Under the Radar Magazine Under the Radar | Music Blog for the Indie Music Magazine
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Issue #52

Issue #52 - January/February 2015 - St. Vincent

Dec 19, 2014

Under the Radar is excited to announce the full details of the Best of 2014 Issue, which is about to hit newsstands and will be out all of January and February. It features St. Vincent on the cover and interviews with some of the artists behind 2014’s best albums.

Some of the highlights of the issue include our Top 140 Albums of 2014 list and the 2014 Artist Survey section, which features Q&As with The Flaming Lips, of Montreal, alt-J, Sharon Van Etten, and many others. Jason Schwartzman and Real Estate‘s Martin Courtney interview each other and there’s also a joint interview between Ariel Pink and Panda Bear. There’s an in-depth article on The Walking Dead that includes interviews with actors Andrew Lincoln and Melissa McBride, creator Robert Kirkman, executive producer Gale Anne Hurd, and several other cast members. Other interviews include Jenny Lewis, James Franco, The War on Drugs, “Weird Al” Yankovic, and East India Youth.

Cover Story

The issue features an in-depth 8-page cover story on St. Vincent. Our writer Matt Fink talks to Annie Clark about her incredible year and St. Vincent, one of 2014’s most acclaimed albums. Tommy Kearns photographed Clark in New York City for the article.

“ISIS is scary. Shit that’s going on in Syria is scary. Iran is scary. Playing a rock show? I’m not going to be afraid of that.” - Annie Clark (aka St. Vincent)

“If you compromise the music in hopes of grabbing the brass ring and you fail, then you’ve really failed.” - Annie Clark (aka St. Vincent)

Best of 2014 Interviews

The issue features interviews with artists who made an impact in 2014. Old friends Ariel Pink and Panda Bear discuss parenting and the meaning of life. Actor James Franco reflects on his hyper-busy year of various acting and art projects. East India Youth talks about almost winning the Mercury Prize and his next album. Actor Jason Schwartzman bought Real Estate’s debut album the week it came out and relishes the chance to talk to one of his favorite bands about their best album yet. Musical comedy legend “Weird Al” Yankovic discusses his first #1 record. The cast, creator, and producers of The Walking Dead try to get to the bottom of what makes the hit zombie TV show resonate with viewers so. Jenny Lewis gets into the crippling insomnia that almost derailed her latest album. The War on Drugs’ Adam Granduciel reflects on Lost in the Dream, their third record and the most critically acclaimed album of the year. The full list of interviews is as follows:

Ariel Pink vs. Panda Bear
East India Youth
James Franco
Jenny Lewis
Jason Schwartzman vs. Real Estate
The Walking Dead: Death in Primetime: Robert Kirkman, Andrew Lincoln, Melissa McBride, Michael Cudlitz, Gale Anne Hurd, and Josh McDermitt on How a Show About Zombies Has Conquered Television
The War on Drugs
“Weird Al” Yankovic

“My chillwave baby has grown up, and it’s not chillwave anymore. It has graduated into a misogynist clown man.” - Ariel Pink

“Sometimes I feel like there are two brains operating inside of me, one which I don’t have any say over, and one that is a little more malleable.” - Noah Lennox (aka Panda Bear)

“Trying to have a unique sensibility or look is quite hard because there’s so much coverage of all types of music now.” - William Doyle (aka East India Youth)

“I’m surrounded by my friends who have moved on to the next phase of their lives and I’m still in this other phase.” - Jenny Lewis

“I’d just rather be home. The touring has gotten old.” - Martin Courtney of Real Estate

“When my first daughter was born, I had to figure out a new way of [making music] so that I wouldn’t wake her up.” - Jason Schwartzman

“It has been a completely and utterly unreal experience from top to bottom, so it’s hard to sit down and recognize the things that are happening to me sometimes, because it seems imaginary to a certain extent.” - Robert Kirkman, creator of The Walking Dead

“I think that sometimes something captures people’s imaginations, and the fan mail I get is astonishing.” - Andrew Lincoln, star of The Walking Dead

“It was definitely a hard record to make, and we’re all really grateful for what it has done, but making the record didn’t help me deal with anything emotionally.” - Adam Granduciel of The War on Drugs

“I think there are enough people in the world that do unfunny music.” - “Weird Al” Yankovic

Top 140 Albums of 2014

Our writers pick the 140 best albums of 2014, with their thoughts on each of the Top 30 albums.

