Features – Page 11 – Spinning Platters

In Defense Of: Imagine Dragons, in Response to Spin‘s Slam

Defending Imagine Dragons isn’t that hard.

Earlier this week, I woke up to an email from one of my editors, asking my thoughts on Anna Gaca‘s ruthless take on Imagine Dragons‘ recent College Football Playoff Championship Game halftime performance. I was offered the opportunity to rebut the claims Gaca made that, among others, “to listen to Imagine Dragons is to be a victim of circumstance.” Why was I the one asked to tackle this? Because anyone who knows me knows that I love Imagine Dragons. More importantly, I couldn’t care less if that makes me uncool. Continue reading “In Defense Of: Imagine Dragons, in Response to Spin‘s Slam”

Spinning Platters’ Top 10 Albums of 2018

By The Spinning Platters Editorial Staff

It’s that time of year again… That time when you’ve read every other music site’s Album of The Year list, and have hated all of them because you haven’t seen the best one yet! We have an incredibly diverse group of records… Some you’ve seen on other lists, some you haven’t, and some you’ve likely never heard of before clicking on this post!

So, without further adieu, on with our list:

Continue reading “Spinning Platters’ Top 10 Albums of 2018”

Film Feature: Carrie’s Top 10 Films of 2018

What were your favorite films of 2018? There were lots of worthy contenders, and choosing just ten can be challenging, but Spinning Platters Film Editor Carrie Kahn has given it a go. Below Carrie shares her ten favorite films of 2018, presented in descending rank order. You can also check out her list from last year, here.

Continue reading “Film Feature: Carrie’s Top 10 Films of 2018”

Treasure Island Music Festival 2018 Journal

The Treasure Island Music Festival has, historically, been the last hurrah of summer. Taking place in the middle of October (or late September), it’s usually sunny and a great way to let go of the carefree warm months, before we all have to buckle to the stress of the holiday season.

Sadly, they had to take 2017 off. Even sadder was that, due to maintenance on the island, Treasure Island, for the first time, had to move from its namesake venue. We ended up drifting east a few knots to the shores of Oakland, to a beach in the middle of West Oakland’s warehouse district called Middle Harbor Park. Continue reading “Treasure Island Music Festival 2018 Journal”

Outside Lands 2018: 27 Instant Gig Reviews

Ate a lot of food. Got a lot of steps. But it was mostly Janet Jackson.

All photos by Dakin Hardwick unless otherwise noted

Outside Lands reached its 11th birthday this year. I’ve been to ten of those eleven installments. This year, the folks booking the festival decided it was time to take some risks… They added an extra stage for acoustic sets and magic, called “Cocktail Magic.” They added a whole pot awareness area (not that folks at a music festival need to be *more* aware of weed). Continue reading “Outside Lands 2018: 27 Instant Gig Reviews”

Spinning Platters Interview: Rae Livingston and David Owen of Outside Lands, Pt 2

Rae Livingston and David Owen both help book the Barbary at Outside Lands, and have for several years now. This, is course, means they have a lot to talk about. So we split the interview in two, because we here at Spinning Platters understand that your time is precious. In this one, we talk about the bookings that they are most excited about this year, as well as some favorite memories of passed years.

If you missed part one, it’s right here! And if you still haven’t purchased tickets yet, what are you waiting for? You can find those right here!

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Rae Livingston and David Owen of Outside Lands, Pt 2”

Spinning Platters Interview: Rae Livingston and David Owen of Outside Lands, Pt 1

Outside Lands generally does quite well with the music lineup. However, I have always thought that the real gold at the festival has been the bookings for the Barbary. This year, we finally found time in their busy schedule to talk to some of the people behind those amazing bookings: Rae Livingston of Another Planet and David Owen of SF Sketchfest. We got to spend a little time with them to discuss the history of the stage, the booking process and their careers, and for a bit, we just got to nerd out about comedy.

Limited 3 Day and single day tickets to Outside Lands are still available! You can also check the full Barbary schedule!

SPINNING PLATTERS: So you’ve got Another Planet and SF Sketchfest, both doing that booking. How does that collaboration work? Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Rae Livingston and David Owen of Outside Lands, Pt 1”

Outside Lands 2018: Top 10 from the Bottom Half of the Poster

As we head into the 11th year of Outside Lands, it’s also important to commemorate the fact that this is the 5th year in a row that I’ve been encouraging you to show up early and check out the smaller stages. I am well aware of the fact that my first one of these, in 2013, managed to guide you to several amazing bands, but missed the fact that a little bass and drums duo on Fueled By Ramen called Twenty One Pilots was playing. This also proves my point that you should get there early, because you never know when you are gonna stumble across a band that’s gonna be selling out arenas in just a couple years. Other passed “bottom-halfers” included The Black Keys, Courtney Barnett, Portugal. The Man, Janelle Monae, Father John Misty, Foster The People, and others that moved on to be massive stars.

So, here are my top 10 favorite acts from the bottom half of the 2018 Outside Lands line-up. Continue reading “Outside Lands 2018: Top 10 from the Bottom Half of the Poster”

SFJFF38 Spotlights #2: To Dust/The Last Suit/Simon and Théodore/Wajib/The Devil We Know

The 38th San Francisco Jewish Film Festival is going strong; it entered its second week today, and we’ve got five more spotlights for you (you can find our first round of coverage here). Below we profile four more feature films and one documentary. Complete programming and ticket information can be found here; now get out there and see some films before the Festival ends on August 5th!

Continue reading “SFJFF38 Spotlights #2: To Dust/The Last Suit/Simon and Théodore/Wajib/The Devil We Know“

SFJFF38 Spotlights #1: Budapest Noir/Memoir of War/Murer–Anatomy of a Murder/The Interpreter/Promise at Dawn

The 38th San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, showcasing over 65 films from more than twenty countries, opens this Thursday, July 19th, and runs for two and a half weeks, concluding on Sunday, Aug. 5th. Films will be shown at venues in San Francisco, Palo Alto, Albany, Oakland, and San Rafael, so there is plenty of time and opportunity to see a lot of quality films. Below we spotlight five Festival movies that you may want to check out. Complete schedule, tickets, and more information are available here. And be sure and follow Spinning Platters for more coverage during the Festival!

Continue reading “SFJFF38 Spotlights #1: Budapest Noir/Memoir of War/Murer–Anatomy of a Murder/The Interpreter/Promise at Dawn“