) answered the call by performing a simple, yet familiar song. But I’ll get to that later.
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August 3rd, 2010
Ramona Falls is a project headed by Oregonian, Brent Knopf (also of Menomena). The project was begun after a delay in releasing the third Menomena album. Well, who in their right mind likes waiting?… Right.
Knopf gathered some friends and colleagues–35 to be exact–and created Ramona Falls. (more…)
July 20th, 2010
by Adam Hildebrand
YOUTUBE, USA –The lives of 22 Justin Bieber fans have been lost to Bieber Fever after 5 months of grueling music video watching that has some questioning our future as a nation. What was considered a mild hit has quickly transmogrified into a stampeding epidemic among the nation’s youth. Some are celebrating, and others are left baffled, confused, and generally bent out of shape.
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July 11th, 2010
Murder Mystery: Jeremy Coleman, Laura Coleman, Adam Fels, and Graham Roberts
by Adam Hildebrand
Murder Mystery is back in the studio two years after the release of their critically successful, self-released debut album, Are You Ready for the Heartache ‘Cause Here It Comes. And in the midst of a crazy heatwave, the indie rock/pop gang from Brooklyn, New York, has treated us all to a mid-summer shower of coolness.
We’ve got two free downloads for you from Murder Mystery’s upcoming, currently untitled album: “I Am (If You Are)” and “Change My Mind.” (more…)
July 2nd, 2010
Maybe it’s because I’m feeling a little out of control and crazy lately, but recently I’ve felt drawn to “Across the Universe.” It is certainly one of John Lennon’s best. And accordingly, it has been covered numerous times. We all know the original, and so I won’t belabor showing that. I’ve provided a live version that “could have been,” and a few covers. Which is your favorite? (If you have any.) Maybe I’m a biased Paul Thomas Anderson fan, but the Fiona Apple version is at least the best visual interpretation of the lyrics.
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June 29th, 2010
by Adam Hildebrand
The dramatic climax to our four-part series on music and metaphysics. Does the one affect the other? Did I just use “affect” in the right context? Should I have used “effect” instead? What happens to us when we listen to music?
(If none of this makes any sense, please start from the beginning. Click here for part 1, 2, and 3.)
Have We Found the True Drum Machine?
We know that genes determine our physical characteristics. Personality, however, feels like an invisible characteristic, so we tend to loose the connection between the two—or perhaps never manage make the connection. But when we whittle humans down to physical machines, we’ve got little else to work with. When it comes down to it, your personality is a physically determined trait as well. Your genes have hardwired you to love music—not only that, but they have hardwired you to love the specific kind of music you love as well. If you’re an artist, your genes have hardwired you to write and perform. We could say that a drummer is nothing but a drum machine. When you say that drum machines have no soul, you may be right, but neither do drummers. And poor James Brown: he’s a soul machine, and his songs literally have as much soul as he does.
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