I had a very, very terrible audition to be in a video to promote this magazine. I did not do very well. "Punch! Is politics, style, and sports, all in an interactive, iPad-specific app!" went part of ...
Bio: Chris Chafin writes about things you can listen to, play, or consume at a variety of places, including The Awl, New York magazine's Vulture blog, and The Village Voice. His Tumblr is here.
Posted on April 16th, 2012 11:20am
In honor of the reunion tour of Cocker’s band Pulp (perhaps best remembered for their hit “Common People,” released during their heyday as part of the Holy Trinity of British pop acts, along with Oasis and Blur) and on the occasion of their first show in the United States since that reunion (tonight and tomorrow night at Radio City Music Hall), it's worth taking a peek at what Cocker has been up to since the dissolution of Pulp following their last record, 2001’s swan song, We Love Life. He certainly keeps himself occupied, and that large curiosity is key to his enduring appeal. More
Posted on April 10th, 2012 3:57pm
Hundreds of guests paid hundreds of dollars apiece—tickets went for $125 to $750, though that doesn't account for what was certainly a very long guest list—for exclusive access to some of MoMA’s galleries (pleasantly largely empty), free cocktails and bar snacks, a performance by the band Neon Indian, and a chance to meet and mingle with the extremely eclectic congregation of artists, finance-industry types, art exhibitors, and culture vultures who filled MoMA’s atrium. More
Posted on March 8th, 2012 4:24pm
Thursday's show served as both homecoming and celebration for Handclap—their second album, Form and Control, was released this week. The group's newest recruit, yet a crucial element in their sound, Marin got her start in Portuguese-language bands after falling in love with the music of Brazil, and joined Handclap in the space between their first and second albums. “I was like, ‘Are you sure you guys want me to sing?’” Marin told me once we finally made it outside, as if she couldn’t possibly understand what a band would want with a captivating lead singer. More
Posted on February 20th, 2012 1:56pm
Posted on January 31st, 2012 11:36am
Murphy might have been more inevitable at The Electric Room than at most places: His comrade Mahoney D.J.s here every week. But Murphy dropped in last night for a semi-secret set, announced on his own website, Facebook, and Twitter, but not forwarded much more widely than that. So this appearance was special. More
Posted on January 17th, 2012 2:46pm
“I mean how appealing could it be? It’s just a drink.” Jonathan Ames, the mind behind the recently-canceled HBO comedy series Bored to Death, was facing a crowd of several hundred last night who’d ventured out amid the rain showers to meet him, and maybe get a free drink on his tab, at the Brooklyn Inn in Cobble Hill. And Ames was obviously surprised at the turnout.
Posted on December 22nd, 2011 10:28am
While she loves visiting the states, Yelle's Julie Budet admitted she finds American pop music somewhat puzzling. “What is the translation for LMFAO?” she asks of the extremely huge dance-pop act, currently number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Told it’s an Internet chat acronym for “laughing my fucking ass off,” she blushes slightly and says “Oh! In France, we just use ‘LOL.’”
Posted on December 9th, 2011 4:19pm
"The triumph of rhythm is really the story that connects all these genres," Hermes told Capital. "Punk was simplifying rock to very basic rhythms. The minimalists were taking 12-tone compositions and reducing them to a pulse. Disco was all about rhythm, obviously, hip-hop, salsa, and the loft jazz scene to an extent." His book, Love Goes to Buildings on Fire, chronicles how five years of music in New York City changed American music forever. More
Posted on November 30th, 2011 8:23am
Melding early-80s college rock guitar sounds (high notes, syncopation, and some light echo) at a volume a lot higher than anything ever attempted by 1980-vintage U2 or The Police, Gauntlet Hair, one of the first pleasant surprises of the music festival, were melodic and aggressive in infinitely pleasing ways. Their self-titled debut, which doesn’t really capture the energy or even really the sound of their live set, was released Tuesday. More
Posted on October 21st, 2011 10:27pm
