Oakland – “I want to be a pop idol.” That is Oscar Wilde’s first and only line in the 1998 film Velvet Goldmine, director Todd Haynes’ love letter to the glam rock phenomenon that took London by storm, during the 1970s. In the film, Wilde is found on a doorstep, affixed with a precious jewel that is meant
San Francisco – Usually, crowded shows are not my cup of tea. As someone who likes to hang in the back of the venue, a sold out show does not offer the same sort of space than that of a less populated one, even when hugging the wall along the side or leaning against a pillar towards
San Francisco – It’s not always easy to pick apart an album. Even those that seem more straightforward seem to guard some concealed meaning within the confines of the hour or so an artist or band is given to express themselves, but when given an album by a group that is so notoriously and deliciously abstract as Brooklyn’s
San Fransisco - iTunes is kind of the worst, sometimes. If you’re like me – which is to say, unnecessarily anal about the organization of one’s music library – then the seemingly painstaking problem of getting one album that, for some reason or another, is separated from the rest of that artist or group’s material (usually by some silly,
San Fransisco – “Life is beautiful.” This is a sentiment that floods the minds and hearts of bright-eyed optimists all over the world. Everything is relative, obviously, so there isn’t really any objective way to assess the quality of consciousness and existence. There are many who would probably argue that life is, in fact, far from beautiful: the
San Fransisco - Patience is a key element to true appreciation and enjoyment of music. To truly understand someone’s vision, the meticulousness and the long hours put in, and the often soul-crushing vulnerability an artist or band must overcome to present a facet of themselves to the public in artistic form, a listener must really listen to a piece
San Francisco – The streets of the Bay Area have been turned into veritable rivers over the course of the last few days as El Niño sent its latest barrage of rain into the region over the past several days, satiating the parched California earth with much needed moisture. Saturday saw some of the heaviest precipitation I have
San Francisco – New York’s School of Seven Bells has not been a band immediately ushered to any foreground when indie rock or indie pop is brought into question. Until fairly recently, School of Seven Bells operated as a two-piece collective consisting of lead vocalist Alejandra Deheza and multi-instrumentalist Benjamin Curtis, formerly of the band Secret Machines, which saw
San Francisco – This past Saturday, the 24th annual Noise Pop Festival chugged ahead on its penultimate night with a slew of shows happening across the city at different venues, including a fantastic (though somewhat familiar) set by Texas’ Neon Indian, held at the Mezzanine in SoMa. The Mezzanine splits its time evenly as a nightclub showcasing today’s many
San Francisco – Jackson Phillips – the mastermind behind dreamy guitar pop outfit Day Wave – has made a lot of, well, waves, within the indie music sphere, the past year or so, especially for someone who has yet to release a proper full-length LP. He and his outfit have enjoyed moderate success following breakthrough