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Column 19: Frank Sidebottom and the Craft of Avant-Garde Pop

December 11, 2014

While he’s not the household name he is in the UK, those who have spent any significant time with British indie rock are sure to have at least have heard of Frank Sidebottom. The comedian and singer/songwriter Chris Sievey spent the vast majority of his 30 year career donned with a giant paper-mache head assuming the identity of Frank Sidebottom, a cheery optimistic singer from Manchester. The artist’s unusual and offbeat original covers of pop music standards with his band, the Oh Blimey Big Band, won him television fame in the early 90s and a home in the emerging Madchester scene. Sievey rarely did interviews out-of-character and was notoriously secretive, which makes the new film, Frank, so incredible compelling. The film, co-written by former band member Jon Ronson, loosely follows his experiences playing in the Oh Blimey Big Band and gives a certain insight into the mindset and creative process[...]

November 21st

November 21, 2014

New Jackson- “Having A Coke With You” The title track for Dublin producer New Jackson’s latest EP for Permanent Vacation slowly unravels as a euphoric, expansive track led by smooth horns, mellow chords and a bittersweet string melody. A sampled speech dropped at around the five minute mark adds a pensive element to the track’s already introspective vibe, making for a subtle, intricate production. Look for the Having A Coke With You EP out now via Permanent Vacation.    [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/176717046″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /] Fantastic Man- “Robotic Temptation” Cut Copy recently released Oceans Apart, the synth pop band’s latest DJ mix album/compilation featuring tracks from various Melbourne producers, including this spacey, shuffling track from Fantastic Man. With a thick bass line and eccentric melody, the track fits in comfortably among the collection of left-field dance cuts on the album. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/176647207″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /] Mark E- “Avion Central” Birmingham producer[...]

Column 18: Pulp Returns to Spotlight on Life, Death, & Supermarkets

November 19, 2014

There’s been a recent surge of classic Britpop bands resurfacing, from the Verve to Suede to Blur, and Pulp appears to be the latest. That said, Pulp’s reunion seems a weirdly appropriate time to reunite. While other Britpop acts had a wide array of influential factors, Jarvis Cocker’s have remained the same: sex, politics, and class inequality. Since classic singles “Mis-Shapes” and “Common People” were released 20 years ago, that inequality has only grown, both in their homeland of England and here in America. And with the release of the first documentary about the band, Pulp: A Film About Life, Death, & Supermarkets, Pulp is back in focus as the film centers on the band’s return back to hometown of Sheffield and attempts to discover the culture that influenced its writing. Pulp spends its majority splitting time between both the band and the people of Sheffield. At times, we get[...]

Column 17: How the Music of Guardians of the Galaxy Created Our Most Human of Heroes

November 13, 2014

With Oscar season now in full-effect, its worth pointing out that there has been a recent absence of popular music in nominated films. Whether it’s the period, tone, or just an effort to pick up additional nominations, Oscar contenders seem to shun the use of pop music. So I thought it might be best to take this time to look back at this year, and few films stand out more than James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy. The film was not only the biggest at the box office in 2014, but for my money, the best musically. This is not to say that other films haven’t had better original songs or more enjoyable soundtracks, but there was no film where pop music played as pivotal of a role as in Guardians. For those who haven’t seen the film, let me set the stage for you. The movie opens on a[...]

Crying

November 10, 2014

What do you get when you mix a Gameboy, three musicians with a penchant for writing endearing indie music, and a heaping pile of dream-worthy nostalgia? This is not a rhetorical question. You get Crying. The indie-electronic outfit out of Harrison, NY is raising eyebrows and drawing attention for their wildly unique blend of chiptune indie rock, and their fans are riding high on anticipation of their next release, Get Olde Second Wind, due out on Run for Cover records November 18th. buffaBLOG caught up with guitarist and Gameboy wizard Ryan Galloway before the band embarks on a full-US tour supporting Modern Baseball, set to hit Buffalo this Wednesday at the Waiting Room. buffaBLOG: Level 99 Modern Baseball tour approaches! How do you prepare? Ryan Galloway: We haven’t practiced as a band since some time before the last tour. We still need to put tires on our car. bB: What are[...]

