There’s a lot that stands out about “I Will Possess Your Heart,” the first single from Death Cab for Cutie’s new album, Narrow Stairs, out May 13 on Atlantic Records….
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
San Francisco’s Enablers are more an amalgam of music and poetry than the average band. This distinction is forged primarily through the use of speech only loosely set in pattern…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
The best thing about St. Patrick’s Day – aside from that whole drinking thing – is that it’s a day to be especially proud about redheadedness. A long time ago,…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
As everyone learned in Freud 101, the oft-controversial psychologist believed there are three egos in each of us: the Id (which focuses on our most basic desires — namely, food…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
Whether or not you’re a fan of his music, it’s hard to argue that Trent Reznor, the creative mastermind of Nine Inch Nails, is constantly at the forefront of innovation….
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
Many seem eager to send bands like Vampire Weekend to the firing line for their afro-pop-lite brand of indie rock. For those on the often thankless crusade for authenticity, meet…
Taylor Long
2 Min Read
It’s a damn good thing that Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova won an Oscar for their song from the independent picture Once, if only because it means they have something…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
One of the most astounding things about art, and especially music, is the way a self-centered thought or experience contained in a medium can ignite a chain reaction of independent…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
In sixth grade, I was very good friends with a guy named Gabe. He came into our private school rather late in the game — most of us had been…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
There’s so much to like about the self-titled debut from Tacoma, Washington’s Mono in VCF, it’s hard to know where to start. As a debut, it’s almost too good. Mono…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
The Anniversary’s “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter” is exactly the kind of song that I began “Lost MP3 of the Week” for. However, itÁ¢€â„¢s a music journalistÁ¢€â„¢s nightmare. The…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
For five years now, the Mars Volta has colored the alternative rock scene with their hardcore-prog-jazz hybrid. They’ve represented the point where hippies, metalheads and avant-garde fans could meet in…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
A Joanna Newsom album has never sounded as good as she did when she played at the Brooklyn Academy of Music last Thursday. Even the most middling of fans, the…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
Among the many reasons why I love Two Gallants, one of the most prominent is the way their songs feel alive, as if they posses minds of their own. Guitarist/vocalist…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
Coming into their first full-length, Vampire Weekend are in the precarious position of having a reputation that precedes them. Before their self-titled debut can be properly digested and enjoyed, let’s…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
Cat Power (aka Chan Marshall) makes two ballsy moves with her new album, Jukebox, largely considered her second covers album, though it contains two originals. She leads off with the…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
Dear Chris Walla, As a longtime Death Cab for Cutie fan, I was pretty excited to hear about your solo album. By “longtime fan,” I mean longtime fan. We’re talking…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
If there’s one major aspect of the rise of hipster irony (the only rule of which seems to be, basically, “so bad/ridiculous/awkward it’s good”) that I appreciate, it’s what it’s…
Taylor Long
2 Min Read
Quirk is a risky thing to play with. If it’s not done in the right way or if it’s taken too far, it can seem insincere, gimmicky, or severely limit…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
Not since the Riot Grrl movement has there likely been a better time for alternative female singer-songwriters. With the likes of Feist, M.I.A., Lily Allen, and (on a smaller scale…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
The two biggest criticisms that Black Mountain’s In the Future is likely to receive are the following: 1. STONERS 2. They’re not doing anything “new” These points do hold weight….
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
There’s something so beautifully painful about “Gonna Take a Miracle.” In a way, she sounds almost happy about the hurt that her lover’s leaving has caused her. It’s a jubilant,…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
At first, Finian McKean’s Monsters of the Deep Woods seems deceptively simple, with its sparse acoustics and oblique lyrics. Each successive listen, though, reveals a new layer of meaning and…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
Like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, rapper Lupe Fiasco mixes sentimentality with harsh attacks on the hand that feeds him in his sophomore effort, The Cool. He attempts to do…
Previous
Page 4 of 4