Drum legend Lenny White to release new solo album
Lenny White with Stanley Clark 1976 Credit: Tom Marcello
Lenny White, best known for his work on drums in fusion jazz outfit Return to Forever, is readying his first release in ten years as band leader. Anomaly, White’s effort, comes off the back of a worldwide tour in 2008 with Return to Forever and a 2009 tour with Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke — together, they make up three-quarters of the group’s 2008 tour.
“We need to restart a revolution so that we can take back the music and stop the fluff,” White said in a press release from publicity group Big Hassle. “I’m hoping that this new album is a representation of that ideal.”
White’s most recent effort includes collaboration with Pink Floyd alumnus David Gilmore and former bandmate Stanley Clarke, as well as other musicians from jazz and rock music alike.
Tags: jazz
By Matthew Montgomery 
Mar 11, 2010 
News, Video 
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Pavement videos a classic view of ’90s indie rock
Tags: indie rock
By Matthew Montgomery Mar 10, 2010 Video Comments (0)
Latest from Aloha, Home Acres, blasts indie prog into perspective
The latest effort from American indie outfit Aloha is bold and refreshing: While not necessarily the pinnacle of progressive indie rock from Aloha, it’s 1) something new, and 2) something good. How many other indie rock bands are out using marimbas and bells? Home Acres features plenty of their musical trademark, but we get some delicious additions. The guitars are magnanimous in their distorted quality, and I think at one point, we may hear an idiophone with gourds — maybe the balafon — resonating and buzzing away. Home Acres hits shelves tomorrow.
Tags: indie rock, prog-rock
By Matthew Montgomery Mar 08, 2010 Albums in Brief, News, Video Comments (0)
Mark Linkous, Sparklehorse leader, commits suicide, leaves musical legacy
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.
By Matthew Montgomery Mar 07, 2010 News, Playlists, Video Comments (0)
David Lynch, Danger Mouse, Sparklehorse project rumored for summer release
Dark Night of the Soul is an album written by Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse that was planned for release with a book of photos by David Lynch. The book of photos was released in early 2009. Due to disputes with the record label, though, the album was not released with the book of photos — instead a blank CD-R labeled: “For legal reasons, enclosed CD-R contains no music. Use it as you will.”
The album is now rumored for release for Summer 2010. From what we’ve heard of the album so far, this is nothing like the Broken Bells collaboration of Danger Mouse and James Mercer. It has a dark, surreal feeling — full of complex layers of mind-bending sounds and faraway vocals, all quite fitting for a David Lynch art project.
The album features a wide range of artists, including James Mercer, The Flaming Lips, Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals, Jason Lytle of Grandaddy, Julian Casablancas of The Strokes, Frank Black of the Pixies, Iggy Pop, Nina Persson of The Cardigans, Suzanne Vega, Vic Chesnutt, David Lynch, Scott Spillane of Neutral Milk Hotel and The Gerbils. (NPR)
The book, Dark Night of the Soul is available for purchase on their official website, www.dnots.com. You can also listen to the entire album at NPR.org/music.
By Scott Mathews Mar 06, 2010 News, Playlists, Video Comments (0)
Koji Kondo’s Ocarina of Time breaks from video game soundtrack mold
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was an industry changing video game released on the Nintendo 64 in 1998, and with it, it brought in a wave of 3D action adventure games. Since its release, Ocarina of Time has been praised for its ability to work new aspects into a beloved franchise — by changing from a top-down adventure to a fully 3D environment while staying true to the core gameplay.
Not only has it remained in gamers’ hearts for the last 12 years, but the music is still one of the most popular video game scores ever released. Koji Kondo has composed some of the most recognizable video game music, including every game in the Legend of Zelda series as well as every Super Mario game released to date. The game is notable as being one of the first games to incorporate music as a main function without being a rhythm or beat game.
Tags: video game, zelda
By Jared Montgomery Feb 27, 2010 Video, Video Game Music Comments (0)
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
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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.
By Matthew Montgomery Feb 26, 2010 Downloads, News, Video Comments (0)
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
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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.
By Matthew Montgomery Feb 25, 2010 Downloads, News, Video Comments (0)