November 7th

November 7, 2014

XXXY – “TPW” Manchester, UK producer XXXY’s latest track is set to appear on house duo Waze & Odyssey’s upcoming compilation for their Street Tracks imprint. “TPW” features a prominent  acidic bass line and energetic drums along with colorful synths that make for an effective, slightly dark acid house track. Listen below. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/174561223″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /] Holy Ghost! – “Changing of the Guard” (Andre Bratten Remix) Norwegian producer Andre Bratten delivers a deep, sprawling rework of NYC dance-pop duo Holy Ghost!’s “Changing of the Guard” from their 2013 album Dynamics. The slow-building cut locks into a hypnotic groove, using restraint to let each uneasy element fade in and out until a patiently-timed drop around the six minute mark. The track is now available as a 12″ single via DFA records. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/175435138″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /] Quentin – “You Can Do It” John Talabot’s Barcelona-based label Hivern Discs[...]

Father John Misty’s “Bored in the U.S.A.”

November 7, 2014

Earlier this week, former Fleet Foxes drummer (and former Batavia, New York resident) Josh Tillman, continuing to work under his most recent nom de plume, Father John Misty, released the first single from his upcoming album, I Love You, Honeybear. The song is called “Bored in the U.S.A.” and Tillman first performed it on Letterman – perhaps not un-coincidentally, the night before Election Day – so that it flooded Facebook feeds and music journalism sites like this one on the very morning that many Americans might have been thinking about the state of their country and their place (or lack of place) within it. It was probably a calculated move on Tillman’s part but that does leave the question of what exactly he might have been trying to say by way of that calculation. For that, it might be helpful to take a look at the song that was almost[...]

Nick Zammuto

November 6, 2014

Leaves cover the ground in a rural area of Vermont, where musician Nick Zammuto—known for the wildly collaged pop music he made with indie rock band The Books in the early 2000s, and for his heart-achingly beautiful and weird solo material—wakes up and feeds his kids. After having breakfast with his family he takes a short walk to a small cabin a few yards away—originally an unfinished tractor garage, which he converted into a studio by adding everything from a floor to insulation and soundproofing—where he’ll spend the day combining basslines and chopped up vocals, cryptic samples and driving drums. On a nicer day, he might chop some wood first or check on his bees. He harvested his own honey for the first time this fall, with the help of his wife and mailman. Zammuto lives a homesteader life, in which everything from his music to his music videos are do-it-yourself and produced in a self contained[...]

Column 16: BBC’s Drive Experiment Crashes & Burns

November 5, 2014

When I was a kid, I remember trying to explore everything my computer could do. A personal computer was still an exciting new technology and I had so many fresh tools at my disposal. But of all these tools I had to use, I enjoyed messing with none more than Windows Movie Maker. I still have fond memories of taking popular shows or movies I watched and crudely mashing them up with some of my favorite songs. I share this not to revel in nostalgia, but because that’s what BBC’s latest experiment reminded me of. In the last week, famous BBC radio DJ, Zane Lowe, premiered his rescored version of Nicolas Winding Refn’s 2009 film, Drive. The project overseen by Lowe earned the blessing of the film’s director and collected some of the UK’s biggest indie & electronic acts to create original music for the film. The original was already[...]

October 31st

October 31, 2014

Youandewan – “93” Berlin producer Youandewan recently released this silky edit of the classic Souls of Mischief track “93 ’til Infinity,” which stretches out the pensive instrumental over six minutes, laying down an infectious, understated groove. With added atmospheric keys and soulful looping, the track builds upon the serene vibe of the original, delivering a unique soundscape that pays homage to a blissful, treasured hip hop record. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/174070390″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /] Jacques Greene – “1 4 Me” Building upon his patient production style that features slow builds and euphoric drops, New York-based producer Jacques Greene released his latest track “1 4 Me” earlier this week in anticipation of his forthcoming EP After Life, After Party on LuckyMe. According to the artist, the track was born out of a personal challenge to “keep an arrangement dead simple,” making for a minimal beat that places emphasis on emotive synths and abstract[...]

