Author: Dakin Hardwick

Top 10 from the Bottom Half of the Outside Lands 2021 Poster

I honestly wasn’t sure I’d get to post a “Top 10 From The Bottom Half Of The Outside Lands Poster” post this year. Delta hit shortly after 2021 was announced, and I started getting scared. However, after Lollapalooza gave excellent data about music festival infections, and the Bottlerock showed EVEN BETTER DATA, I’m feeling pretty confident that SF’s premier music festival is going to be a safe and fun affair. So here are my personal picks for the Outside Lands undercard. The full line-up is here, as well as the schedule, so you can start making the hard decisions about who you are going to see. The fest runs from October 29th-31st. Continue reading “Top 10 from the Bottom Half of the Outside Lands 2021 Poster”

Spinning Platters presents “How Did I Get Here?” Season 3, Episode 2 with Alexis Krauss of Sleigh Bells

Spinning Platters presents “How Did I Get Here?” is available almost everywhere you enjoy podcasts. You can find us and subscribe here!
 
Alexis Krauss is the lead singer of the popular band Sleigh Bells. Their noisy blend of grindcore guitars and pop beats may not be the most suited for casual radio listening, but it feels me and many others with great joy. I got to speak to Krauss about her time with the pop group RubyBlue, working on a TV show as a young teen, working as a session musician, and how a fateful meeting at a restaurant brought Krauss back to playing in a band.
 

Sleigh Bells’ latest release, Texis, is available for you to enjoy NOW! The band is currently at the tail end of a North American tour, and will be kicking off another round of dates in early 2022. You can find an up-to-date schedule here. Bay Area folks can catch them TWICE this weekend: October 23rd at The New Parish and October 24th at Rickshaw Stop. Please remember to vaxx up and mask up at these shows for the safety of the band and your fellow fans!

Single Of The Week: “Las Panteras: by Los Bitchos

London’s Los Bitchos is an instrumental quartet that blends together surf, psych, funk along with the music of Uruguay and Turkey, creating a deliciously groovy sound reminiscent of Khruangbin. Only if Khruangbin decided not to take themselves quite so seriously… “Las Panteras” is their latest single, and not only is the song quite the jam, but the video is the best movie I’ve seen all year. 

“Las Panteras” can be streamed in all the usual places. Their debut album, Let The Festivities Begin!, is heading your way on February 4th, 2022 and you can do that preorder/presave thing starting, well, now!

Single Of The Week: “Midnight Snacks” by Kelis

Did you know that Kelis’ “Milkshake” is 20 years old? It made me feel pretty ancient. Luckily Kelis isn’t very interested in wallowing in the demise of youth and instead embracing maturity. That’s where “Midnight Snacks” comes into play… It’s the spiritual sequel to “Milkshake,” still embracing the food metaphor, but a song that’s much more intimate, much more profound, much sexier than “Milkshake.” The groove is solid and sticks with you, right down to the intense, processed guitar solo that either winds you down or hypes you up, depending on what you need it to do. 

You can enjoy “Midnight Snacks” in all the usual places. And if you want to take the song literally or need something to eat after taking the track for its symbolic meaning, Kelis is partnering with Bounty & Full to send you your own box of Midnight Snacks. And for those of you heading to Outside Lands, Kelis was *just* added, and she’s playing The House by Heineken on Saturday, October 30th. Yes, the same day as Lizzo. 

Single Of The Week: “Somewhere They Cant Find Us” by Habibi

The literally ONLY good this to happen this decade so far is that New York’s Habibi has become one of the most prolific bands in rock.  Just last week they gifted us with a covers EP, and this week they dropped a brand new original song, “Somewhere They Cant Find Us.” This one is a full-on booty shaker with some of the best skittering drums I’ve heard in a long time. This one is perfect for house parties, or when you need something to perk you up to get things done. It’s another piece of solid joy from one of the best-kept secrets in rock. 

“Somewhere They Cant Find Us” is available now in all the usual spots. A physical 7″ is coming your way on October 29th, and you can preorder from Kill Rock Stars your choice of a pink (limited to 91 copies) or gold (limited to 500 copies) 7″ record! 

 

Spinning Platters presents “How Did I Get Here?” Season 3, Episode 1 with Rhian Teasdale of Wet Leg + US TOUR DATES AND A NEW SINGLE!

