Featured in the

Fall 2006 Issue

Cover Story:

Writer Matt Fink interviewed all five members of Portland, Oregon’s The Decemberists, discussing their new album The Crane Wife, the pros and cons of signing to a major label (this is their first album for Capitol Records), the complex stories and themes that run through Colin Meloy’s lyrics, and many other subjects. We also spoke to The Crane Wife’s co-producer Chris Walla, about his experiences with the band. Under the Radar’s co-publisher and head-photographer Wendy Lynch conducted an exclusive photo-shoot with the band at a turn-of-the-century Portland mansion. The shoot is themed after the board game Clue, in which each band member has a murder weapon and at the end of the article someone dies! “It was interesting that [my girlfriend] was pregnant while I was writing most of the record and experiencing imminent fatherhood, that definitely being at the forefront of my mind as I was writing the songs. But the songs that were coming out were all kind of gruesome and bloody.” – Colin Meloy “We’re not Harvard literary graduates. I have to look up words that Colin uses in his songs. We’re just all people who happen to spend half of our lives playing music about old English mariners and things.” – Jenny Conlee

Main Features:

The Cardigans: It’s been a decade since The Cardigans’ one big American hit, “Lovefool”, but even though the Swedish band hasn’t graced the American Top 40 in years, they are still going strong, as proven by their sixth album, Super Extra Gravity. Writer Gary Knight spoke to lead-vocalist/songwriter Nina Persson and guitarist Peter Svensson about the album, the Police Academy movies, David Hasselhoff, Persson’s acting debut, organized religion, and various other subjects. Regular Under the Radar photographer Derrick Santini shot the band in England exclusively for us. “I’m absolutely not an atheist. They just kill such a big part of the fun of everything. I think I’m a believer, but I’m not at all very active. I’m the kind of terrible one who, when I desperately need something I become religious suddenly. But then I forget to say thanks.” – Nina Persson

The Dresden Dolls vs. Bauhaus: We arranged for Amanda Palmer of The Dresden Dolls to interview Peter Murphy, the lead-singer of legendary late-70s/early-80s goth pioneers Bauhaus for us. Palmer and Murphy were already friends and Bauhaus was one of her favorite bands when growing up. The highlights of their fascinating conversation are presented in a six-page article. Regular Under the Radar photographers Crackerfarm conducted an ambitious and exclusive photo-shoot with Palmer in which they recreated with her several iconic Bauhaus and Peter Murphy album covers. Wendy Lynch conducted a separate exclusive photo-shoot with Peter Murphy. “It was part of my jazz improv class [in high school], and once a semester, we had listening days. And everyone was bringing in mostly pretentious jazz music—trying to impress the teacher. And I brought in Bauhaus.” – Amanda Palmer “Being in a fucking band is so old now, it’s so tired and always was when I ever walked on the stage. I didn’t want to be in a rock and roll band. I never had those aspirations. I wanted to be a very beautiful sort of a thing.” – Peter Murphy

Love Is All vs. The Vaselines: Josephine Olausson, lead-singer for the exciting new Swedish band Love Is All, agreed to interview Frances McKee of late-80s Scottish icons The Vaselines for Under the Radar. The Vaselines are one of Olausson’s favorite bands and for their first-ever live show Love Is All covered The Vaselines’ “Son of a Gun.” The Vaselines entered the mainstream public conscience in 1993 when Nirvana performed a version of their song, “Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam,” as part of their now-legendary MTV Unplugged in New York performance. In fact, Kurt Cobain was so smitten with the band that he named his daughter Frances after McKee, who started the group in 1986 with Eugene Kelly in Edinburgh, Scotland. The highlights of the conversation between Olausson and McKee are presented in a four-page article. The feature also includes a separate Q&A with Eugene Kelly. Photographer Hugo Morris conducted an exclusive photo-shoot with Love Is All in London for this article. “Everybody hated [The Vaselines]. [Laughs] No one liked it. Everyone just thought it was just silly, really silly stuff….Overall, I would say that the reception was quite amusing, you know. People thought we were a wee bit of a gimmick or something.” – Frances McKee “The music charts were a place that The Vaselines were never in danger of troubling. I like the fact it ended when it did, we didn’t stick around to make the difficult second record or be ruined by major labels.” – Eugene Kelly

Joanna Newsom: Like Playing Spiderwebs Writer Writer Ryan Gillespie spoke to singer/songwriter/harpist Joanna Newsom about her ambitious and anticipated sophomore album Ys. “I'm sorry to say this, but, in my opinion, music writers—most of whom are dudes—often don’t seem qualified to make sweeping statements about someone’s style; it comes off clumsy and ill-informed, since most of these dudes don’t really spend much time thinking about girls’ clothing or paying attention to what girls are wearing on the street. I’m not saying they should think about that stuff but it’s annoying to hear some people make sartorial calls with the same suggestion of authority with which they might analyze your music. I went to this big vintage store in LA once—one of these joints that hang clothes on the wall with little signs, like, ‘70’s Dior Smoking’ and so forth—and up there was a little Gunne Sax dress, and the sign said ‘Joanna Newsom dress.’ Blech! And my friend Jamie has forwarded me similar shit on eBay, people selling dresses and labeling them that way. It’s caused me to be sort of self-conscious about wearing certain things that I used to wear all the time.” – Joanna Newsom

