Spinning Platters Staff’s Individual Picks: The Best Albums of 2010

True believers, indeed! Looks like Donald Glover netted himself a place on someone's list.

After fighting over voting on our site’s top albums, I gave everyone the opportunity to send in an individual list of their favorite records without rules as to how many albums could be on there. While the initial turnout was poor, I know that posting this will have our writers turning up in droves to add their list. And through the power of the Internet, I can add those lists! But without further rambling, let’s go to our first list, from Dakin Hardwick. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Staff’s Individual Picks: The Best Albums of 2010”

Show Review: Shakira at Oracle Arena, 10/22/10

Shakira first became known to most of the world in the late 90’s as Columbia’s answer to Alanis Morissette. She was young, very pretty, yet very angsty. She even had the same hairdo as Alanis. As time went on, she has managed to move far beyond this, both visually & sonically. She is now one of those rare celebrities is recognizable in nearly every country in the world, and has pulled off what very few people can do: She has managed to become a pop music superstar. And she did it in the last decade, at a time when nobody was breaking out into this kind of territory. Even more impressive is that she’s done it as a musician, not some sort of business person that has musician as one of several hyphenates. It’s been a long time since we’ve gotten a stage show from her, in fact it’s been about 4 years since her last tour, and 7 years since she last graced Oakland with her presence.

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Show Review: The Vaselines, The Dum Dum Girls at Great American Music Hall, 10/20/10

The Vaselines are a band from a very different musical era. They are a hard-to-define band from a period of time when it was difficult to find bands that you couldn’t easily market to people. They didn’t really do punk rock, they don’t really do folk music, they aren’t a new wave band, they are merely themselves. They put out a few ep’s in the 80’s, and were supposed to fade away into obscurity. That was, of course, until a young man managed to come across some imports in his local record store, became entranced by them, and ended up covering not 1, not 2, but 3 of their songs with a little rock trio that became one of the most influential bands of all time.

They officially broke up in 1990, but played a few shows in the early 90’s supporting Nirvana in Europe. Then, in 2008, they decided to reunite at the urging of another influential band from the 90’s. This time it was Belle & Sebastian urging this band back into the limelight. After all, their blend of girl group, twee, punk and lyrics that would make Luther Campbell blush is something the world will finally be ready for. And, at the Great American Music Hall, we experienced what that band sounds like today.

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Show Review: The Corin Tucker Band w/ The Golden Bears at Great American Music Hall, 10/11/10

I need to level with you, my loyal readers. Sleater-Kinney is my favorite band. End of story. I have seen them more times than any other band, and, quite happily, only once has seen them as a support act. (As sub-headliner at This Is Not A Festival in 1999)

Since their hiatus began in 2006, I’ve been eagerly awaiting some musical output by the band members. Yes, Janet Weiss has been putting out Quasi records at the same frequency, but her SK-time has been devoted to Stephen Malkmus and Bright Eyes session work. Carrie Brownstein has been writing and doing comedy, amongst other things.  But, Corin Tucker has been quiet, at least comparatively so. She’s made a handful of public appearance, but for the most part, she’s been the reclusive one.

This year, Corin Tucker finally put out a solo record, and then pulled together a band to do a short tour in support of it. I’m equal parts excited and worried that it’s not going to be up to expectations.

Continue reading “Show Review: The Corin Tucker Band w/ The Golden Bears at Great American Music Hall, 10/11/10”

Show Review: An Evening With Billy Idol at The Fillmore, 8/17/10

An example of a "rebel yell"

While waiting in line to see Billy Idol last night at the Fillmore, I was talking to a friend on the phone that was rather disappointed to learn that his show was sold out, and the asking price on the streets was about $160. We were talking about Idol’s history, and I was informed that Idol was once a member of Siouxsie & The Banshees, but left the band because he felt that they weren’t taking music seriously enough. My immediate response was, of course, to chuckle, but I thought about Idol’s place in our society and realized that there is nobody else out there quite like him. He is part of the new wave era, the punk era, and the hair metal era, and managed to escape all of those trends with dignity & credibility. There is a reason that he is still able to sell out The Fillmore on a Tuesday night 30 years after his first record.

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Warped Tour 2010 Diary: Shoreline Amphitheater, 6/26/2010

Sum 41 fans bringing the love

Subtitle: Still Crazy After All These Years

That subtitle is a reference to a song from 1975. Bands will yell out things like “How many of you have seen us before?” and a few fans will yell “Whoo hoo!” If a band yelled out, “How many of you were born in 1975?” there’d be only crickets. Still, as I said in my preview post, if you are a true music nerd, Warped Tour is something you should still be going to. But, if you’re not going to go, and your idea of experiencing Warped Tour is to let someone else do it and then read about their experiences, you’re in the right place. Come with me as I wade through the masses at the 2010 Warped Tour. Continue reading “Warped Tour 2010 Diary: Shoreline Amphitheater, 6/26/2010”

Spinning Platters Picks Some Noise Pop 2010 Shows

This one man will begin a great week of music

It’s here! Noise Pop 2010 starts today with two excellent shows, and your first opportunity to show-hop. Start at Bender’s Bar for the happy  hour with Har Mar Superstar, and then cross the bridge (or better yet, take BART) to the Fox Oakland to see Yoko Ono and the Plastic Ono Band. Many of your favorite Spinning Platters writers will be there. But then what? You’ve got a whole week of shows, and you’re not sure what to see?

How did we decide? It was simple. If one of our writers requested to cover a show, we’ve included it. Where is our staff hoping to see all of you? Read on to find out. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Picks Some Noise Pop 2010 Shows”

2010 Fauxchella Lineup Announced!

Don't look like this guy. Enjoy Fauxchella instead!

Sure, you can reload Consequence of Sound three hundred times and find out the lineup for the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival. Then you could pay hundreds of dollars for a ticket, drive down there, find a hotel, deal with traffic, the heat, and worst off, end up wearing an umbrella hat.

You could also enjoy Fauxchella. What’s that? Continue reading “2010 Fauxchella Lineup Announced!”

SF Sketchfest Review: The Jill and Julia Show at Yoshi’s San Francisco, 1/27/10

Julia Sweeney and Jill Sobule

According to the song that opened their winning 90-minute set, comedian Julia Sweeney (best known for her 1990-1994 run on Saturday Night Live) and musician Jill Sobule (best known for singing “I Kissed A Girl” first and so much better) met randomly at the Monterey Bay Aquarium one lucky day not long ago. Sobule cautiously approached Sweeney to express her admiration, but then Sweeney spotted Sobule and pounced her. Their mutual admiration society has led to an ongoing story-song collaboration called “The Jill and Julia Show,” which made its first Bay Area stop last night as part of the 2010 SF Sketchfest.

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Album Review: Basia Bulat – Heart of My Own

Listening to the music of Basia Bulat is an unabashedly heart-hugging delight. The 26-year-old Canadian singer/songwriter first established herself as one of the brightest young talents in the folk-rock scene with her insanely lovable debut LP, Oh, My Darling (2007), and makes overwhelmingly good on that early potential with her sophomore release, Heart of My Own.

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