Doc and Merle Watson’s Elementary Doctor Watson, released in 1972, maintains a very deep, special hold on me, and has since I was about eight years old. Though Southbound, released six years earlier on Vanguard, is the superior album — one of the best folk revival albums ever made, in fact — Elementary is one [...]

Towards the end of November our friends in New York held a little shindig where 17 Dots posters met 17 Dots commentators. So now I’m proposing we do the same over here. I can’t promise you James May or Oz Clarke (sorry, I just wanted to put some really English celebrities in the picture i.e. [...]

The September issue of Alternative Press has a fantastic piece by Scott Heisel entitled “The Class of ‘98: A Look Back at 10 Albums That Shaped the Punk of Today.” The other day Alex and I went through the list, and kept reminiscing over how great some of these albums are, and how much they [...]

(photo Orin Bassoff Photography)
Douglas Wolk has been serving as eMusic’s alt/punk columnist for the last four years now, writing about everyone from Sufjan Stevens to Swans with remarkable insight and inventiveness. When Douglas proposed a column on ukulele music, we decided to take it one step further: Douglas is a uke player himself, so I [...]

Over the last weeks we’ve had a few singles land from bands fronted by young women who are just starting to generate a buzz. Here’s a quick round up:
Zoey Van Goey Sweethearts In Disguise - My personal pick. Zoey Van Goey are from Glasgow and play glockenspiel-augmented indie pop, but don’t paint them as [...]

Douglas Wolk has been serving as eMusic’s alt/punk columnist for the last four years now, writing about everyone from Sufjan Stevens to Swans with remarkable insight and inventiveness. When Douglas proposed a column on ukulele music, we decided to take it one step further: Douglas is a uke player himself, so I asked him if [...]

For the first time in what feels like forever, I have spent the past few days actually listening to music: scouting potential Selects bands (we have one — knock on wood — on board, considering some others), peeping my massive to-listen pile and, most enjoyably, listening for actual pleasure, something I don’t get to do [...]

7/19-21/08
I have my Rock Lives! moment of this particular go-round unexpectedly, as usually happens. We’re on a night of unwind in Barcelona after the long haul from Scandinavia, shown around by our aforementioned stage right tech, who lives here. We’ve had great tapas (Inopia, 104 Calle Tamarit); hung at Bar Ramon in the [...]

It’s the small touches I like best about Latitude, like finding a full living room set, mantelpiece included, when wondering through the woods at night. I like the art works hanging from the trees, the pastel-coloured sheep and the ballet dancers and gondoliers on the lake. The festival took place last weekend in the grounds [...]

I haven’t done a new arrivals post in a while, and there’s quite a bit of stuff that has come in this week that I like, so let’s quickly peruse.

So, yeah! Pitchfork! It was awesome! And also kind of a blur. Here’s what’s great about going to the Pitchfork Festival: things are cheap (no $5 bottles of water — hi there Lollapalooza), I always see lots and lots of friends (you know who you are) and there’s a real sense of community at the [...]

I know the “edit cartoon/animatronic things to lip sync popular songs” meme is soooo two months ago but…I couldn’t resist this. “Ante Up” by the estimable, shouty M.O.P. is one of my favorite rap tunes EVER and seeing it like this is a surreal (and surprisingly satisfying) experience.
If you wanna hear “Ante Up” in its [...]

7/14-18/08
Jazz Odyssey. Our “new direction,” as Derek Smalls of Spinal Tap might have it, begins synchronously in Vienna on our night off. A friend recommends us to the Celeste Café on Hamburgerstrasse, where we might find “digital artists” and musicians, and have a bite to eat. There is food in the upstairs [...]

I love the Mercury Prize. I admit that the bands I want to win never do win (I’m so sorry British Sea Power, it’s all over for you now.) But the Mercury seems to be one of the very few awards that actually gets people talking about music, as opposed to sales figures or party [...]

I know that everyone understandably wants to talk about the technology improvements to eMusic today, but there’s another cool new feature I wanted to mention: our list of the best albums of the year so far. You can read it here.
Hopefully you aren’t too list-weary after last week’s big best albums ever brouhaha, but we’re [...]

Today is the day that we tear down the walls and unveil a brand new album page on eMusic, the first of several transformations to the site geared towards helping you discover even more music. The page includes many features that connect eMusic to the web at large, including direct feeds from YouTube, Flickr and [...]

Late last week, a slew of records from heavyweight UK reissue label Ace Records hit the site.  The motherload is in the soul/funk/blues sweet spot, but it’s a decidedly eclectic bunch with some sweet surprises thrown in.
An important note: some of the releases appear as a “Download Version,” capping longer albums at 14 tracks. This [...]

Tomorrow is my last day at eMusic. And Yancey and Joe have told me that writing a post announcing my departure would be a good thing to do. Unfortunately, I’m not one for goodbyes. And I’m not a man of many words, so here are a couple of songs that I’d like to recommend you [...]

I’m not ashamed to say that the editorial department at eMusic came perilously close to an all-out dance party just a few seconds ago, upon the discovery of this new arrival. And yes, it’s the original recording.

In a couple of hours I will be hopping on a plane to Chicago for the Pitchfork Music Festival, my third trip to what has quickly become the only summer fest I genuinely enjoy. A whole bunch of 17 Dots folks will be making the trek, including Joe, Amishi and some behind-the-scenesers as well. We’ll [...]