Sparklehorse: Fearing Pop Writer Writer Matt Fink interviewed both Mark Linkous and Scott Minor about Sparklehorse’s long-in-the-works fourth album Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain. Linkous battled self-doubt and depression before finally finishing the album, which was partly produced by Danger Mouse. The article features an exclusive photo-shoot with Linkous taken by Crackerfarm in New York. “I just got really depressed for a long time and couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t work at all. I missed having the desire to do any of that. I missed it making me feel good, making music. I think I cried for three years, probably. That’s why it took so long. I just couldn’t work, and I became a real recluse. I never left the house.” – Mark Linkous

Yo La Tengo: A Rock ‘N’ Roll Dynasty Writer Matt Fink interviewed Yo La Tengo’s Ira Kaplan and James McNew about the legendary band’s latest album I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass. Photographers Crackerfarm conducted an exclusive photo-shoot with the band in New York. “I think an even worse word than ‘eclectic’ is ‘indie.’ That just seems like an insult now. I don’t know why, but to me that word makes my flesh crawl. It feels like, ‘We’re a real band. We’re not an indie band.’ It’s like, ‘Those indie bands, they’re just kidding.’ But we’re not. We’re serious.” – James McNew

Other Main Features:

Badly Drawn Boy (Q&A) (Interview by Matt Fink)
Darkel (Air side-project) (Words by Shannon McCarthy)
The Divine Comedy (Words by John Srebalus / Photos by Derrick Santini)
Girl Talk (Q&A) (Interview by Matt Fink)
Kasabian (Words by Jumana Farouky / Photos by Derrick Santini)
Sean Lennon (Q&A) (Interview by Matt Fink & Frank Valish)
Midlake (Words by Frank Valish)
Viva Voce (Words by Marcus Kagler / Photos by Wendy Lynch)
Wovenhand (Q&A) (Interview by Matt Fink)

Artists to Watch:

The Aliens: Former Beta Band members John Maclean, Robin Jones, and Gordon Anderson (who has also recorded under the name Lone Pigeon) have a brand new band named The Aliens and this is their first American interview. Writer Marcus Kagler interviewed the band and photographer Derrick Santini conducted an exclusive photo-shoot shoot with the trio in London.

I’m From Barcelona: In their first American interview, writer Frank Valish spoke to Emanuel Lundgren, the frontman for this 29-piece band who are actually from Sweden, not Barcelona. The article features an exclusive photo-shoot with band taken in London by Derrick Santini.

Peter Bjorn and John: In one of their first American interviews on their acclaimed third album, Writer’s Block, writer August Brown interviewed the eclectic Swedish trio for us.

Reviews:

Over 180 albums, singles, EPs, books, and DVDs reviewed, including releases by the following artists:

A Hawk and a Hacksaw
Akron/Family
The Album Leaf
Animal Collective
Eric Bachmann
Badly Drawn Boy
Basement Jaxx
Beck
Beach House
The Black Keys
The Black Neon
The Blow
Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy
Billy Bragg
Bright Eyes
Richard Buckner
Califone
Isobel Campbell
The Capitol Years
Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band
The Cardigans
Caribou
Cold War Kids
Copeland
Graham Coxon
Darkel
Dark Meat
David & the Citizens
Dead Can Dance
The Decemberists
Depeche Mode
Dosh
DFA
Dirty Pretty Things
The Divine Comedy
DJ Shadow
Tanya Donelly
Duels
Bob Dylan
El Goodo
El Perro Del Mar
Jeremy Enigk
Brian Eno
Ensemble
Faithless
Feist
Fields
¡Forward, Russia!
Four Tet
IV Thieves
Freeheat
Tobias Froberg
The Future Sound of London
Girl Talk
Goldfrapp
Robin Guthrie
Neil Hamburger
The Hidden Cameras
Micah P. Hinson
The Hold Steady
Frida Hyvönen
Imitation Electric Piano
J Dilla
Jet
Josef K
Junior Boys
Kasabian
Ben Kweller
The Lemonheads
Sean Lennon
Magnolia Electric Co.
Mark Mallman
The Mars Volta
Eric Matthews
Stephanie McKay
Midnight Movies
Mirah
Mixel Pixel
Mono & World’s End Girlfriend
Mosquitos
The Mountain Goats
Mouse On Mars
My Morning Jacket
Nina Nastasia
Joanna Newsom
Niobe
Outkast
Owen
Oxford Collapse
Pajo
Anders Parker
The Pernice Brothers
Peter Bjorn and John
Pinback
The Pipettes
Pixies
+/- (Plus/Minus)
Robert Pollard
The Polyphonic Spree
Poni Hoax
Pop Levi
Portastatic
Radiohead
The Rapture
Razorlight
The Sadies
Scissor Sisters
Sebadoh
Sigur Rós
The Skygreen Leopards
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
Sparklehorse
Sprites
Spoon
Stereolab
Summer Hymns
Squarepusher
Swan Lake
Tegan and Sara
The Theatre Fire
Thunderbirds Are Now!
Ali Farka Toure
TV On the Radio
The Tyde
U2
Jean-Claude Vannier
The Village Green
Viva Voce
The Walkmen
The Whitest Boy Alive
Wooden Wand and the Sky High Band
Wovenhand
Xiu Xiu
Yo La Tengo
Pete Yorn
And more…

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