TV on the Radio Announce New Album, “Seeds”

Jul 29, 2014 Mike Hilleary

TV on the Radio have announced the forthcoming release of their next album, Seeds.

Ramona Lisa – Charilift’s Caroline Polachek on Recording in Unusual Places

Jul 29, 2014 Issue #50 - June/July 2014 - Future Islands

Caroline Polachek wrote music as a way to fill the long stretches of downtime while on a world tour with her band, Chairlift. As she continued composing songs on her laptop—hiding in closets or hotel bathrooms when she needed a quiet place to record—they took on a peaceful, often sorrowful sound that wasn't a fit for Chairlift's upbeat electropop. The songs eventually made their way onto her solo debut, Arcadia, which was released under the name Ramona Lisa. Here, she talks about composing an album on the road and the inspirations that went into her project.

Ramona Lisa – Charilift’s Caroline Polachek on Her Solo Album

Jul 28, 2014 Issue #50 - June/July 2014 - Future Islands

When it came time for Caroline Polachek to embark on her first solo record, she opted to follow a non-traditional route. Rather than emblazoning her own name—or that of Chairlift, her well-known band—across the front of the LP, she released Arcadia under the alias Ramona Lisa.

MONEY

Jul 23, 2014 Issue #50 - June/July 2014 - Future Islands

Most bands retain the stamp of their home towns and cities, but Brits MONEY came together as usurpers in their adopted Manchester, the uniquely creative environment that gave us The Smiths, Joy Division, and Factory Records. Decamping to the north of England in his late teens, London-born vocalist and frontman Jamie Lee credits the city with indelibly shaping the sound and identity of the Bella Union-signed band.

10 Spectacular Pet Shop Boys Songs That Aren’t “West End Girls”

Jul 17, 2014

"Those are the guys that did 'West End Girls' and that song about brains and money or whatever, right?"

Sigh.

Invariably, that's the response I get from fellow Americans when trying to discuss Pet Shop Boys with them. And I'm tired of it. Sick and tired of it, folks.

Don't get me wrong, I love "West End Girls" and "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)," but there is so. Much. More.

I'm fanatical about Pet Shop Boys. I'm fanatical about them in the same way the Depeche Mode fans who commented on my recent Depeche Mode piece are. Although, I think I'm less angry? Then again, perhaps not. The conversation outlined above does make my blood boil and fill me with inexplicable rage. But I mean, I'm not so fanatical of a fan that I can't recognize when Pet Shop Boys put out a clunker; Bilingual, Nightlife, and Release weren't great. Rather spotty, if I'm being honest. In fact, some bits of that album run are downright silly.

But still.

Here are some things, according to Wikipedia, Americans should know about Pet Shop Boys right freaking now:

• Guinness Book of World Records has named Pet Shop Boys the most successful duo in U.K. music history.
• According to Billboard, as of 2003, they were listed as the 4th (behind Madonna, Janet Jackson, and Donna Summer) most successful act on the U.S. Dance/Club charts.
• They've sold over 50 million albums worldwide, had 42 Top 30 singles, and 22 hits in the U.K. Top 10.
• They are three-time Brit Award winners and six-time Grammy nominees.
• We named last year's Electric as one of the 125 best albums of the year (just sayin').

And I could go on and on.

But I won't. Instead, I present for your edification, 10 Pet Shop Boys songs that are not "West End Girls," but just as good, maybe even better? (And these songs weren't even singles!)

Once again, we've dumped these tunes into a Spotify playlist for ya, too.

By Kenny S. McGuane

Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven at Sellersville Theater, Sellersville, PA, July 14, 2014

Jul 18, 2014 By Frank Valish

Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven thrilled Sellersville, PA as an acoustic-based trio. 

Nocturnal Admittance: Orenda Fink on Her Most Vivid Recurring Dream

Jul 25, 2014 By Orenda Fink

Nocturnal Admittance is our series where an artist writes about their most vivid recurring dream or nightmare. For this Nocturnal Admittance, Orenda Fink writes about a nightmarish experience in India that has inspired a recurring nightmare. The former Azure Ray singer is releasing her fittingly titled new solo album, Blue Dream, on August 19 via Saddle Creek.