Single of the Week: “Estranged Fruit” by Fishbone featuring El Hefe & Fat Mike of NoFX

Fishbone has been around for 40 years! Crazy, right? And after 40 years, one would expect that they would at least lose their fire a little, right? Well, maybe that would’ve happened if we hadn’t seen a sharp rise in the whole Neo-Nazi/Fascist movement in recent years that the band has been fighting tooth and nail to destroy their entire career… “Estranged Fruit” is the band at their fiery, angry, exasperated best. This song is a bit of a modern update of Billie Holiday’s signature song, “Strange Fruit,” calling back to some of the original lyrics. (I doubt anyone reading this has never heard Strange Fruit before, but if you haven’t, it might be the most chilling song ever recorded)

“Estranged Fruit” is available in all of the usual places. A new EP will be coming soon on Bottles To The Ground records, and they will be hitting the road with Les Claypool’s Flying Frog Brigade later this month! 

Film Review: “The Eight Mountains”(Le Otto Montagne)

Tenderness and solitude are at the forefront of this epic tale of male friendship

Against a calm snow-capped vista of the Italian Alps, two friends come together and stand in silence. They don’t need to speak much. They’ve known each other for long enough that words don’t carry the same value. They part ways once again, for how long neither of them knows, to continue finding themselves and hoping that the other will do the same. Amidst these characters’ experiential subtleties, The Eight Mountains, based on the best-selling novel by Paolo Cognetti, unfolds as a (sneakily) epic tale of friendship and discovering one’s natural place in the world, while making a cinematic statement on the fragility of all living things.

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Spinning Platters Interview: Jim Welte, Executive Director of the Mill Valley Music Festival

Executive Director of Mill Valley Music Festival, seen here with his trusty bodyguard.

Here at Spinning Platters, we are REALLY excited about the second year of the Mill Valley Music Festival. We are getting the return of Northern California legends Cake, alongside SP favorites Tank & The Bangas, Adrian Belew & Jerry Harrison doing a Talking Heads set, Durand Jones, Valerie June, Black Joe Lewis, and many more. The party is NEXT WEEKEND- May 13th and 14th. Tickets and more info here. We had a chance to chat with their Executive Director, Jim Welte about this year’s event, and here’s a bit of our conversation: 

I’ve just got a couple of questions to ask you about this insane endeavor you’re pulling off in one of the hardest cities in the Bay Area to get to, which prompts my first question, what made you pick Mill Valley? Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Jim Welte, Executive Director of the Mill Valley Music Festival”

NEW SEASON OF HOW DID I GET HERE? with Kate Mattison and Lola Adonna of 79.5

79.5 are a 5 piece R&B group from New York City, and we got to chat with band leaders Kate Mattison and Lola Adonna about their career path, the evolution of the band, finding each other, the joy of DIY spaces, and so much more. Their self-titled, full-length debut is out TODAY in all the usual places! You can catch their latest, Sopranos-inspired music video here.

Find and subscribe to How Did I Get Here? on your favorite streaming platform by going here!

Tour Dates:

5/8: Seattle, WA @ Madame Lou’s

5/11: San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop

5/12: Los Angeles, CA @ The Paramount

6/2: Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Made

6/24: Philadelphia, PA, @ Johnny Brenda’s

Single of the Week: “Sugar Coating” by Salami Rose Joe Louis

Is it jazz? Is it experimental pop? Is it psych? Is it even from Earth? I’m not sure how to classify “Sugar Coating” by Salami Rose Joe Louis, but this song is just plain great. Another great trippy artist from the Bay Area, in the same school as tUnE-yArDs, Toro y Moi, or Spacemoth.. I haven’t been so entranced by a blend of Science Fiction and song since the first Deltron 3030 record. 

“Sugar Coating” is the latest single of their upcoming full-length record, Akousmatikous, coming your way May 19th. Do all the preorder/presaving and such here! 

Bad News and Good News from Bethany Cosentino!

First, the bad news… Best Coast is on “Indefinite Hiatus.” So those of us that caught them on tour last year were, well, the last folks to see them for a bit. The good news? Bethany Cosentino is going solo and gifted us with her first single, “It’s Fine.” The track starts out with a scream that gets deep under your skin before taking us through an excellent country-rock track. The pop-punk and surf elements of Best Coast have been replaced by Jenny Lewis-style emotive and vibrant delivery and lyricism. This track is solid. 

“It’s Fine” is the first single of Cosentino’s debut solo record, Natural Disaster, coming for your heart and eardrums on July 28th. Preorders and Presaves are currently active. 

Film Review: “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret”

Margaret on the big screen was worth the wait

After waiting for a movie for almost 50 years, can it ever live up to expectations? In the case of the film adaptation of Judy Blume’s classic 1970 coming of age novel Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, the answer is a resounding yes. 

