Frightened Rabbit could not have been more different from the setting for their acoustic, all-request set at Le Poisson Rouge on Monday night. Le Poisson Rouge’s pricey beverages and bottle…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009, Domino) purchase this CD (Amazon) The optical illusion cover for Animal Collective’s latest and eighth release, Merriweather Post Pavilion, is more than something…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
Though Kristian Matsson’s stature does not meet the expectations set forth by his stage moniker, Tallest Man on Earth, he was plenty intimidating in presence during his recent show at…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
Looking down on the audience at Dan Deacon’s show at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple on Thursday night was akin to watching a strange orgy or mating ritual of some kind….
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
Left wanting more after seeing one of their many CMJ sets, I was interested to see that Pattern is Movement was coming back to NYC to open for Subtle. As…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
It would go against the trail-blazing spirit of Trent Reznor to use him as any sort of guideline, but it must be said that any arena rock band should turn…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
Anyone who was unsure as to what to expect from the Smashing Pumpkins’ performance at United Palace last Thursday surely had that question answered within the first few minutes. They…
Taylor Long
3 Min Read
For women who want to make it in the all too male-dominated music industry – and music journalism in particular – writer Carrie Borzillo-Vrenna is an inspiration. Her name has…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
The first half of the last day of CMJ was something of a random draw, with there only being one band I was determined to see that day (Pattern Is…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
The third day of CMJ began at Fontana’s, with Austin, TX folk duo the Lovely Sparrows. This is one of the shows I was looking forward to, as occasional contributor…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
By day four, this CMJ hound needed a bit of a rest – which, in CMJ terms, means I went to one show instead of five. Truthfully, the one show…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
Remember how day one of CMJ was all about the blogs? Well, day two was also sort of all about the blogs, or at least one in particular, NYC-based Ear…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
The first day of CMJ (or the College Music Journal’s Music Marathon, should you prefer to be proper) this year was all about blog showcases, with New York City’s music…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
There are some bands whose godlike characteristics fade a bit in a live setting. Merely seeing that they’re human is enough. They have arms and legs and eyes and ears…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
In their recordings, the Notwist might give off the impression of being a sleepy little electro-pop band, but don’t let that twist your notions of what their live show is…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
Steadily making its way around the Internet, the Chunk of Change EP by Massachusetts’ Passion Pit started out as a Valentine’s Day gift to founder Michael Angelakos’ girlfriend. Angelakos wrote…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
John Fahey has been recommended to me enough times that I’ve lost count, and has been cited as an influence by a decent chunk of the bands in my listening…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
Beck could have been a more engaging performer at Wednesday’s United Palace show, but what he lacked in personality on stage, he made up for in song. The show was…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
From time to time, the price bands pay for innovation is the inability of music writers to accurately capture what they’re doing. It’s a strange irony that the bands most…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
In the fashion world, patchwork, the design concept that calls for small pieces put together as part of a larger design, might be considered pejorative. But when it comes to…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
It’s easy enough to say that live performance is the true test of a band. But there’s something that goes beyond that. Will a show that’s great once be great…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
It’s horribly cliche, but over the past couple summers, the moment the temperatures move towards 80 degrees, I reach for my Doors collection. I always start out more or less…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
A couple weeks ago, a friend and I went to see Jarvis Cocker play at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. The opener was Kuroma, a name that neither my friend…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
During the spring of my junior year of college, I listened to Huey Lewis nonstop. One day, while working on the campus newspaper, I was sorting through the shared music…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
If there’s anything that was meant by the early Black Kids press, it wasn’t about hype or the power of the Internet, or the way that the music business is…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
The first time I saw Wolf Parade, they were opening a secret Modest Mouse show at Webster Hall in 2004. I knew nothing about them, but they impressed me just…
Taylor Long
2 Min Read
In 2004, I managed to land an internship at the Grammys. More specifically, the Seattle branch of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), the professional organization responsible…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
After watching the first 10 minutes, the most surprising thing about Shine a Light, Martin ScorseseÁ¢€â„¢s concert documentary about the Rolling Stones, is that it ever happened. Shot in grainy…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
In New York, baseball is akin to religion. To many New Yorkers, Billy Joel is, too. So it was no surprise when it was announced that Joel would play the…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
When the Fleet Foxes performed at Bowery Ballroom last week, frontman Robin Pecknold had a cold. But unlike a downtrodden, silent Frank Sinatra, the audience might have never known it…