Taylor Swift’s 1989 and Your Taste in Music

October 29, 2014

Taylor Swift’s album 1989 dropped this week, marking a full departure from her cosmopolitan country-pop sound. Vocally, she is breathy, jaded, lower than before. Musically, there is less guitar and more echoing drums. Everyone is freaking out about it—in its opening week, it’s probably going to break a million sales. Smart Girls on Stupid Music go off again on their favorite Taylor tracks and what they think about your taste in music. Sarah: I am excited for 1989, though after an initial listen-through, I wonder if the lyrical handling of heart-heavy subjects is not as skillful as Taylor Swift’s material has been in the past (i.e. “Haters gonna hate, hate, hate”). What I’m most interested in is the wildly positive reception the album has received so far. Is it because it’s full on pop, and doesn’t have the country (ok, faux-country) label tagged to it? After all, we did grow[...]

Column 15: Pop Music in Horror Movies

October 29, 2014

While this feature often highlights the use of music in contemporary work, with Halloween just two days away, it seems only appropriate to focus on horror movies this week. While it took a good 20 years for horror movies to catch up to popular culture, ever since the use of “Don’t Fear the Reaper” in John Carpenter’s Halloween, horror filmmakers have been keenly using pop music in a variety of ways. This week, we’ll take a look at some of my favorites. The Strangers – Joanna Newsom Joanna Newsom’s voice has always been a divisive factor in her music. Her almost elfin voice is as entrancing to some listeners as it is off-putting to others. Using this quality of Newsom’s voice to his advantage is director Bryan Bertino. The filmmaker soundtrack’s The Strangers first real scare with Newsom’s “The Sprout and the Bean.” With the specter of looming menace outside our protaganist’s front[...]

Diarrhea Planet

October 23, 2014

Diarrhea Planet is the best rock band out of Nashville right now. And I realize ‘rock’ is a relative term, but you would be hard-pressed to find another band out there currently that embodies the spirit of rock and roll more than Diarrhea Planet does. Their shredtastic blend of torrential punk rock packs some serious heat, and the band’s four guitarists, bassist, and drummer are slinging it across the Northeast as you read this intro. Diarrhea Planet makes their stop in Buffalo on October 27th at the recently reopened Mohawk Place. buffaBLOG had some words with guitarist Evan Bird before their arrival in the Nickel City, highlighting their current tour, Nashville’s music scene, and, uh.. Keegan Hestdalen. Enjoy. buffaBLOG: How is your tour going? Evan Bird: This tour has been going really well! It’s nice to be back on the road in the northeast and even nicer to be back[...]

Column 14: The Heart-Pounding Intensity of The Knick

October 22, 2014

The Knick is the best show currently airing on TV. Well, after its season finale this past Friday, it’s technically on hiatus until 2015, but that doesn’t change the fact that it is a frenetically pulsating beam of television magic in an otherwise dull fall season. The show is truly a gritty, debris-covered gem mined from the depths of Steven Soderbergh’s directorial genius, making it the quintessence of the argument that television has surpassed the cinema in every way you can imagine. If one of the ways you’ve imagined happens to be the show’s music, then you’re absolutely right. Scored by Cliff Martinez (a frequent Soderbergh collaborator), the music’s electrified synthesizers and intense baselines wallop you out of the turn-of-the-century and transport you into some sort of 1980s control room where a drugged-up computer scientist is turning dials and hitting buttons with such fervor that you feel as if you’re[...]

SHEDS

October 21, 2014

The glory of the the DIY/ House venue is the element of surprise. Sometimes you are lucky if you know more than two bands. Then there’s the out-of-town band. But there is always that variable, that one band that no one knows shit about. SHEDS is one of those bands. SHEDS just played their first show earlier this month at the Glitter Box. “We were kind of removed from the live music scene for about a year,” guitarist Patrick McPinic says, “during which we holed up every weekend to play music. We really enjoyed all of the bands at the Glitter Box show.” SHEDS consists of a trio of Lancaster natives: McPinic, Justin Young (guitar/vocals), and Jason Overholt (drums). They have been playing together for almost a year in a half and just recently released their first single, “HPBG.” If you happened to carouse the merch table at their Glitter[...]