The eMusic staff was treated to an in-office performance by Those Darlins last week. The trio was in town from Murfreesboro, TN to record tracks for their upcoming record and got the toe-tapping started with a number about eatin’ chicken! A recycling bin turned into an impromptu drumkit and I snapped a blurry [...]

Twice over the course of the last week I had the opportunity to witness one of my favorite bands, the National, as they transitioned from small clubs to big stages. The group had the unenviable show-opening, 7pm “crack-of-dawn” slot on the REM tour (Modest Mouse was sandwiched in between). Watching the band handily upscale and [...]

I have not been able to stop playing The Presets latest album Apocalypso since it was released last month. Not since The National’s Boxer has an album received this much of my constant attention. Everything I like about 80’s, Industrial, Synthpop, Dance n whatnot is wrapped up in this tight lil [...]

After the madness of Detroit that I outlined here, I will be heading back to New York. To go to Montreal. I’m not going to question the airlines on this one, as long as they get me to Mutek on time.

Hello Europe! Good evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to Belgrade and the 53rd Eurovision Song Contest!
Bonjour l’europe! Bonsoir Mesdames et Messieurs et bienvenue à Belgrade et la 53e Concours Eurovision de la chanson!
Okay, I’l stop this now, cheesy presenter-ese is too much for me even in a text format, but Eurovision is on us again. [...]

Thanks to some random youtubing the other night, I came across a video that sparked a conversation with my friend about some of my “favorite shows” in the past few years. I’ve been missing the Mid-West and the West Coast a fair amount lately, so I kind of needed a stroll down memory lane. [...]

Ladyhawke is my most recent musical crush – I’ve known and loved her for about a week. After Friday’s disappointing through-a-window-darkly Ladyhawke experience, I was determined to see her properly, even though that meant squishing into the painfully overcrowded Cubana - crutches, gammy ankle and all. Ladyhawke, aka New Zealander Pip Brown, sounds like a [...]

Porkpie hats; eighties cocktail frocks; Winehouse-eyeliner; pastel tights; skinny jeans, obviously; checked shirts, granddad cardigans and Converse, Converse, Converse. Camden’s always been London’s Indie Central, but during the two days of the Camden Crawl the area becomes slightly monocultural – anything goes so long as it’s indie.
In fairness, the modern indie fan prays in a [...]

Last night the Good Timing Fairy smiled upon us, as on the same day they were debuted as the newest addition to eMusic Selects, Crystal Stilts played a show at the Knitting Factory in NYC. And they were good! The songs were looser live, as you might expect, and I’m totally gutted to say that [...]

Photo credit: Richard Patterson for the NY Times
I’ve been quiet here for the past week, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been listening to music. In fact, I’ve been listening to a lot of it. At pounding volumes. In sweaty clubs. Yep, last week I was at the Winter Music Conference in Miami.

photo via Jason Bergman’s Flickr
Terminal 5, Bowery Presents’ new factory-like behemoth in Hell’s Kitchen, ended up being an oddly perfect venue for a Sunday night noise freakout.

Here’s a quick-hit recap of my last two days in Austin, including a case for why you need to see Ponytail right now. Oh, and again, lots of pictures here.

On my final day at SXSW: I meet Mingering Mike, hear a great band in a bike shop parking lot and finally see High Places.

20+ shows in 2 days meant countless doormen checking my ID to make sure I was of age. The only one to notice I had a birthday coming up? The doorman at the Scandinavian Death Metal Showcase. More on that later.

For all of my SXSW photos, go here.
Thursday in Austin was a bit of a wash. I saw a fair amount of stuff, but not a lot of it stuck. Best of the day by far was Ponytail, from Baltimore.

For lots of my SXSW photos, go here.
Forget bias, I’m gonna say it outright: the eMusic showcase last night at Maggie Mae’s was ridiculously amazing. Seriously. The highlights: Delorean (one of the best sets I have ever seen), Day for Night and Frightened Rabbit. I have never been so proud to be an eMu’r.

Day One South by Southwest was full of the familiar. I ended up seeing bands I’d either loved for years or seen before – owing both to strange scheduling or odd geography. By day’s end I was hoarse, slightly sunburned, and I couldn’t feel anything from my ankles down.
Needless to say, I’m ready to do [...]

Hey everyone. So I will be hopping on a plane to Austin for SXSW here shortly, but I wanted to point out that the second installment of eMusic Selects is LIVE. The two picks are Susu, a mathy Brooklyn band, and Hands on Heads, this exuberant London art-punk band. We like the two records quite [...]

With SXSW fast approaching, Yancey and I needed help navigating the festival’s hectic schedule. There was only one place to turn: Amishi. Over the course of a spirited 15-minute (or so) conversation, Amishi cuts a straight path through this year’s overcrowded Austin lineup. Click through for the carnage.

So the Plug Awards show is over, the winners have been announced. Here’s my wrap up of the proceedings with pictures as clear as I could muster with my tiny digital camera from my spot 20 feet back from the stage.