Rocknerd

Pastoratet: THLM (2018).

10 August, 201810 August, 2018 Punk, Record 0

A nice combo of hardcore and surf punk, it’s got a mellow, melodic feel that edges toward pop-punk but brings in just a tiny bit of metal to keep an edge to the sound.

Links: Why the Rolling Stones suck, “fake artists,” ’80s remixes of current pop, ABBA, Philip Glass and S-Express, YouTube Music.

6 August, 20185 September, 2018 Dance, Links, mp3, Pop, Rock 2

The Rolling Stones piece certainly answers for me the question “why could I never get into this stuff?”

Vortex #3, March 1987: Triffids, Ed Kuepper, Greg Dear, Kno Matter, White Cross, OMD, Paul Weller.

30 July, 201830 July, 2018 Indie, Writing 0

Yes, I finally got Vortex #3 cleaned up and online.

Reviews: Marsy, Dot Dash (2018).

28 July, 201828 July, 2018 Pop, Punk, Record 0

Yeah, putting a Bandcamp embed into reviews is clearly the right thing.

Links: eMusic can’t pay its bills, nobody buys CDs, catalogue prices, majors upset Spotify not rolling out the red carpet.

27 July, 201827 July, 2018 Industry, Links, mp3 0

Welcome to the music industry! Here’s your accordion.

eMusic releases its blockchain ICO plan! … it’s not very good.

24 July, 201827 July, 2018 Indie, Industry, mp3 0

eMusic’s plan: 1. Collect a large pile of money. 2. Write an all-new music platform that does everything! 3. Pay people in eMusic magic beans.

Links: Windowing is passé, piracy lawyers go to jail, MP3 “restoration,” Damo Suzuki.

9 July, 2018 Industry, Links, mp3, Prog 0

I blame the delay on blockchain. Taking a while between confirmations.

Interview: Gina Cimmelli — My Little Lies (2018).

25 June, 2018 Indie, Interview, Record 0

A brilliant five-track indie pop EP. And my first musician interview in a couple of decades.

Streaming links: 24,000 new tracks a day, Spotify as label, streaming pays better than radio.

23 June, 2018 Links, mp3 0

And foreshadowing of Monday’s long-form post.

Links: World In Motion, pirates, kids listen to Swans, Irmin Schmidt.

17 June, 2018 Dance, Links, Post-Punk, Prog, Your rights 0

“If there’s one group who can capture the spirit of bitter infighting that typifies being in a World Cup squad …”

Limb: Saboteurs of the Sun (2018).

16 June, 201816 June, 2018 Metal, Prog, Record 0

Excellent fare for people who really enjoy Tolkein. A supernatural tone and a solid pounding that most anyone who likes heavy prog will appreciate.

rosewater: Love Bomb, rosewater AKA (2018).

15 June, 201815 June, 2018 Post-Punk, Punk, Record 0

Both little works have great songs on them but Love Bomb is mind-blowingly perfect. Clark and Brooke’s voices and guitars blend into a sweet, grungy, fun sound.

Reripping the CDs, as you do.

12 June, 201815 June, 2018 Audio, Opinion 0

Here’s to cdparanoia and EAC, to turn the music trapped in the silver abominations back into the pure data they were meant to be.

Richard Syrett on Theodor Adorno, the Beatles, conspiracy theorists and … me.

6 June, 20186 June, 2018 Esoterica, Opinion, Pop, Radio, Rock 0

Did you know that Frankfurt School philosopher Theodor Adorno wrote all the Beatles songs? I sure didn’t! In fact, I still don’t.

DENY: Parasite Paradise (2018).

2 June, 2018 Metal, Punk 0

Barely intelligible lyrics, fast, simple-guitar lines, and overwhelming drums.

Just as God intended, damnit.

YouTube Music: your move, Spotify.

22 May, 2018 mp3 0

Good thing I eventually got that Spotify article done, hey.

Stelliferous: Canine Familiar (2018).

14 May, 2018 Metal, Record 0

Ugh, it’s actually irritating how much I like this record. It’s like a white noise machine for ADHD.

Links: Albini on In Utero (again), the inbox flood, Level Music, blockchains (again).

13 May, 201814 May, 2018 Industry, Links, Punk, Writing 0

“We’ll save music on the blockchain!” Ethereum can’t scale up to cat pictures.

Shezoo: Agony Of Doubt (2018).

10 May, 201810 May, 2018 Metal, Record 0

Agony of Doubt is a fun, fantastic, big-hair-eighties-style metal album that goes hard and fast but stays fun the whole way through.

How to make Spotify suck less than YouTube for streaming.

9 May, 201828 June, 2023 mp3, Opinion 0

I actively try to use Spotify, because I like the idea that the artist will get at least a penny shaving. So why do I keep just using YouTube? Because it’s not a goddamn pain in the arse.

Mark Rye: Inside Looking Out: More Rock’n’Roll tales from inside the British music business (2017).

6 May, 20186 May, 2018 Pop, Rock, Writing 0

First-hand tales from the people down in the engine room.

Ryder: For What It’s Worth (Live) (2018).

4 May, 20184 May, 2018 Record, Rock 0

Buttrock band.

HARKII Of Sound Mind podcast Episode 1: “Why I don’t think blockchain will change the music industry.”

30 April, 201830 April, 2018 Industry, Rocknerd 0

In which I go on a podcast and talk about why blockchains are still trash, particularly for music. Don’t fall for resentment-based marketing!

Gary Miller: Anarcho-Punk Albums: The Band’s Story behind Anarchist Punk Music (2018).

29 April, 20186 May, 2018 Post-Punk, Punk, Writing 0

A document of anarchopunk of the late 1970s and early 1980. It’s short, but it’s cheap and a great read.

Felix Colgrave: Royal Noises from Dead Kingdoms: The Music of Double King (2018).

25 April, 2018 Film, Record 0

Colgrave’s animation is beautiful. It is alternately stark and lush, full of repeating patterns and startling aberrations and the score, Royal Noises from Dead Kingdoms, mirrors the hypnotic visuals in its layered, thoughtful construction.

Nekrogoblikon: Welcome to Bonkers (2018).

24 April, 2018 Metal, Record 0

A lot of metal is full of goofy bullshit, a lot of which is very somberly growling about satan, hell, torture, shit, darkness, and other suitably grimy and nasty metal things. And sometimes it turns out that goofy bullshit is pure, distilled perfection and the concentrated essence of joy.