A survey of German kosmische-musik legend Hans-Joachim Roedelius’s best work, in advance of his Oct. 1 Portland show.
Dave Segal
Posted inMusic
Why Would Ishmael Butler Revive Digable Planets? Because He’s Cool Like That
DIGABLE PLANETS Rebirth of the cool. Chris Lee Shabazz Palaces’ mastermind Ishmael Butler walks and talks as if he’s just had the best sex of his life. His voice, a laidback drawl, exudes radiant cool, and even the slightest movement—a tilt of the head, a handshake—is chill. He has the unparalleled nonchalance of Herbie Hancock, […]
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How Ishmael Butler Fused the Past and the Future to Change Hip-Hop Forever
Why Would Butler Revive Digable Planets? Because He’s Cool Like That
Why would Ishmael Butler Revive Digable Planets? Because he’s cool like that.
Posted inMusic
Bumbershoot 2017 Lineup Features Solange, Lorde, the Roots, Margaret Cho, and Chicano Batman
Today, Bumbershoot announced the lineup for its 47th annual festival, which happens September 1-3 at Seattle Center. It’s a familiar mix of very popular acts from hiphop (Vince Staples, Gucci Mane, the Roots, Big Sean, E-40, Die Antwoord), pop (Solange, Lorde, Haim), rock (Weezer, Spoon, White Reaper, Conor Oberst), and electronic genres (ODESZA, Flume, Dillon […]
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20 Essential Record Store Day 2017 Releases
Segal’s decades-long wait for this Holy Grail record is finally ending. The most important annual ritual in music retail and vinyl-collector griping, Record Store Day, happens again this Saturday, April 22. As has become tradition on Slog, I’ve surveyed some of the most interesting releases coming out on this hallowed day. A casual perusal of […]
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Clipping.’s PhD Level, Post-Gangsta Anecdotes
BRIAN TAMBORELLO LOS ANGELES trio clipping. are the latest anomalous group recording for that unlikely incubator of outsider hip-hop, Sub Pop. As home to intergalactic explorers Shabazz Palaces, South African “Township Tech” artist Spoek Mathambo, and the now-defunct astral soul sisters THEESatisfaction, the Seattle label best known as grunge champions in the 1990s and for […]
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Clipping. Extend the Legacy of the Hip-Hop Outsider
LOS ANGELES trio clipping. are the latest anomalous group recording for that unlikely incubator of outsider hip-hop, Sub Pop. As home to intergalactic explorers Shabazz Palaces, South African “Township Tech” artist Spoek Mathambo, and the now-defunct astral soul sisters THEESatisfaction, the Seattle label best known as grunge champions in the 1990s and for nuanced indie […]
Posted inMovies & TV
The Twin Peaks Soundtrack Is Getting a Deluxe Vinyl Reissue
New artwork by Sam Smith. Mondo Music/Death Waltz In an unsurprising and potentially lucrative move, Mondo Music/Death Waltz Recording Company plans to reissue Angelo Badalamenti’s lushly eerie and somber 1992 soundtrack to David Lynch’s eldritch horror film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me on double vinyl January 25. This 25th-anniversary edition makes sense, as the […]
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Listen to Elliott Smith’s Previously Unreleased “I Figured You Out”
Be on Kierkegaard for this. Kill Rock Stars Twenty years after the release of Elliott Smith‘s Either/Or, Kill Rock Stars is reissuing an expanded edition of the late, vastly influential singer/songwriter’s third studio album. The new edition, out March 10, contains a previously unreleased track “I Figured You Out,” which the Olympia-/Portland-based label has kindly […]
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Billboard‘s Top 20 Songs of 2016 Were Every Bit as Shitty as the Year Itself
Every year, I staunchly avoid chart music, mostly out of a desire to maintain optimal mental health. But come December, my editors inevitably tap me to assess the biggest songs of the year gone by, according to Billboard magazine. It’s a living. So once again, I enter the gaping maw of mediocrity. Tallyho! 20. “Ride” […]
Posted inPolitics
Musicians Unite on 30 Days, 30 Songs to Stop Trump’s Presidential Chances
In “Million Dollar Loan,” Death Cab for Cutie tunefully castigate Drumpf, who “counter sues from any corner he’s backed into.” Josh Bis Popular author Dave Eggers has united with dozens of musicians for a musical project whose goal is to prevent racist, sexist, xenophobic, ignorant chronic sniffer Donald Trump from winning more electoral votes than […]
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Rod Temperton, Writer of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, Has Died
Temperton penned some of Jacko’s most beloved songs, including this smooth charmer from Off the Wall.. English composer/keyboardist Rod Temperton passed away last week at the age of 66 after a short battle with cancer. Temperton was best known for writing of some of Michael Jackson‘s biggest hits, including “Off the Wall,” “Rock with You”, […]