The best of the entire weekend
The Dismemberment Plan, performing tonight at the Black Cat (sold out), and Saturday and Sunday (also sold out) at 9:30 Club.
I loathe to admit, but I've yet to earn my D-Plan stripes. It's not looking like this will be the weekend to do so either. In all matters Dismemberment Plan, [...]
It's all been online for nearly a day already, but in case you missed something, this week's dead-tree City Paper has lots of sexy stuff:
Leor Galil profiles D.C. grindcore trio Magrudergrind, who pissed off some of their peers by releasing an EP through Scion, the Toyota brand. But why are grindcore kids still hung up [...]
As the leaves change their hue, the inevitable moment arrives when you slip on a fuzzy knit sweater to better bear the brisk weather sliding into summer's absence. It's a strangely pleasant time of year, but it somehow feels warmer when pitted snugly against a song acknowledging the coming chill. An autumn track ought to [...]
The mixtape was created for this: picking just the right song to gently stir a girl or boy's heart toward romance. It's an old, time-honored tradition, and whether it's on a cassette or an iTunes playlist, the mixtape will long remain a classy way to get that special someone to hold your hand. It's a [...]
Alex Chilton has passed away. Whether you know it or not, you owe half your music collection to that man. And indie rock owes almost everything.
Arts Desk contributor Brandon Wu photographs a lot of shows, but for our Music in Review issue, he did a 180 and pointed his camera at the crowds. His photo essay includes fans of Metallica, Lady Gaga (above), Britney Spears, Mates of State, Mudvayne, Yo La Tengo, and more. Check it out here.
Because I wrote about Title Tracks' versions of songs by The Flamin' Groovies and The Merseybeats earlier this week, and because Bob Dylan's truly atrocious new disc of Christmas standards leaked yesterday, I've been thinking a lot about covers.
Let's put aside the illustrious history of ill-advised tributes (read: the entire Me First and the Gimme Gimmes oeuvre). A good cover can [...]
Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley, of Hoboken, N.J.'s Yo La Tengo, are married. Despite the rumors, Matt Johnson and Kim Schifino, better known as the Brooklyn band Matt & Kim, are not.
At Matt & Kim's sold-out show at the Black Cat Wednesday, Schifino showed off what has to be indie pop's most expressive face, while [...]
Jon Fischer will be recapping last night's Yo La Tengo show at the 9:30 Club. In the meantime, check out some photos from the evening after the jump and at the full gallery.
"When it comes to interviews , it’s whatever people ask, and I try my best not to answer it," said Ira Kaplan, Yo La Tengo's jocular guitarist and singer, at the end of our phone chat yesterday, dodging the most customary of questions: "Do you have anything else to add?"
It wasn't his first demurral. I [...]
