Moon Duo do everything but stumble. Less spin off and more sequel to Wooden Shjips, the duo of guitarist Erik Johnson and keyboardist Sanae Yamada burn gasoline with the same motorik groove as their obvious Krautrock forebears. But if the original open-road exhaust of Neu and Cluster was meant to mushroom above the obsidian Autobahn, […]

Almost two years ago, I visited San Francisco for the first time. With its ideal climate, friendly people, and easy access to hallucinogenic drugs (not to mention the two beautiful girls who admitted they were on acid while hitting on me outside of Rickshaw Stop), it quickly became one of my favorite cities in the […]

Brought to you by our sponsors, Brother Love and The Honky Tonk Man.  25. Diamond District – In The Ruff [Mello Music Group] Taking artists at their word is a notoriously tricky enterprise. Even allowing for 100 percent sincerity, intentions and ambitions are often discordant with the final results. Luckily, anyone attempting to assess Diamond […]

Brought to you by our sponsor: “Piper’s Pit.” 50. Exile – Radio [Plug Research]  Best known for producing 2006’s acclaimed collaboration with Blu, “Below the Heavens,” Exile emerged as a viable creative force in his own right on “Radio,” a found-art opus that found him re-configuring taped snippets of everything from old commercials to evangelical […]

I can’t believed I missed this. Then again, while this went down, I was watching a face- melting performance from Wooden Shjips in front of 100 people at the crackerbox Hemlock Tavern. A worthwhile consolation if there ever was. For those who don’t know, the Low End Theory Beat Invitationals find the club inviting the […]

Photo via The Fader I know I’ve been scarce. There’s been an avalanche of deadlines, an undisclosed long-term writing project, playoff basketball, and sometimes, days just disappear. There’s too much good music to pay proper tribute. Wooden Shjips, the new Kid Cudi and Playboy Tre mixtapes, Belbury Poly’s From an Ancient Star, and anything Grateful […]

I don’t actually think the mixtape will save us all–promise. But discounting the obscene glut of product that has plagued us in the mixtape era, I do think it’s pretty win-win for artists and consumers. Particularly since rappers (and non-rappers) are stepping up their game and evolving beyond the simple arithmetic of written “freestyles” over […]

This weekend is the fourth annual Fuck Yeah Fest, two nights full of freaky, eclectic music determined to prove once and for all, that hipsters know how to fuck. Or something. I’ve never heard of 1/4 of the bands slated to play, but at the very least, they all promise to be interesting. I’ve done […]