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Daily Archive
From the Mind of Adi (#5)
This Week: I'm an Austinite in New York.
I needed a vacation and what better place to get some rest than in NYC, "The city that never sleeps." Besides meeting old friends, going to the 2008 US Open at the USTA /Billie Jean/ King /National/ Tennis Center, and eating some delightful grub, I did manage to take in some live Music during my trip.
The first of these was at a retro bash in Manhattan, at Andrew WK's new club, Santos' Party House. Some quality DJs (including Calvin Johnson), a Go-Go dancer (Anna Copa Cabbana), and the The Crystal Stilts made for a quite an entertaining evening.
Thu Sep 25 2008 · Posted in Daily
HOT OFF THE PRESS (#12) - TV on the Radio & Cold War Kids
by Nick Courtright
It’s Wednesday, and that means it’s time for Nick Courtright’s weekly first glance at music discovered in the last seven days, whether it be just-released, just-leaked, or some long-lost gem that has remained under the radar. Click here for other recent editions of Hot Off the Press, featuring acts such as of Montreal, Peter Bjorn & John, Vivian Girls, Bodies of Water, White Denim, Conor Oberst, The Walkmen, The Bug, Fight Bite, and Grizzly Bear.
TV on the Radio – Dear Science,
released September 23 on DGC/Interscope
Report Card: A
There has always been the foul stench of drama around TV on the Radio. Maybe it has something to do with their obnoxiously broad appeal, or their innately overblown sound, or maybe it has something to do with band’s position as one of the very, very few notable bands of racial diversity in indie rock, a reality that has seemed to make the frustratingly pasty music media a little comfortable and self-congratulatory in their praise. All this put together has bred a certain stink about the band, as if they weren’t actually that good at all, and their bombast and the resulting acclaim was merely a token reward from the affirmative-action minded who have been wounded by indie rock’s apparent elitism. Unfortunately, though, for the conspiracy theorists who want to diminish the band, TV on the Radio—separated from all this sorry gunk—can be pretty fucking good.
Wed Sep 24 2008 · Posted in Daily
MONDAY TRANSMISSIONS (#8)
Plenty going on this weekend, as Austin welcomes ACL festival-goers to our beautiful city limits. While I won’t be attending the Austin City Limits Festival itself, there are plenty of good bands playing and plenty of events going on around the Transmission community worth the price of admission, as they say. This is one of those weekends (like the week of SXSW, Fun Fun Fun Fest weekend, etc) where you really just have to step back, look around, and say “Damn… I live in a great fucking town!” Assuming you stay sober enough to piece together a coherent sentence.
Monday: Mohawk welcomes DFA Records’ Juan Maclean Monday, with LAX and Learning Secrets’ Ian Orth. I can’t say I’m particularly impressed with Juan Maclean’s music… I mean, next to labelmates like Hercules & Love Affair, Hot Chip, LCD Soundsystem and Fun Fun Fun Fest participants YACHT (get your tickets here), Maclean’s music seems awfully run-of-the-mill. But LAX and Ian Orth? Hot shit. If I were you, I’d get down and dirty at this dance fest Monday, then just chill out the rest of the week, in preparation for a weekend that will surely kick your ass.
Mon Sep 22 2008 · Posted in Daily
HOT OFF THE PRESS (#11) - Peter Bjorn and John & Grouper
by Nick Courtright
It’s Wednesday, and that means it’s time for Nick Courtright’s weekly first glance at music discovered in the last seven days, whether it be just-released, just-leaked, or some long-lost gem that has remained under the radar. Click here for other recent editions of Hot Off the Press, featuring acts such as of Montreal, Vivian Girls, Bodies of Water, White Denim, Conor Oberst, The Walkmen, The Bug, Fight Bite, and Grizzly Bear.
Peter Bjorn & John – Seaside Rock
to be released on September 23 by Almost Gold Recordings
Report Card: B
Nothing like flaunting the international fame and acclaim you got with a dyed-in-the-wool pop album by making its follow-up an instrumental collection destined to be slept on by most everyone who was chanting your name last year. But at the same time, while Writer’s Block got all the teenagers in a tizzy with the dazzlingly poptastic “Young Folks”—not to mention the rest of the album, which was undoubtedly one of the last five years’ most solid and unabashed homes for catchy-as-hell sugar hooks—Seaside Rock is a testament to a band who’s willing to say a little bit of “fuck you” to the slavering masses, a testament that declares that musical integrity and continued exploration are more important to this band than a continued assault on the tender eardrums of the thoughtless youth. Either that or they’re running away, like pansies, from expectations.
Wed Sep 17 2008 · Posted in Daily
MONDAY TRANSMISSIONS (#7)
Sticking with the format that worked so well last week, we start things off today with a spotlight on a band that I think is destined for some big things, this time a local folk-punk foursome, The Van Buren Boys. Then we run down all the shows you need to check out for the coming week – and trust me, there are a LOT of good shows coming up, so I hope you’ve saved your pennies this past week.
