Jimmy Page paid tribute to the late Steve Albini, who served as recording engineer and mixer for the 1998 album, Walking into Clarksdale, a collaboration between Page and his former Led Zeppelin bandmate, Robert Plant.
“I was very sad to hear of Steve Albini’s passing this week,” Page wrote in an Instagram post. “Robert and I worked with him in 1997 on our album, Walking Into Clarksdale — a record I’m still really proud of.
“I had a strong connection with Steve, we all did on that album, and he came...
“I was very sad to hear of Steve Albini’s passing this week,” Page wrote in an Instagram post. “Robert and I worked with him in 1997 on our album, Walking Into Clarksdale — a record I’m still really proud of.
“I had a strong connection with Steve, we all did on that album, and he came...
- 5/10/2024
- by Kory Grow
- Rollingstone.com
Superchunk’s Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance shared tributes to Steve Albini, remembering the musician/producer/engineer as a “unique and outstanding individual,” who helped the burgeoning indie rock band sound “bigger than we were in real life.”
Albini, who died Tuesday night from a heart attack at the age of 61, produced Superchunk’s excellent 1991 sophomore effort, No Pocky for Kitty. McCaughan remembered cutting the album over three nights — working literally sundown to sun-up, 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. — at Chicago Recording Company.
It was an experience that “changed our band and our lives,...
Albini, who died Tuesday night from a heart attack at the age of 61, produced Superchunk’s excellent 1991 sophomore effort, No Pocky for Kitty. McCaughan remembered cutting the album over three nights — working literally sundown to sun-up, 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. — at Chicago Recording Company.
It was an experience that “changed our band and our lives,...
- 5/8/2024
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Superchunk won’t let a little thing like the brittle and cruel nature of human mortality get in the way of a good punk song. On their latest single, “Everybody Dies,” frontman Mac McCaughan pays tribute to the many musicians who have passed away in the last decade and how jarring their loss has been. “I was happy in a world of wishful thinking and outright lies,” he sings, “but I’m beginning to think that everybody dies.” The music recalls Superchunk’s pogo-ready, hyper-enough Nineties rockers, paired with some Clash-like “whoaas.
- 1/11/2024
- by Kory Grow
- Rollingstone.com
Mac McCaughan, frontman of indie rock stalwarts Superchunk, has released a new song, “Dawn Bends,” from his upcoming solo album, The Sound of Yourself, out September 24th via Merge.
“Dawn Bends” is, largely, an acoustic-led tune, until about halfway through, when an electric guitar appears out of nowhere, spinning knotty, distorted riffs to counterbalance the otherwise mellow song. “Feet in the air,” McCaughan sings, “Head stuck deep in the sand/How will you find your friends?/When dawn doesn’t break, it bends.”
In a statement, McCaughan described “Dawn Bends...
“Dawn Bends” is, largely, an acoustic-led tune, until about halfway through, when an electric guitar appears out of nowhere, spinning knotty, distorted riffs to counterbalance the otherwise mellow song. “Feet in the air,” McCaughan sings, “Head stuck deep in the sand/How will you find your friends?/When dawn doesn’t break, it bends.”
In a statement, McCaughan described “Dawn Bends...
- 7/20/2021
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Merge Records has released a new covers compilation, Going to Georgia, to benefit various organizations fighting for voting rights and encouraging turnout ahead of the two crucial Georgia Senate runoff elections.
The compilation will cost $10 and will be available from midnight, December 4th, through January 5th, exclusively via Bandcamp. All proceeds will go to Mijente and Stacey Abrams’ Fair Fight.
The compilation features various Merge artists covering songs by famous Georgia acts. The label previewed the compilation with Titus Andronicus’ charmingly ramshackle indie rock rendition of the Indigo Girls’ 1989 hit,...
The compilation will cost $10 and will be available from midnight, December 4th, through January 5th, exclusively via Bandcamp. All proceeds will go to Mijente and Stacey Abrams’ Fair Fight.
The compilation features various Merge artists covering songs by famous Georgia acts. The label previewed the compilation with Titus Andronicus’ charmingly ramshackle indie rock rendition of the Indigo Girls’ 1989 hit,...
- 12/3/2020
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Superchunk have dropped their new Halloween single “There’s a Ghost,” the North Carolina alt-rockers’ first new music since their 2018 LP What a Time to Be Alive.
“I didn’t write a song for probably the first six months of the lockdown,” Superchunk’s Mac McCaughan said in a statement on the track, a haunted house tale for the Covid-19 era. “This is one of the first and it came just in time for Halloween. Jim [Wilbur, guitarist] and Jon [Wurster, drummer] came over with their masks on, and Laura [Ballance] tracked her bass in her bass-ment.
“I didn’t write a song for probably the first six months of the lockdown,” Superchunk’s Mac McCaughan said in a statement on the track, a haunted house tale for the Covid-19 era. “This is one of the first and it came just in time for Halloween. Jim [Wilbur, guitarist] and Jon [Wurster, drummer] came over with their masks on, and Laura [Ballance] tracked her bass in her bass-ment.
- 10/30/2020
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
Read: 500 Greatest Albums of All Time List
Voters were asked to submit ranked ballots listing their 50 favorite albums of all time. Votes were tabulated, with the highest-ranked album on each list receiving 300 points, the second highest 290 points, and so on down to 44 points for number 50. More than 3,000 albums received at least one vote.
