Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
As we all know, this weekend is the Treasure Island Music Festival. It’s always a really good weekend, and the night shows are pretty awesome this year, too! I will be there, and you should, too! But, just in case you have a deep phobia of pirates and buried treasure, we’ve got a few more ideas for you:
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide To Bay Area Concerts: October 13th-October 19th”
Today I went to Target to buy some stuff, and as I do when I go to Target, I went to the CD section just to have a look around. I thought perhaps I would buy the new album by The Temper Trap, for Target was sure to have that. Well, they didn’t. As you might already know, these big department stores carry a tiny selection of the available CDs on the market, so unless you’re an established name, it’s hard to get in there. Then I noticed something odd. There were a bunch of featured artists that I had never heard of. How do they get into Target? I jotted down the names of six of these artists, and decided to see if I’ve been missing the boat on them. Enjoy six artists that I had never heard of until lunch today. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Picks Six: Bands I’d Never Heard Of Until Lunch Today”
Why am I reviewing a-ha you may ask yourself. Perhaps it’s because I am the most mainstream pop fan around here but in truth it’s because they released a fantastic album, Analogue in 2005, which, even with my very short attention span for music, remains on my playlist on a regular basis. This is not really the a-ha of 80’s “Take On Me” fame, though the members are the same as when the band formed in 1982: lead vocalist Morten Harket, guitarist Paul Waaktaar-Savoy and keyboardist Magne Furuholmen, the music they are making has grown up significantly. I am told their lyrics are Christian based but, to be honest, I don’t pay that close attention and just hear great songs. Analogue featured some amazing balladic tunes and I was happy to hear of the Europe-only release of their new album Foot of the Mountain. Continue reading “Album Review: a-ha — Foot of The Mountain”
When their members get around the age of fifty, most bands have packed it in. Predictable patterns. Old canards. Comfortable constructive crutches to lean on.
Not Mission Of Burma. Continue reading “Album Review: Mission Of Burma – The Sound The Speed The Light”
I was super busy with work this week. I tried squeezing in more music but just couldn’t. A lot of my time was spent listening to lame music. I will redeem myself next week. Continue reading “New Release Round Up, 10/6/09 — 28 Instant Album Reviews”
Any trip to the Divisadero corridor always deserves a stop at one of the many excellent and inexpensive restaurant choices available. On this trip, the choice was half an order of BBQ chicken, mac ‘n cheese, and corn. I was still picking kernels out of my teeth when we walked in midway through the set of Damon and Naomi, the openers for the evening. The music was melancholy and wistful, with intertwining vocals from both musicians, Damon on acoustic guitar and Naomi on keyboards. I wasn’t too disappointed, but their brand of self-proclaimed “dream pop” wasn’t doing anything to help out my impending food coma. It was a surprise to learn that the duo did a stint on Sub Pop back in the mid-to-late 90’s. However, I wasn’t much into indie rock back then; rather, mainstream alternative, but that’s beside the point. The set ended a little after 10:00pm, and on to the waiting game. Continue reading “Show Review: A Hawk and a Hacksaw at The Independent, 10/9/09”
Reverend and the Makers come from Sheffield, which gives them a huge head start in my book with that being the home of my all time favorite, Jarvis Cocker, and many others such as The Human League and Arctic Monkeys. This is a British band I had heard of but never really listened to. A French Kiss In The Chaos is the band’s second full length album following on from 2007’s The State Of Things which reached #5 in the UK charts. The album was released July 29th in the UK but currently shows no signs of a US release.
Continue reading “Album Review: Reverend And The Makers — A French Kiss In The Chaos”
This week saw a lot more competition to be in our Top 5 Most Viewed New Posts of the Week. Without the killer buzz-saw of Kylie Minogue reviews, all manner of posts had a shot at the top. Keep coming back this weekend for some rare weekend updates including some show reviews and our weekly New Release Round Up. And now, on to our top posts. Can you guess what #1 might be? Continue reading “Week in Review: Top 5 Posts For Oct 2 — Oct 8”
This event was billed as “An Evening with Fran Healy and Andy Dunlop from Travis: A Chronological Acoustic Journey Through the Travis Back Catalogue- Laugh Out Loud Stories, Scottish Accents, Handsome Scottish Men, Naked Torsos.” Although one of these things didn’t occur (the naked torsos) I’m not sure I can do a better job describing the show then they did, but here goes.
The Swedish American Hall was host tonight to an experiment in both performance and audience, as Andrew W.K. brought Calder Quartet with him on a small tour to promote an album of piano improvisations called Cadillac 55. Standing outside the hall waiting on some friends, I watched the crowd go in. First, I saw some former meatheads who made up much of Andrew W.K.’s audience during his major label days. Then I saw a large group of senior citizens go in, having come to see the Calder Quartet, who are a reknowned classical group. And of course, there was a large music nerd contingent. So how would all of this mix? Continue reading “Show Review: Andrew W.K. & Calder Quartet at Swedish American Hall, 10/7/09”