Let’s Go Crazy With The Best Albums of 1999!

Are we gonna let the elevator bring us down?
Are we gonna let the elevator bring us down?

All conversations converged to one singular point at the close of 1999:  The End of the World, and because of it, every possible best list of the century.  Whether it was about greatest album, or greatest toenail clipper, a list was compiled by the fanciest per-milenium robots.  Now the singular list missing from the cornucopia of lists was: The Music of 1999.  Everyone, consumed in their chicken little theories of Y2K and end of the world were too mad to see what was really happening.  The end of music as we knew it! In reality it seemed to set the youth of America back about twenty years. (If you take a look at the top record sales for 1999, trust me, you’ll want to cry). I’m as easy going as the next guy, but the Grinch himself would have shuddered at the sound of pop music sung by teen queens, boy bands, and all the music to come out of the entire state of Florida.  They all belonged on the naughty list, and should have been banished to the island of misfit albums.

Luckily I was able to see through the doomsday smoke, and find some albums to balance out the slew of trash on radio airwaves or Total Request Live. Continue reading “Let’s Go Crazy With The Best Albums of 1999!”

Noise Pop Show Review: Magnetic Fields at the Herbst Theater, 3/1/10

The Magnetic Fields, unadorned.

“You’re REAL handsome.” This is what the toothless bum, who was propositioning me for a 3-way said, as I made my way to the Herbst Theater for The Magnetic Fields. I was running a real tight schedule and unfortunately I had no time for a toothless-three-way, I had a show to get to.

The Magnetic Fields were first introduced to be in the form of 69 Love Songs. I was amazed that I’d never heard of the band and even felt a little embarrassed. Since then the Merritt-led band have been gracing my iPod playlists, adding some unique perspectives on love and sound. They’re the type of band that most of your friends don’t know about and you feel real proud when you’re the one to pop their Fields cherry. Continue reading “Noise Pop Show Review: Magnetic Fields at the Herbst Theater, 3/1/10”

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”

Album Review: The Magnetic Fields – Realism

From the opening notes of The Magnetic Fields’ new record Realism you feel at home.  There’s the familiar jangly acoustic instruments and Stephin Merritt’s low drone of a voice mixing with Claudia Gonson’s sweeter one.  The lyrics are clever and the longest song comes in at 3:26.  This isn’t the strange distorted Magnetic Fields of their last record; this is more like 69 Love Songs revisited, sweet and expected.  At first it feels too similar to their previous work to be anything interesting enough to keep you coming back.  I struggled with this idea, then realized that I’d been listening to the album almost constantly for a week letting the words and notes seep into every part of my mind, like subtle magic. Continue reading “Album Review: The Magnetic Fields — Realism”

Album Review: Peter Gabriel – Scratch My Back

Peter Gabriel’s new covers album Scratch My Back is the beginning of a “song exchange” project. This means that every artist covered on this album is being asked to cover one of Peter Gabriel’s songs in exchange. This collection will then be released under the title …And I’ll Scratch Yours. That’s the intention. Whether or not the second part ends up happening seems to be up in the air so far, but Stephin Merrit has already recorded “Not One of Us” as a b-side to Peter Gabriel’s Magnetic Fields cover,”Book of Love,” so the project has begun. Continue reading “Album Review: Peter Gabriel — Scratch My Back”