Noise Pop Show Review: Carly Rae Jepsen, Cardiknox, Monika at The Warfield, 2/27/16

All Photos by Kelly Hoffer
All Photos by Kelly Hoffer

2015 was an interesting year for Carly Rae Jepsen. Tasked with the impossible feat of following up “Call Me Maybe” — likely to be remembered as the greatest pop song of the decade — Jepsen managed to do something that very few people in the pop world have done: release a follow-up that became one of the most critically lauded records of the year. Very few performers do well with their sophomore record, but Jepsen’s release hit #3 on The Village Voice‘s Pazz & Jop Poll, sharing space not with fellow popsters, but with folks like Kendrick Lamar and Courtney Barnett. This, plus a slot on the indie-centric Noise Pop Festival, prove that Jepsen has attained something that very few Top 40 artists have: respect from critics, along with acceptance by the very picky indie rock community. In fact, despite the presence of such long defunct acts as Drive Like Jehu, Her Space Holiday, and American Football at this year’s Noise Pop, Jepsen’s was the most anticipated set of the festival.  Continue reading “Noise Pop Show Review: Carly Rae Jepsen, Cardiknox, Monika at The Warfield, 2/27/16”

Spinning Platters Guide to Noise Pop 2016

Korla Pandit, Godfather of Exotica Music (whom you can see on February 20th during this year's Noise Pop Festival!)
Korla Pandit, Godfather of Exotica Music (which you can see on February 20th during this year’s Noise Pop Festival!)

This is a really big year for Noise Pop, one of the most long-standing and widely-genred music festivals in the Bay Area. For the first time ever, the festival is running 10 days — double its usual duration. They’ve expanded the film portion of the event, featuring 22 films in addition to the usual assortment of bands covering the entire gamut of “noise pop,” including hardcore punk, bubblegum pop, hip-hop, jazz, garage, twee — everything, basically! Of course, with such a huge variety of entertainment taking over the town for nearly two weeks, you’ll need some help deciding on what to go to. That’s what we’re here for — letting you know our picks for the best things to see and hear at this year’s Noise Pop Festival! Continue reading “Spinning Platters Guide to Noise Pop 2016”