Spinning Platters presents “How Did I Get Here?” is available almost everywhere you enjoy podcasts. You can find us and subscribe here!

Most episodes of this show are with someone that has had a long and storied career. I mean, that’s the premise of the show. However, the opportunity to bring Rhian Teasdale of the great Wet Leg, the best thing to come out of the Isle of Wight since The Who’s best live album, onto the podcast was too good to pass up. We talked about deciding to pivot from your academic studies to studying rock n roll. We talked about becoming a headlining act on the strength of a single, absolutely killer song. We talked about becoming the next big thing in the middle of a pandemic. And, most importantly, we talked about the difference between American and British names for a frozen, whipped dairy treat. 
 

Life moves quickly for a young rock n roll band. Since we recorded this interview, not only has the band released their second single, “Wet Dream,” which I can assure you has more blush-worthy lyrics than “Chaise Longue,” but might even be more danceable. And you should get your dancing shoes ready because Wet Leg is coming to the US for THREE SHOWS!!
 
Dec. 8th Brooklyn, NY Baby’s All Right
Dec. 14th Los Angeles, CA The Moroccan Lounge
Dec. 15th San Francisco, CA Popscene at Rickshaw Shop

Single Of The Week: “disappearing girl” by the aquadolls

I spend hours listening to tracks trying to find the perfect Single Of The Week for you. Sometimes I don’t make it more than 10-15 seconds. Other times I find myself repeating the song 10-15 times in a row. “disappearing girl” definitely falls into the latter. With every listen, I pick up on some other element that makes my heart do that bubbly warm thing when a song is just great. And this song has it all: a catchy chorus, disjointed rhythms and time changes, potent, emotive vocals that *almost* crack at the right moment, a fun video, a Sonic Youth reference. Jesus. It’s just SO GOOD! 

“disappearing girl” can be enjoyed now in all of the usual places. I’ve since gone down a YouTube rabbit hole with the band. You should, too!

Outside Lands 2021 Night Shows Announced!!!

One of my least favorite things about multi-stage music festivals is, well, having to decide who to see when multiple acts are playing at once… Remember having to pick between NERD and Carly Rae Jepsen in 2018? THAT WAS EVIL!!! How did I manage? By buying a ticket to see Carly Rae at her Outside Lands night show at The Independent the night before. That show was pretty much pure magic. Are you looking for a purely magical experience that’s slightly more intimate than your regular Outside Lands? Feast your eyes on their Night Show schedule: 

To buy tickets, simply go here! The 2020 Eager Beaver presale starts Wednesday, September 22nd at noon PT, and the 2021 Outside Lands Ticket Holder presale begins Thursday, September 23rd at noon PT. Those passholders should be getting an email with a passcode shortly. If there are any tickets left, the general public gets their shot Friday, September 24th at noon PT. Good luck! 

EP Preview: “Nice Try” by Habibi AND TOUR DATES

 

Habibi was one of like five bands to get to complete their 2020 tour before the world shut down. And their good fortune did not end there… Anywhere But Here landed the band on a slew of year-end lists, enough to get the attention of the legendary label Kill Rock Stars, which is AMAZING news because there were six years between the band’s self-titled debut and second record!

While the band is in the studio working on LP #3, they have treated us with an EP of cover songs from some of their favorite performers. The first single is a cover of the Kleenex classic “Nice,” translated into Farsi by lead singer Rahill Jamalifard. The EP, called Nice Try, will be ready for your ears very soon. You can watch this countdown clock with bated breath like I have to know the minute it’s read! And they are also going on tour! Check out the dates below: Continue reading “EP Preview: “Nice Try” by Habibi AND TOUR DATES”

Single of the Week: “You Was Born To Die” by Adia Victoria (featuring Kyshona, Margo Price, & Jason Isbell)

You know your gonna get a real burner of a track when the video opens up with T-Bone Burnett riding in a vintage car. This song, off Adia Victoria’s latest full-length LP A Southern Gothic, which lands in stores and DSPs TODAY, is fierce and fiery. It’s classic southern blues, with that signature T-Bone Burnett spooky reverb and Adia Victoria’s potent vocal. If you are looking for a classic murder ballad when you need that hit of catharsis, this one is for you. 

“You Was Born To Die” can be enjoyed in all the usual places, and don’t forget to grab A Southern Gothic!