New Music Spotlight: Slow Club

A little bit Mamas and Papas, a little bit Magic Numbers, and a whole heck lot of happy, shiny fun – Those are the best words I can find to describe Slow Club, a Brit outfit that seems to be on the cusp of making a full-fledged indie splash in the U.S.
Here’s a playlist that [...]

U2’s Forgettable Fire or How to become a pop heretic in just one easy blog post

I don’t like U2. Truth be told, I never really have. Maybe it’s because I spent far too much time living in Utah, where I’ve discovered that it must be an FCC regulation that a U2 song must be playing at all times, on at least one station. Maybe it’s because Zooropa really left a [...]

Commercial Indie Part II

I’ve blogged on this before…so I’ll forgo the previous question I posed and pose two new ones:
Is some of the brightest new Indie music coming out through car commercials?
And if so, should I be alarmed?
A while ago, Saturn had a commercial featuring the Band of Horses’ “Funeral.” Infinitely fantastic song. Still one of my favorites. [...]

Machine-Dunking

No, this doesn’t have anything to do with Indie music.
And, no, I don’t care since no one’s reading this anyway.

I don’t know what I like more about this, the broken English imitation of Sasha Vujajic, or calling Paul Pierce “Cry Baby Weenie Man”…wait, no, I do…Paul “Cry Baby, Weenie Man” takes [...]

If Indie Goes Mainstream, is it still Indie?

I’ve been thinking about this question especially after seeing this commercial:

So, after years of relishing as an out-of-the-limelight element, the recent commercial indie explosion has really gotten me thinking. Indie is known for being hard-to-find, different, and underrated–the type of stuff that mainstream just doesn’t have time for…at least until now.
This commercial [...]

The Secret of Success…

on their initial success in Ireland, which led to world distribution, Spanish Guitaristas Rodrigo Y Gabriella comment:
“There weren’t that many Mexicans playing guitar in Ireland.”
Genius.

I died three years ago…

I’m always fascinated by how social media has facilitated the Indie music explosion…and even more fascinated when one of us regular guys can do Indie just as good as the big name bands.
Case in point: John Watson, one of my favorite bloggers, who posts on all things eclectic, put together a wonderful little ditty entitled, [...]

Sign the Petition: Don’t Let Kevin Hearn Sing

By signing this petition (leaving a comment on this post), you affirm that:
While Kevin Hearn is an unparalleled musical talent, providing the Barenaked Ladies with fantastic songs, amazing piano arrangements, and all out rockin’ albums, he should not replace recently departed Steve Page as 2nd lead singer, because he sings like Kermit the Frog. If [...]

Message to BNL: Never is Enough

Now, I understand it’s tough to re-build on the fly. Steve Page leaving the Barenaked Ladies is nothing short of catastrophic. In times of crisis, the decisions you make are critical…and I’m concerned about one that BNL may have already made.
Their latest email featured a link to download their recent concert in Orlando–which I must say [...]

Say it ain’t So Steve

This morning I found an email in my inbox from the Barenaked Ladies.  Apparently, they wanted to reach out to me personally to let me know about their latest 4-man show.  I’ve met them once at a concert, and I often use their Bathroom Sessions as classroom fodder for my PR courses…but I guess they thought [...]