Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 6/12/14-6/18/14

Something you will not be seeing at Hemlock this Friday...
Something you will not be seeing at Hemlock this Friday…

Thursday, June 12th Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 6/12/14-6/18/14”

From Beck to The Boss, here are 70+ albums to look forward to in 2014

If there was one thing the contributing writers, and staff, of Spinning Platters agreed on during our annual gathering to determine the best albums of the year, it was that 2013 was a bit underwhelming for music. The silver lining in what was mostly a mundane, forgettable time for music was that a lot of women broke through and achieved some well-deserved recognition. Daft Punk and Deltron 3030 returned after a near-decade hiatus and did not disappoint. Still, the fact that Miley’s antics garnered any attention, whatsoever, and were even considered “interesting” didn’t exactly bode well for collective musical output.

It’s time to move forward and hope for a better turnout these next 350-plus days (some of us are still recovering/getting acclimated, thank you). If you’ve noticed a pattern in titles such as “50 must-hear albums coming your way in 2014,” with an emphasis on the staggering figure, from other publications, it’s because, well, there are already that many hotly-anticipated releases to look forward to in the coming year. Of course, there are more to be found here because we’re delightfully (right?) exhaustive (in case you haven’t noticed our other, alternative best-of-2013 round-ups).

This list offers an alternate variation on what has already been published by the likes of SPIN and Consequence of Sound; but if there’s one thing we can all agree on, we’re stoked for the return of Beck. Not included: soundtracks, EPs, reissues, and live recordings. Special thanks goes out to Pause & Play, a wonderful, consistently updated resource for new album releases on the horizon. Without further ado, here are the anticipated links – some with videos, links to singles, and even full album streams. Enjoy.

Continue reading “From Beck to The Boss, here are 70+ albums to look forward to in 2014”

Show Review: Coldplay with The Pierces and Metronomy at HP Pavilion, 4/28/2012

Jonny Buckland and Chris Martin (with Guy Berryman in background)

To most of the fans in attendance at HP Pavilion this past Saturday night, I might have seemed crazy… or at least like I’ve been living under a rock since 2000. That’s not to say that I’ve never heard of Coldplay, or don’t enjoy the singles I’ve been hearing over the years, or that I dislike them. I just never caught the fever. Much like U2, Coldplay was always a band I liked, but had never gotten rabid about like their hardcore fans. In my experience, when I feel that ambivalent about a band, I often think that most of their songs sound the same. I remember when “Yellow” came out: I was 21, and I loved it. And after that, for some reason, I never paid much attention. But here I am, 12 years later, and the opportunity to see (and review) them falls into my lap – do I go? Hell yes! I couldn’t pass up a chance to see what all the fuss was about, and I knew I’d leave the show with a forever “meh” attitude about them, or come home having caught the fever…

Continue reading “Show Review: Coldplay with The Pierces and Metronomy at HP Pavilion, 4/28/2012”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 4/26/12-5/2/12

Playing Thursday Night at The Regency Ballroom

We’ve got another full week of shows, and this one is chock full of some truly interesting and experimental music. Open your mind and your ears and go out this week!

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 4/26/12-5/2/12”