Mark Linkous, leader of rock group Sparklehorse, committed suicide yesterday in Knoxville, Tenn. He leaves a musical legacy that spans four full-length albums as Sparklehorse and two in collaboration with Danger Mouse and Fennesz. Linkous also worked as a producer, notably with outsider music favorite Daniel Johnston. Share your thoughts on the death of Linkous below.
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PLAYLIST: Music, working combine for entertainment, productivity
Few things change your working environment more than good music. In my experience, music is often an essential part of work, whether I’m working on some routine data entry, trying to plow through that last line of code, or getting a last-minute news feature ready for publication. Here’s a short list of some of my favorites.
Pavement – “Spit on a Stranger”
When I’m working, I need something that will capture my attention but not demand it — Pavement’s “Spit on a Stranger” somehow hits on the right side of the line: It’s something rare. A catchy melody and evocative guitar work define this song, and over the past few days of working, I’ve not been able to turn it off.
Groovefest lineup promises musical surprises
The Packway Handle Band at Groovefest 2007 / Matthew Montgomery
After a multitude of revisions by Tim and Lisa Cretsinger, the lineup for the 2010 Groovefest American Music Festival has been released. Tim and Lisa own Groovacious Records in Cedar City, Utah, and have been organizing Groovefest for nine years. Groovefest is free to the public, and the main event — two full days of music — will take place at the Cedar City Main Street Park on June 25 and 26. Further events are being planned from Wednesday, June 23 to Sunday, June 27.
Friday, June 25
- 1:00 – 1:45 John Sotter
- 2:00 – 2:45 Molly Venter
- 3:00 – 4:00 Kort McCumber Band
- 4:15 – 5:15 Karling Abbeygate
- 5:30 – 6:30 Oakhurst
- 6:45 – 7:45 John Lisi & Delta Funk
- 8:00 – 9:15 Great American Taxi
- 9:30 – 11:00 Traveler
Saturday, June 26
- 11:30 – 12:15 John Batdorf
- 12:30 – 1:15 Joe Baker & His Barefoot Brakemen
- 1:30 – 2:30 The Gabrielle Louise Show
- 2:45 – 3:45 Trevor Green
- 4:00 – 5:00 The Henhouse Prowlers
- 5:15 – 6:15 Chris Laterzo & Buffalo Robe
- 6:30 – 7:30 The New Familiars
- 7:45 – 9:15 The Scott Holt Band
- 9:30 – 11:00 Lubriphonic
Red Sparowes announce tour, release album preview
Red Sparowes
Red Sparowes, Los Angeles post-rock (or, if you will, post-metal) group, have announced plans to set out on tour at the end of March through the first half of May in support of their forthcoming release, The Fear is Excruciating, But Therein Lies the Answer, set to be released April 6, 2010.
Red Sparowes — “Giving Birth To Imagined Saviors,” from The Fear is Excruciating, But Therein Lies the Answer
[audio:http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Giving_Birth_To_Imagined_Saviors.mp3]In anticipation of their third album, the band has released “Giving Birth to Imagined Saviors” for public consumption. Featuring a more nuanced approach than their previous efforts — but lacking none of the bombastic fervor they’ve set out as their own, the latest effort from Red Sparowes is one to watch for.
Green Day’s ‘Warning’ an album screaming political transition
Warning
Green Day is an influential and largely controversial punk-influenced rock band that came out of the punk/ska scene of Berkley, Calif., in 1987. The evolution of their albums suggests a move from self-involvement, indulgence, and youthful unrest to a higher, more universal, and more political purpose. Warning, released in 2000, is a pivitol album on the road to later, more politically charged, albums. It mixes angst, sex, and social commentary and is their most musically eclectic album to date. Their political voice is more honed and relevant with every album — everything about Warning screams transition. The band is made up of three extremely talented men, and the music is only getting better as they get more popular, more visible, and more political.
The first and title track addresses a society that is concerned with their safety and taking great measures to ensure it:
“Better homes and safety-sealed communities
Did you remember to pay the utility?
Caution: Police line, you better not cross.
Is it the cop, or am I the one thats really dangerous?
Sanitation, expiration date, question everything.
Or shut up and be a victim of authority”
Symphony of Science debuts “The Poetry of Reality,” latest in science mashup series
Symphony of Science, the brainchild of electronica musician John Boswell, has released the latest entry in a series of inspiring and geeky music videos: “The Poetry of Reality,” the fifth video in the series, describes the simultaneous beauty and utility of scientific inquiry through snippets from figureheads of science and skepticism.
The Symphony of Science — “The Poetry of Reality” | download
[audio:http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Symphony_of_Science-The_Poetry_of_Reality.mp3|titles=Symphony of Science – The Poetry of Reality]
The video includes lectures and interviews from the widely known — Carl Sagan, Richard Feynman, Stephen Hawking — to some known in more specific circles — PZ Meyers, Brian Greene, Carolyn Porco, Michael Shermer — and represents an engaging cross-section of figures of science advocacy.
Musically, “The Poetry of Reality” is perhaps the strongest piece since the first video, “A Glorious Dawn.” If the Symphony of Science is successful in spreading its very important message, it will be to the benefit of humanity as a whole.
NEWS: SLC record store Slowtrain plans customer appreciation party
Slowtrain, one of Salt Lake City’s few independent record stores, is planning a customer appreciation party for March 28 from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Not the first party of the sort they’ve thrown, the event includes a performance from David Williams and acts as a preface to a live show from Laura Gibson and Ethan Rose.
In other Slowtrain news, the store has placed their Blue Note reissue series LPs for sale online, with each running from $50 to $60. The store is the only outlet selling the LPs in Salt Lake City, and their stock is limited.
Slowtrain is located at 221 E Broadway in Salt Lake City and sells tickets to upcoming shows in the greater Salt Lake City area. Read on for a list of shows Slowtrain is selling tickets to — tickets are only available for cash and include a $1 service fee.
PLAYLIST: Growing with music provides adventures, surprises
See, I can look classy every now and again.
In two days, I’ll be 24, and I’ll have been listening to music with some fervor for a decade. While I was raised with a solid appreciation for music, and I certainly didn’t dislike it as a young kid, I wasn’t discovering things for myself, really. That came later; as a teenager, I started exploring music — with no small amount of credit due to internet access and music piracy becoming quite easy for someone with some technical skill. Of course, it’s now insanely easy for those without technical skill, which, given the development of technology, shouldn’t come as a surprise.
At 14, I started uncovering musical tastes I hadn’t fully realized. What follows is a short timeline of my musical development over the last decade.
Age 14: Weezer – “Only in Dreams,” from Weezer (1994)
I was probably nine years old when I first heard Weezer — but I didn’t really know it. I fell in love with the infamous “Buddy Holly” video, but more as it pertained to TV classic “Happy Days,” which I’d been watching as regularly as I could in 1995. When the Windows 95 development team decided to showcase their “innovative” video playing technology and plopped the “Buddy Holly” video on the Windows 95 beta CD my parents had procured, a series of motions was set in place, and in 2000, I fell in love with Weezer’s 1994 self-titled debut. Soon after, I discovered Pinkerton — and it’s easy to understand how my musical progression henceforth seems to have developed.