Violinists and violists can stop complaining about the weight of their half-kilo instrument. Ladeez gemmun, we present: the Blackbird. Carved from the sculptor’s grandfather’s tombstone. A shade over two kilograms.
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Author: David Gerard
Synthpop: Syntec, Torul (2016), Curxes (2015).
Industrial mellows out to EBM, and synthpop goes the other way.
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Christian Fitness: like a western Mark Smith.
Christian Fitness is the one-man band of Andrew “Falco” Falkous of Cardiff post-hardcore (so, punk) band Future of the Left, and formerly of Mclusky. Focused and apposite punk ranting, sarcastic and angry, backed by a bloody racket with good tunes and at least half way decent recording.
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More Bitcoin spammers for your amusement, or mine at least.
Two copies of this just hit the email box. Why don’t you follow the link they want to give me $30 to put their link on. I’ll just be waiting here.
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Stephen Witt: How Music Got Free (2015, 2016).
This purports to be the story of the last twenty years of the record industry, told by one of the kids who collected MP3s in his college dorm just before Napster. It isn’t the story of the MP3 revolution, but it is some stories, only one of which is seriously important to the claim in the title. But the details mostly aren’t wrong.
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Links: floor-sweepings editions, musician forums, Piracy: The Better Choice.
A site for multi-disc reissues, a new musicians’ forum, DRM still doesn’t work, exclusive deals don’t work.
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Post-punk: Belgrado, Radar Eyes, Rakta (2016).
Post-punk rock bands that aren’t quite g*th but are certainly leaning in that direction.
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Links: Beatles, Prince Buster, Freddie Mercury age 12, Freddie Nietzsche.
The Beatles’ Live At The Hollywood Bowl recovered, Prince Buster obituary, Freddie Mercury aged 12, Nietzsche the composer.
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Fenris Wulf: Loki’s Child (2016 edition). A witty political satire using pop music! I bet you’re delighted already.
Every field has its standard ways to fuck up.
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All guitars: No Sister, Dot Dash, Susan, Strange Passage (2016).
Post-hardcore indie rock, punk pop, power punk pop and jangle punk.
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Pel Mel have a live album and a best-of coming out.
Pel Mel were an Australian post-punk indie-pop band who formed in Newcastle in 1979 and split in 1984. Like so many old post-punk bands, they’ve reformed in recent years, and have a collection and a live album out soon.
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Links: how Deerful and J. G. Ballard work, how Warner Bros doesn’t, what to do in Norwich afterwards.
Secrets of the stars!
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Post-punk: La Femme, Nothing, Les Panties (2016).
Post-punk via yéyé, shoegaze and new wave revival.
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The Hugos, the Sad Puppies and 1970s science fiction paperback covers, which were ridiculous.
The thing that really struck me about Hugo vote-stackers the Sad Puppies was founder Brad Torgersen’s lament that he could no longer tell from the cover of a science fiction novel what it was about.
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Reviews: MRCH, Chelan, Floor Cry (2016).
Electronic indie delights, with guitar.
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Möss: close to home and looking out at the world.
Möss does with synthesizers on it something like what the Church did with guitars at their best. Interview with Cody George.
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Fool’s gold rush: Blockchain initiatives for everybody! Especially the artists, our eternal and only concern.
It’s heartwarming how keen all these “blockchain” people are to helpfully intermediate between you, the artist, and the prospect of money.
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The Go-Betweens on the Go-Betweens.
In 2005, talking about the 1980s and playing the songs on two acoustics.
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Reviews: Denj, Water From Your Eyes, New Horror (2016).
Ambitious but endearing synthpop, catchy new wave pop and authentically recreated mid-’80s UK indie rock.
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Is Bandcamp the Holy Grail of online record stores? Hell yes.
The New York Times offers a nice writeup of your friend and mine, Bandcamp. Describing how it works and a bit of the story of the company. We talk to quite pleased musicians also.
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Reviews: Los Perlas, Seven Waves, Warcrimeriot$, Fossey (2014, 2016).
It’s been a good weekend in the Bandcamp salt mines. Here’s some more: demo synthpop, early ’80s-style indie, trollclash and a young pop talent.
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Reviews: Desert Dollhouse, Chuck, Soft Touch (2016).
Atmospheric dream-pop, indie pop and soulful R&B.
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Links: Records and machinery.
Online streaming, ’70s music technology and ’90s record shops.
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Get rich with Bitcoin advertising on Rocknerd! [citation needed]
Today I got an email from a Bitcoiner offering a mutually beneficial business proposition! He wanted me to add a “text link” to a post (neither text nor link included in proposal) for a whole FORTY DOLLARS. That’s as many as four tens, you know!
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Witch house: I’d make myself a majickal sandwich.
Witch House is a made-up genre that became real. It was invented as an in-joke and now goth DJs claim they play “witch house”. Perhaps the secret ingredient is the gr▲†u‡†Øu§ Un‡cØd3.
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Reviews: Massenhysterie (2015), The Big Sun, Dyan (2016).
Shouty electropunk, indie pop and cinematic folk.
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More digital archaeology: recovered articles from Rocknerd v1.
Well, this is a useful thing. Somewhat useful, anyway — the actual database is long lost, so porting the articles to WordPress involves cut’n’paste and fix the dates by hand. Yes, including the comments. So don’t expect anything like the lot. Any particular favourites you think should be ported, let me know.
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Reviews: Kromak, Arsenio Archer, Mirreya (2016).
Industrial-tangential trance, cinematic pop and vocal synthpop from Russian label SkyQode.
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Audiophile buys his own utility transformer for cleaner electricity. Queen never sounded clearer.
82-year-old retired lawyer Takeo Morita buys his own utility pole, with transformer, for cleaner electricity and perfect sound forever.
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Dark wave: Voight, LisaWars, Dear Deer (2016).
Fine American, German and French post-punk sounds. With video!
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