[Happy birthday today to old f.o.b.b.* Linus of Hollywood, who appeared in the very first Buzz Bands column.] Maybe it’s because it’s early in the morning and I’m cranky, but some things just puzzle me. Like the energy spent on 98% of the stuff on YouTube. Take Johnny Bennett’s video for “Sister Pharmaceutical” [above], which, […]
[Here’s some afternoon viewing – two videos I really like …] The video for Death Cab for Cutie’s “Grapevine Fires” is even more of a tear-jerker than the song, but it tugs at all the right heartstrings. It’s the work of Walter Robot (the team of multimedia artist Bill Barminski and writer Christopher Louie), and […]
[More L.A.-made tunes from the Buzz Bands fountain …] Sometimes you have to jog Buzz Bands’ memory, and that was the case when I heard “Bliss & Death,” the new album from National Skyline. Oh, yes, there on the shelves was the band’s self-titled 2000 release on Hidden Agenda Records, purchased long ago via mail […]
The new video for the Cold War Kids track “I’ve Seen Enough,” directed by Vern Moen, weaves in-studio footage from the making of their album “Loyalty to Loyalty” with images from the Long Beach quartet’s travels and glimpses of bassist/artist Matt Maust’s typographic treatments of the lyrics. Cold War Kids play the Orpheum on March […]
NPR nails it again – they have an exclusive stream of Neko Case’s sixth album, “Middle Cyclone,” due out March 3. I heard some of the music at a recent noon-hour showcase in Hollywood, and Case has never been in finer form. It’s as if when she opens her mouth your conscience assumes physical shape. […]
Here’s a comforting midday treat: the new video for Obi Best’s “Green and White Stripes.” The dreamy song, from the L.A. artist’s album “Capades,” gets a matching treatment by director Max Goldblatt. Obi Best is currently touring the country; next L.A. sighting is a March 13 appearance on KXLU-FM.
I thought the album “Rearrange Beds” by Australian duo An Horse was out in February, but it turns out March 17 is the physical release date. Whichever, the music of Damon Cox and Kate Cooper is crackling-good indie pop. Their North American tour starts this week at Noise Pop in Francisco, but skips L.A., for […]
Here’s a fun little DIY video from L.A. singer-songwriter Sara Lov’s cover series. Lov, whose debut album “Seasoned Eyes Were Beaming” comes out March 17, covers Silversun Pickups’ “Kissing Families,” with sideman/producer Zac Rae playing a small piano. And, yes, that’s SSPU frontman Brian Aubert joining in on tambourine. Speaking of the Pickups, their sophomore […]
[Happy birthday to Yoko Ono, 76 years young. Not that she isn’t getting birthday greetings from all over …] Mystery Jets, the Syd Barrett-worshiping, 1980s-channeling quintet from London, are newly aligned with Rough Trade Records. Their “Twenty One” was No. 8 on NME’s top albums of 2008, though it was barely a blip on anybody’s […]
[Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong turns 37 today, and you ought to be hearing new stuff from him on the radio soon, with the band’s new album “21st Century Breakdown” coming in May …] Charlie Wadhams had quite a warm-up for tonight’s Hotel Cafe show. On Monday he was scheduled to do a short set […]