Local Spotlight: The Van Buren Boys
The Van Buren Boys are fast becoming one of my favorite bands to watch live. Every performance is inspired and authentic. Don’t get me wrong, the band’s recently released debut full-length Planet Kickass is a damn good record, but it’s in their fiery live performance that The Van Buren Boys excel.
With the greatest bandname ever taken from a Seinfeld episode (check the reference here), The Van Buren Boys carry the torch of great protest song writers, from Joe Hill to Dropkick Murphys, with songs that refer to miners and factory workers, starving artists and drunken soldiers. Kickass is classic folk-punk – for peers look to This Bike is a Pipe Bomb, Defiance Ohio and Andrew Jackson Jihad. The bands live show is no-holds-barred and confrontational, with Erick Van Buren often times hanging from rafters, upside while screaming about union politics.
Mon Sep 15 2008 · Posted in Daily
MONDAY TRANSMISSIONS (#6)
This week we’re gonna try something a little different for Monday’s Transmission. Still got a calendar below, with all the hot shows you should check this week, but we’ve got a little more in here too: a profile of a great new band out of LA (via Seattle) called Army Navy, and a short review of the flick Heavy Metal in Baghdad. Enjoy.
Army Navy
There are plenty of reasons for you to check out Army Navy. The band’s self-titled debut was recorded with Adam Lasus, who also worked with one Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (hey – aren’t the playing Fun Fun Fun Fest this year?), not to mention Yo La Tengo and Helium. Pete Thomas from Elvis Costello’s The Attractions played drums on the record, following their first drummers departure to pursue a screenwriting career. The band has two songs featured in the film Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist (out early next month) and one on the soundtrack. Not to mention that Army Navy funded the recording of their self-titled debut themselves and are releasing it on their own label The Fever Zone next month despite offers from other labels both big and small. Oh and the record is damn good too – a jangly mix of Teenage Fanclub-style infection with nods to The Pogues, The Smiths and/or The Libertines.
Mon Sep 8 2008 · Posted in Daily
Paul Westerberg :: 3oclockKreep/Finally Here Once
Perhaps Paul ought to drive a screwdriver through his hand more often.
Not that having Westerberg out of commission for a year was a good thing, but ever since his accident, he has come roaring back with a creative vengeance. First the copyright infringin’, vying for best post-Replacements album 49:00 was dropped on us, followed closely by another independent song, “5:05″. Now, after all the fluster over those releases come the 3oclockreep EP/album(?) and another individual song, “Finally Here Once.”
3oclockreep is a similar creation to 49:00 - songs land in and on top of each other, cut one another off, veer from one style to another. It plays like bits of leftovers and the few songs that do come through, while really solid, are like the lesser songs on 49:00. The real point of interest starts a little before the halfway mark.
Wed Sep 3 2008 · Posted in Daily on littleradio.com
ANNOUNCING: The FunFunFun Fest YouTube Contest
News flash: If you've ever filmed yourself - or others - doing hilarious, weird, or just plain interesting things and then posted the footage on YouTube...well, you're about to actually have a reason for doing so (other than knowing that you've contributed to the Internet in some way).
ANNOUNCING: The FunFunFun Fest '08 YouTube Contest.
This year's festival - taking place on November 8-9 at Austin's Waterloo Park - is loaded to the gills with some truly fantastic bands. We know that, for each of the bands on this year's lineup, there are tons of you superfans out there who can't wait for November. However, we also know that there are a smaller group among you that like to perform. You're the type that always brings a camera to a party. The type that always volunteers to sing at karaoke parties. The type that derives satisfaction from seeing yourself on film.
Now's your chance to show both your superfan-dom and get that pretty mug of yours on the Transmission website.
DIRECTIONS:
1. Film yourself covering your favorite song by any artist playing this year's FunFunFun Fest (here's the lineup).
2. Post that thing on YouTube.
3. Send us the link at .
This contest will end on September 30, at which time we'll announce the 3 winners - gold, silver, and bronze. But not to worry, all 3 winners get the same prize -- a pair of tickets to this year's festival AND glorious recognition of your video right here on the Transmission website.
Come on, all you hidden talents out there. Now's your time to shine.
Tue Sep 2 2008 · Posted in Daily
MONDAY TRANSMISSIONS (#5)
Monday: This Monday at Plush we’ve got a good one – Bridge Farmers (if Kurt Cobain had grown up in Texas, he’d be in this band), The Bread, and The Van Buren Boys (think Defiance, Ohio or This Bike is a Pipe Bomb). Shows are always 21 and up and always free.
Tuesday: Mohawk is promulgating Big Lebowski Tuesday with $3 Caucasians and Happy Hour prices all night. The Dude abides.
If you absolutely have to see live music Tuesday, I suggest Lymbyc Systym and This Will Destroy You at Emo’s.