Archives for “Blog”
I read an article that was interviewing The National as they were finishing this song (Lemonworld). It made it sound like the band were pretty much fed up with making it, and went with something they weren’t totally happy with, and if I had read the article before hearing the song, I would have been [...]
I realize that a lot of my picks are the same as “everyone” else’s, but that’s no fault of mine, I think it’s the fault of there being a lot of really good jams that everyone had no choice but to agree on. That said, Kanye West is not on this list (but I still [...]
I remember seeing Women at Pitchfork the other year (ha), and being both surprised and casually “into it,” by which I mean I didn’t know anything about this band other than the fact that they had a cool name and album cover. But I particularly remember what turned out to be “Shaking Hand” really standing [...]
(That fan-made video is great! People really can do great things with time on their hands!) Another no-brainer, not really a surprise, but delightful nonetheless thing: Deerhunter returns with a totally awesome new album! Deerhunter has now solidified themselves as a band that truly can do no harm in my eyes. Every album they put [...]
Sufjan returned! And better yet, he confounded expectations! Was there a Banjo on any part of Age of Adz? Maybe not, but who cares, when his unbridled creative majesty was ALL over the place and made for a thrilling listen that apparently adults couldn’t understand. But I identified more with the nearly 20-minute guitar workout [...]
No one really seems to get “Congratulations.” Or rather, people “got” it, like, they knew what MGMT were trying to do, but no one seemed to really connect with it. Which is a shame, because they’re actually missing out on of the years secret Pop Gems! Yes, that’s right, MGMT’s “difficult” second album is a [...]
A simple thing: did you guys know I’ve embraced more of the digital age? Well, I have, and you can do that whole “like” thing on that one site with the “Liking” if you want. And, more importantly (i’d say, though i luv you all), I have a set-up at Bandcamp, an absolutely wonderful site [...]
I figure I’ll do a countdown here, a Top Ten. I’ll start with tracks, and do an “albums” later. So let’s start with Number Ten, and count down from there. Cee-Lo Green: “Fuck You.” I’m not going to try to add any thing more than the general consensus has already said, but then I’ve also [...]
So, R.I.P. Beefheart. It’s interesting, because I’ve never had a strong affection/connection to the man and his work, though I will admit there’s always been a distant sort of “yeah, all right, good work” ghost-camaraderie. But I will be the first to admit, I’m one of those people who has tried many, many, many times [...]
I wrote a long-form essay on The Smashing Pumpkins and my Complicated Relationship to them. Here it is below: “It couldn’t be any worse than the name of the band.” —D’arcy, referring to the “pretentious” title of their new album, “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.” Is there anything wrong with making an album that [...]
Violet Mice— looking for a band. Need Drums, Bass, Keyboard (?), and certainly a brass/woodwind section— specifically one Saxophone and one Trumpet. And HERE are the songs we’d be rehearsing.
Whoa, what a weekend! So, if y’all didn’t know, I recently attended the first-ever Minneapolis Indie Expo (MIX), and boy-howdy was it a totally great time! It was my first-ever tabling experience, too, so I guess it was a double-trouble good place to go. I couldn’t have asked for better table-mates, too, what with Ben [...]
Sometimes, really. It may seem like I’ve been doing nothing, like this site is an old one, one you’d find by accident, check the dates and maybe feel a twinge of sadness. Well, I assure you that’s not the case. I do, in my defense, post things often to my Tumblr, and while that’s not [...]
“Let’s go,” Prince declares on “Bonus Track #77.” It’s followed by total silence: the end of the album. So where are we going, then? It’s almost certainly giving him too much credit to be this smart and self-aware, but the answer is right there: we’re going nowhere. It’s safe to say at this point that [...]
Hey y’all. Y’all knew I played a show last night? Well, if you didn’t, I certainly did! And here’s proof: You can see the whole set here! (THX AJ— & KENNY, too)
So, it’s been a while since a post. This is a drag! Especially since there have been many things happening! First off, earlier in the month I (and a fantastic companion) visited Toronto. Toronto is an absolutely wonderful and beautiful town, and I heartily recommend you to go there, all of you (grammar much?) Anyways, [...]
Rehearsal! Burque Spirit/Down On Crow from Ian McDuffie on Vimeo.
Here, two weeks after the fact, is my personal faves of the last year. It’s the songs from last year, rather than the songs I listened to the most then (they’d be different lists). Naturally, there’s some omissions, because I don’t want to go too nuts with y’all. I’ve appended youtube videos with the songs, [...]
Erasing is a pain! Erasing 40-odd pages, making tiny corrections (with more to be made later), while trying not to spill toooo much coffee because your table shakes… it’s all a pain. Anyways, that’s what I’m doing right now. In New Mexico, the hometown from whence I just was (?), I finished inking Chapter Two [...]
Sorry, guys. It’s been far too long! So I’ll do a little thing here. I’m inking page 79 right now. For reference, Chapter 2 has 81 pages, so JUST THINK WHAT THAT MEANS! It means that I’ll likely be done with Chapter 2 by the end of the year. It won’t be out quite then, [...]
This post is going to be totally unrelated to me, so I’ll begin it by saying “I’m penciling page 72-73, and I might be 10 pages away from finishing Chapter Two.” Okay, now, the speculation. Kerry Brown, producer, etc of the new Pumpkins album, “Teargarden By Kaleidyscope,” just tweeted (I can’t believe I just used [...]
All I do is a few things. Read a blog about Bowie, listen to pre-Hunky Dory Bowie, read about either Hunky Dory or 1977-1981 Bowie, and now, I guess, listen to John Cale covering LCD Soundsystem? Whatever. Point is, I try to continue work on songs, have ideas. Think they’re great. And they might be. [...]
It’s a time of being confused and wondering where to go. As for Birds & Wolves, I’m slowly starting again, and I’ve just inked page 65. My keyboard is terribly disgusting from my inky dirty fingers. I’ve been waiting to hear back from people. Not my fault (it is my fault). I don’t want to [...]
“Intentional detail in everything although sometimes you had to dig for it. Budget dictated reduced quality in many choices, endurance preferred over luxury or eye appeal. Compromise, and like most compromise, satisfying no one.” —Reverend Mother Superior Darwi Odrade, in Frank Herbert’s “Chapterhouse: Dune.” The reason, though, that I find this quote from Dune (above [...]
I don’t think I ever shared this with you. If I did, that’s cool, too. Here’s a loop that I made. It’s one track, no overdubs, all looping. I left the microphone on so it would feedback sometimes. It’s all made with the microphone, the sound it makes when you turn it on and off [...]
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