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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SingularDTV: a “blockchain entertainment studio” using Ethereum for DRM on their totally boss sci-fi TV show about the Singularity.
SingularDTV is an exciting new blockchain-based entertainment industry boondoggle. It’s part DRM snake oil marketing, part pseudo-Bitcoin scam and part sincere Singularitarian weirdness. You should not fall for it.
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Nicole Pesce performs Happy Birthday in the style of Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms, Bach and Mozart.
No time for a proper post this evening, so have an amusing video.
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Reviews: Fredrik Croona, Amelie Prime, London Plane (2016).
Futurepop, impassioned grunge and some new wave power pop. All with good tunes and a beat.
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Links: Dr Dre and Apple, Alan Vega, Dangerous Minds.
Dr Dre and Apple’s new headphone jack, reminiscences on Alan Vega (and Bruce Springsteen) and clickbait for aging record nerds.
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How the Church’s imperial period ended with a whimper, and who did it.
Why Starfish and Gold Afternoon Fix were amazing, and Priest = Aura … wasn’t. Hint: same reason the second Jack Frost album was not so gret akshuly.
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Reviews: Deerful, Brandy Kills, Milan (2016).
Political indie pop, goth rock with tunes and perfect synthpop.
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DRUM MACHINE MUST BE STOPPED.
DRUM MACHINE MUST BE STOPPED -DRUM MACHINE IS KILLING BLACK METAL- DRUM MACHINE IS NEXT KEYBOARD/CRUTCH AND IS DAGGER IN THE BACK OF BLACK METAL-
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Why De La Soul’s ridiculously important albums are unavailable on the face of the earth.
Why you can’t buy De La Soul’s albums: the sample rights are so complicated, Warner refuse to sell them to anyone.
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Reviews: Optiphonal Wonder Machine, Coupons, Lich (2016).
Art collective synthpop, ’90s-style indie rock and a remarkable instrumental album.
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Kim Dotcom’s Mega 3, with Bitcoin. Two bad ideas that go worse together.
Kim Dotcom is a crook and a scammer. I feel this claim is sufficiently backed for me to make such a bold statement in England. The amazing thing was that the MPAA ever made a colourful racing identity like Dotcom look like the good guy.
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Electronic reviews: Boy Harsher, Syrian, Kuoko, Metroland (2016).
Post-punk synth, futurepop and synthpop.
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David J. of Bauhaus on Alan Moore, interviewed by Elizabeth Sandifer.
David J. Haskins is not just the other guy from Bauhaus, he’s also an old mate and collaborator of comics genius Alan Moore. Here he’s interviewed about Moore and occultist magical workings, with occasional sp00ky stories, by Elizabeth Sandifer.
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