The Eyebrows – Open Mic Tuesday Similar artists: Fountains Of Wayne, Big Star, Cheap Trick, Pixies Genre: Indie Rock, Alternative Rock “Oh, if you could only write a song!” That’s what most A&R reps must’ve thought to themselves as they signed most of the rock bands which poured millions in decades past. A nice hairdo and the right leather jacket can only get you so far, you soo. And just like Andrew Tate, the folks who really want to become famous out of making music ain’t got time to read a book or pour their comments down into a song.  Joke writing and song-making are the two areas ..read more

Isaiah Breedlove – Existential Ache Similar artists: John Moreland, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit Genre: Folk Rock, Alt-Country Jean-Paul Sartre once declined the Nobel Prize for Literature, saying it went against his beliefs to accept such an award. Apparently, no one had informed Monsieur Sartre that it also came with a cash prize. Once he was made aware of this, however, he was back on the phone demanding that he be paid what he was owed. It’s hard to be an existentialist philosopher, and much more so when you also demand to be a poor one.  It’s just as hard to accept all of the things ..read more

Bus People – Skaters Similar artists: Pixies, Beach House, Portishead Genre: Pop Punk I was recently stuck in a hotel room for a couple of days, and there was not much to entertain myself with other than a Netflix subscription. It was during those couple of days that I watched hundreds of movie starts and flicked through hundreds of others. The biggest surprise for novices of movie streaming sites is just how few surprises there are or how deep you have to go to find them.  The fact is that most of us can predict how most movies are going to go. It’s not just because we are smart but also ..read more

Big Dopes – Moon Car Similar artists: Harvey Danger, They Might Be Giants, Violent Femmes, CAKE, Motion City Soundtrack Genre: 90s Rock, Indie Rock, Indie Pop Utter the words “pop music” nowadays to anyone with a record collection, and they’ll consider slapping you over the ear. Those are dirty words, you see, and they conjure up terrible images and sonic illusions. Furthermore, they make you think of sweaty managers auditioning teenagers in their basement and later robbing them blind should they be single, actually making it big in Germany or Japan.  Pop music has acquired this reputatio ..read more

sssiv – memory boy Similar artists: Yo La Tengo, Cocteau Twins, Silversun Pickups, The Breeders, Stereolab Genre: Shoegaze, Dream Pop, Alternative Rock Depending on where you live, there aren’t a lot of places for dreamers to go. And, regardless of where you reside or what you do for a living, there’s nothing a lot of time, it seems, to dream. In fact, if anyone catches you doing it, you might just be ought of a job, or your reputation could take a tumble. People around you want to see you actively fight against the vicissitudes of life.  Music of a certain kind becomes then invaluable. W ..read more

Strange Souvenirs – DMH Similar artists: The National, Okkervil River, The Walkmen Genre: Alternative Rock What are the most common dreams? Flying, winning the lottery, playing with your pet puppy? Well, one of the most common ones is killing another person. According to studies, nearly 19% of adults have dreamt this recently. Researchers are split on what that means. The ones who love sticking to obvious theories believe that the dreamers are angry in the waking hours.  But the researchers who are more prone to reading poetry, taking long walks on the beach and contemplating the meaning ..read more

The Ix Twins – Cunning, Baffling, Powerful Similar artists: The Afghan Whigs, Wilco, Lord Huron Genre: Indie Rock, Alternative Rock Nature rarely gives anyone a fair shake. The handsome, talented rockstars and movie actors are propped up by wires to cash a check made up of people’s poor opinion of themselves.  Nobody gets everything that they want. The college professor who teaches about Baudelaire and Rimbaud never sets foot outside of his town, has numerous unfinished manuscripts of novels and dreams of an adventurous life, something right on the precipice.  The people with tattooe ..read more

Hollywood Folk Hogan – Heavy Rain Similar artists: Neil Young, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, The Band Genre: Blues, Psychedelic Rock, Indie Rock Punk-rock offered a revolution of conscience that all other rock bands had to take note of. Progressive rock bands would no longer be able to push +10 minutes on unsuspecting radio listeners. They had to get to the point. And they needed a point to be able to get to. In theory, greater focus sounds like a good thing. We should have better songs, right?  But not even Ramones or Sex Pistols could have predicted the 10-second TikTik sounds that ..read more

22° Halo – Bird Sanctuary Similar artists: Far Caspian, Grandaddy, Low, Duster, The Radio Dept. Genre: Lo-fi Rock, Indie Rock It’s tempting to go looking for heroes among the great novelists, rock stars and adventurers. They did impressive things. They powered through difficult times, most likely. And they refused to be brought down by the kinds of things that help plunge most of us to our destruction. It’s natural to envy them.  But they’re sad bastards, the vast majority, at least. Unless they are young enough to have caught the modern health craze, the great writers almost certainly dr ..read more

What’s life without friends to share it with? Well, depending on your choice of friends, it’s less time spent on the phone asking them to return the money you lent them two Christmases ago and fewer times having to pick them up from the door of the penitentiary. But, now that I have mentioned this, I realise a lot of these events can be avoided. Just pick better friends. What about the kinds of friends who are talented and ambitious and come to your aid when you need them? What about the kinds of friends that you can share the burdens of life and have a few laughs with along the way?  The ..read more