2014 Artist Surveys

For Under the Radar’s 12th annual Artist Survey we emailed some of our favorite artists a few questions relating to 2014. We asked them about their favorite albums of the year and their thoughts on various notable 2014 news stories involving either the music industry or world events, as well as some quirkier personal questions. We talk to artists about U2’s free album, the Ice Bucket Challenge, the Ferguson shooting, the missing Malaysian Air flight, the feud between Mark Kozelek and The War on Drugs, the passings of Robin Williams and Philip Seymour Hoffman, their first albums and concerts, childhood bullies, first celebrity crushes, heartwarming fan interactions, time travel, terrible haircuts, and various other topics. The following artists are interviewed in the print magazine 2014 Artist Survey section:

alt-J
Camera Obscura
Chromeo
The Dears
Death From Above 1979
Deerhoof
The Drums
The Flaming Lips
Glass Animals
Hookworms
Sondre Lerche
of Montreal
Ought
Owen Pallett
The Rosebuds
Starwalker
Still Corners
Strand of Oaks
Teleman
Thumpers
Sharon Van Etten
The War on Drugs
Warpaint
Woman’s Hour
Wye Oak
Zola Jesus

“I wrote a lot of letters of angst and admiration as a teenager, which is embarrassing. Stuart Murdoch of Belle and Sebastian remembers receiving one. Mortifying.” - Carey Lander of Camera Obscura

“If I talk about Kim Kardashian’s ass, however, that will be your pulled quote.” - Murray Lightburn of The Dears

“[If I could time travel] I would go back to 1955 and really convince Marty McFly to sleep with his mom.” - Sebastien Grainger of Death From Above 1979

“U2 has become music pollution. They are the smog of music.” - Jonny Pierce of The Drums

“If they like The Soft Bulletin, they would want all of our records to be the same. But we didn’t know what the fuck we were doing when we made that record, how could we make more?” - Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips

“Did she get it confused with the mice bucket challenge? Such an easy mistake to make. Poor Grimes.” - Joe Seaward of Glass Animals

“Mark Kozelek is bitter and miserable, and this public bullying should neither be applauded nor accepted.” - MB of Hookworms

“Even though we have a black president, we are in no way in a post-race society, and racism and police brutality are still serious problems.” - Kevin Barnes of of Montreal

“I cried onstage at least five times this year, it’s a pretty tough job sometimes.” - Owen Pallett

“I have a fantasy of only having Spanish-speaking friends that I ride stallions, laugh, and say awesome Spanish cuss words with.” - Timothy Showalter of Strand of Oaks

“Hearing the news of Robin Williams as we were driving up to San Francisco left me sobbing in the van for a few hours.” - John Hamson Jr. of Thumpers

Album Reviews

Over 75 CDs, films, and comic books are reviewed in the print issue, including reviews of releases by:

The Afghan Whigs
A Place to Bury Strangers
All We Are
Antony and the Johnsons and Charles Atlas
Ariel Pink
Bedhead
Belle and Sebastian
Big Star
David Bowie
Captain Beefheart
Caribou
Charli XCX
Clark
Cold War Kids
The Decemberists
Deerhoof
Deptford Goth
Dirty Beaches
The Dodos
Dutch Uncles
Bob Dylan
Father John Misty
Bryan Ferry
The Flaming Lips
Flying Lotus
The Go-Betweens
José González
HAERTS
Hookworms
Kindness
The Kinks
Mark Kozelek
Mark Lanegan Band
Mia Maestro
Medicine
The New Basement Tapes
Ought
Panda Bear
Parkay Quarts
Peaking Lights
Pharmakon
Pink Floyd
Pixies
Pond
Queen
Gruff Rhys
Run the Jewels
Savages & Bo Ningen
Ty Segall
Songs: Ohio
Springtime Carnivore
Stars
Torn Hawk
TV on the Radio
Twerps
The Twilight Sad
Wampire
Jessie Ware
Weezer
YACHT
Thom Yorke
Young Ejecta

David Redfern 1936-2014

The print issue ends with a tribute to late legendary music photographer, David Redfern.

Digital Magazine

The digital version of the issue (available via iTunes and Zinio, and for iPads, iPhones, Macs, and PCs) also features extra Artist Surveys and reviews not found in the print magazine.