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Single of the Week: “A Child’s Question, August” by PJ Harvey

I mean, new PJ Harvey is generally cause for celebration in almost any situation. “A Child’s Question, August” is not quite what I was expecting, but it was a happy surprise. The song opens not with her deep, powerful, blues-inflected alto that we’ve known to expect from her but a tender, quiet, almost fragile soprano. The song builds like a classic shoegaze anthem- raising in emotional intensity and volume slowly. There’s an Elvis-referencing chorus that flips “Love Me Tender” on its side and a chilling, baritone harmony from the modern voice of Paddington Bear, Ben Wishaw. 

“A Child’s Question, August” is the first single from I Inside The Old Year Dying, Harvey’s first album of new material in seven years, coming your way July 7th. I will also note our honorable mention for Single Of The Week- a surprisingly spare and dissonant track from Kesha, “Eat The Acid.” 

Mosswood Meltdown- Single Day Line Ups // Afterparties // New Acts!

“Mosswood Meltdown is a pissed-off July 4th weekend celebration for the punk rock elite. Slum-goddess feminists, butch twinks, homo-masculine straight guys-we’re all ready to pogo our way to musical mayhem.”

– John Waters 

Our good friends at Mosswood Meltdown continue to make the greatest festival lineup ever (according to me) even greaterest! (WTF? Grammarly didn’t flag that word?!?!) In addition to the previously announced returns of Le Tigre, Bratmobile, Gravy Train!!!!, Mika Miko, The Rondells, JJ Fad, and too many more to name, we have been gifted with four ridiculously cool additions! We have Oakland’s Twompsax bidding us adieu with their last two performances ever. We also have Japan’s greatest surf band, The 5678s, returning to the US for the first time in a while. For those of you sick of music played by humans, the Teddy Bear Orchestra (which really is a band comprised of robot teddy bears) will give pleasure to your ears as a distraction while they plot to take over the human race. 

They’ve also FINALLY let us know who is playing on which days. For me, personally, that stretch of SNOOPER to Bratmobile on Sunday is about as perfect as a music festival could possibly be. Full details are below, as well as info on the afterparties! Tickets are available here, and get them while you can! This is looking like selling out is not out of the question…

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The 2023 Stern Grove Fest Line Up is Ridiculous!!!!

We are so very lucky in San Francisco. The lineup for the Stern Grove festival was just released, and it feels unfair how good it is. We are already lucky enough to live in the greatest place on Earth, but to see this array of acts FOR FREE?!?!?! In an absolutely stunning outdoor amphitheater? The rest of the world is full of envy for us. 

I kinda want to go to everything… I mean, it opens with jazz experimentalists Snarky Puppy on June 18th. Then a bill where NEKO CASE IS THE OPENER?!?! Of course, she’s opening for the legendary Indigo Girls on June 25th for a bill that’s way more than closer to fine. (Sorry!) Avant-Pop icon Santigold on July 2nd. Lyle Lovett with our dear friend Andrew St James on July 9th. Legendary singer Angelique Kidjo is gracing our presence on July 16th. Jammy Funksters Lettuce is playing with the SF Symphony, which is just, um, !!!!!!. On July 20th, we’ve got the house double bill of Bob Moses and Neil Frances. August 6th brings us the FINAL SF PERFORMANCE from Buddy Guy. Competing with Outside Lands on August 13th (Damn right, I’m angry) is Patti Smith, possibly the most captivating live performer I’ve ever seen, paired with former Husker Du and Sugar frontman Bob Mould. And closing the whole thing out? The Flaming Lips on August 20th. 

As with the last two years, tickets are free but do require RSVP. RSVP Links are below, along with the day and time they go live. (Which appears to be the same date as the show in the prior month at 2pm) And, as usual, they are selling tables to The Big Picnic with The Flaming Lips on August 20th. 

June 18 Snarky Puppy, Isaiah Sharkey (RSVP Opens May 18th at 2pm)

June 25 Indigo Girls (with Full Band), Neko Case (RSVP Opens May 25th at 2pm)

July 2 Santigold, Ogi (RSVP Opens June 2nd at 2pm)

July 9 Lyle Lovett and His Large Band, Andrew St. James (RSVP Opens June 9th at 2pm)

July 16 Angelique Kidjo, Jupiter & Okwess (RSVP Opens June 16th at 2pm)

July 23 SF Symphony with Special Guest Lettuce (RSVP Opens June 23rd at 2pm)

July 30 Bob Moses, Neil Frances (RSVP Opens June 30th at 2pm)

August 6 Buddy Guy Damn Right Farewell Tour, Eric Gales (RSVP Opens July 6th at 2pm)

August 13 Patti Smith, Bob Mould (RSVP Opens July 20th at 2pm)

August 20 The Big Picnic Featuring The Flaming Lips, Alan Palomo (Neon Indian DJ Set) (RSVP Opens July 20th at 2pm)