Bonus 2014 Artist Surveys

The digital magazine includes extra 2014 Artist Survey Q&As with the following artists:

Blaue Blume
Haley Bonar
Boxed In
Cibo Matto
Coves
Dutch Uncles
Orenda Fink
The Flaming Lips
Fujiya and Miyagi
Generationals
HAERTS
Happyness
Hookworms
Joanna Gruesome
Lily and Madeline
of Montreal
Painted Palms
Quilt
Slow Club
Springtime Carnivore
Syd Arthur
Telekinesis
The Vaselines
Wampire
Xiu Xiu
Yuck

“[U2’s free album] was the most horribly egotistic thing any musician has done in my eyes, tantamount to a painter entering your home and putting his artwork up without asking.” - John Ridgard of Coves

“It’s gone too far to go back on gun ownership and in that respect the only idea I can agree with is Chris Rock’s idea about bullet control: that they should cost $5,000 dollars each.” - Duncan Wallis of Dutch Uncles

“I can just imagine Mark Kozelek finishing recording ‘Adam Granofsky Blues’ and then crying into a sandwich.” - Jonny Allan of Happyness

“I can’t imagine what it must be like living with the gun laws and underlying race issues in modern day America.” - MB of Hookworms

“How do you think Mr. Bono would feel if I went into his kitchen, went through his fridge, and then wrote my birthday on his calendar?” - Charles Watson of Slow Club

“If Katrina was an under-reaction on part of our government, Ferguson was a perverse over-reaction by local law enforcement and the National Guard.” - Eric Phipps of Wampire

“[The low point of 2014 was] getting in a fist fight over a parking space at Trader Joe’s and breaking two of my toes in the process.” - Jamie Stewart of Xiu Xiu

“I spend so much time sculpting my abs at the gym, yet no journalists ever think to bring it up, which I find quite offensive.” - Max Bloom of Yuck

Bonus Album Reviews

The digital version includes extra reviews of albums, books, comic books, films, and TV shows, including releases by the following artists:

Aphex Twin
The Growlers
Steve Gunn
The History of Apple Pie
Inspiral Carpets
King Tuff
Moonface
Thurston Moore
OK Go
Simple Minds
The Smashing Pumpkins
Tweedy
U2

Click here to buy the print version of the issue.

Click here to subscribe to the print version of Under the Radar.

Click here to buy the digital version of the issue (via iTunes and for iPads and iPhones).

Click here to subscribe to the digital version of Under the Radar (via iTunes and for iPads and iPhones).

Click here for a list of U.S. stores that carry Under the Radar.

Interviews
“Weird Al” Yankovic
2014 Artist Survey: Camera Obscura
2014 Artist Survey: Chromeo
2014 Artist Survey: Death From Above 1979
2014 Artist Survey: Deerhoof
2014 Artist Survey: Glass Animals
2014 Artist Survey: Hookworms
2014 Artist Survey: Ought
2014 Artist Survey: Owen Pallett
2014 Artist Survey: Sharon Van Etten
2014 Artist Survey: Sondre Lerche
2014 Artist Survey: Starwalker
2014 Artist Survey: Still Corners
2014 Artist Survey: Strand of Oaks
2014 Artist Survey: Teleman
2014 Artist Survey: The Dears
2014 Artist Survey: The Drums
2014 Artist Survey: The Flaming Lips
2014 Artist Survey: The Rosebuds
2014 Artist Survey: The War on Drugs and Nightlands
2014 Artist Survey: Thumpers
2014 Artist Survey: Warpaint
2014 Artist Survey: Woman’s Hour
2014 Artist Survey: Wye Oak
2014 Artist Survey: Zola Jesus
2014 Artist Survey: alt-J
2014 Artist Survey: of Montreal
East India Youth
Jenny Lewis
Panda Bear vs. Ariel Pink - The Full Interview
Real Estate vs. Jason Schwartzman - The Full Interview
St. Vincent - The Under the Radar Cover Story
The Walking Dead: Death in Primetime

 

Reviews
All We Are
Batman: Eternal Vol. 1 Review
Didn’t It Rain (Deluxe Reissue)
G Stands For Go-Betweens: Volume One
Gentlemen at 21
Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance
Home Everywhere
Hungry Ghosts
Hypnotized
I Love You, Honeybear
Individ
Let’s Cry and Do Pushups at the Same Time
Live in Memphis
Lost on the River
Man, It Feels Like Space Again
Muswell Hillbillies
O Shudder
Once More with Feeling… EP
Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper
Range Anxiety
Song One
Stateless
Sun Zoom Spark: 1970 to 1972
The Basement Tapes Complete: The Bootleg Series Vol. 11
The Planet
Transfixiation
Two Days, One Night
Vestiges and Claws
What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World
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