Artists, Songwriters, and Producers 9th Wonder Johntá Austin A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie Mick Avory
The Kinks Glen Ballard Alice Bag Bas Jon Batiste Big Boi Beyoncé Branko Michael Brun Eric Burdon
The Animals John Cale
The...
Voters were asked to submit ranked ballots listing their 50 favorite albums of all time. Votes were tabulated, with the highest-ranked album on each list receiving 300 points, the second highest 290 points, and so on down to 44 points for number 50. More than 3,000 albums received at least one vote.
Artists, Songwriters, and Producers 9th Wonder Johntá Austin A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie Mick Avory
The Kinks Glen Ballard Alice Bag Bas Jon Batiste Big Boi Beyoncé Branko Michael Brun Eric Burdon
The Animals John Cale
The...
- 9/22/2020
- by RS Editors
- Rollingstone.com
Cable Ties address misogyny, racism, gender issues, and climate change on their new album, Far Enough, but they’re under no illusions that a loud, noisy rock band by itself is likely to save the world. “Sometimes I think playing in a band is the most egotistical, selfish thing you can do,” says Jenny McKechnie, the Melbourne, Australia, band’s singer-guitarist. “But whenever I start thinking like that, I think about the role music played in my life and the fact that when I was a teenager, there were local...
- 6/11/2020
- by Kory Grow
- Rollingstone.com
In our new series, we look at eight cities where live music has exploded — from legendary hubs like Chicago and Nashville, to rising hot spots like Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Portland, Maine. The latest falls into the second category: the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill “Triangle,” where college radio isn’t dead and collaboration is encouraged between artists, creating a sound you can’t find anywhere else.
Just a few months after they moved to Durham in 2013, Nick Sanborn and Amelia Meath of the electro-pop duo Sylvan Esso played their first-ever proper local show,...
Just a few months after they moved to Durham in 2013, Nick Sanborn and Amelia Meath of the electro-pop duo Sylvan Esso played their first-ever proper local show,...
- 2/12/2020
- by Jonathan Bernstein
- Rollingstone.com
North Carolina punk stalwarts Superchunk teamed with Fucked Up singer Damian Abraham for a new song, “Our Work Is Done.” The track was released via Merge Records as a limited edition seven-inch single with proceeds benefitting Bill McKibben’s climate change organization, 350.org. The b-side boasts a cover of Klaus Nomi’s “Total Eclipse.”
“Our Work Is Done” is a blistering ripper packed with angular guitar riffs that spark around a rush of drums and Mac McCaughan’s urgent vocals. “Time flies when you’re on the run,” McCaughan belts...
“Our Work Is Done” is a blistering ripper packed with angular guitar riffs that spark around a rush of drums and Mac McCaughan’s urgent vocals. “Time flies when you’re on the run,” McCaughan belts...
- 11/14/2018
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
Seminal indie label Merge Records will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2019 with a special vinyl subscription series and a festival set to take place next summer in North Carolina.
The Born Under a Good Sign subscription series will feature four full-length albums of all-new material from Merge artists. The LPs will be pressed on colored vinyl and released quarterly throughout 2019. Additionally, the series will include a variety of bonus items such as seven-inch singles and special 30th anniversary merchandise. Subscribers will also receive pre-sale access to tickets for the MRG...
The Born Under a Good Sign subscription series will feature four full-length albums of all-new material from Merge artists. The LPs will be pressed on colored vinyl and released quarterly throughout 2019. Additionally, the series will include a variety of bonus items such as seven-inch singles and special 30th anniversary merchandise. Subscribers will also receive pre-sale access to tickets for the MRG...
- 10/9/2018
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
My alienation from current pop is almost complete; the only 2013 Top 40 material I enjoyed enough to play repeatedly was Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, from an album released in 2012. So I am officially a cranky old fart. But there are more and more of us, and maybe fellow COFs will find this list useful. By the way, crossing that border of alienation made me think more than ever that saying my lists are of the "best" albums is nearly absurd, hence the new headline.
1. Wire: Change Becomes Us (Pink Flag)
This is my favorite Wire of this century thanks to more emphasis on Colin Newman's brooding. When allied to their chugging motorik beats, it's irresistible to me. There are still some uptempo burners that recall their beginnings in punk, and some more whimsical though still musically solid songs, but it's Newman's dark musings that made me play this repeatedly.
2. Kitchens of...
1. Wire: Change Becomes Us (Pink Flag)
This is my favorite Wire of this century thanks to more emphasis on Colin Newman's brooding. When allied to their chugging motorik beats, it's irresistible to me. There are still some uptempo burners that recall their beginnings in punk, and some more whimsical though still musically solid songs, but it's Newman's dark musings that made me play this repeatedly.
2. Kitchens of...
- 1/1/2014
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
Last night was the second annual [Redacted] comedy show, brought to the world by your friends at The A.V. Club along with Constellation and Just For Laughs. Once again, the comedians were kept secret until they walked on stage, and once again it was a lot of fun—and raised a bunch of money for 826 Chicago. And now we must thank everyone who donated their time, in order of appearance: Brian Babylon, Cameron Esposito, Kyle Kinane, Brian Posehn, David Cross, Todd Barry, Mac McCaughan, Jason Narducy, Jon Glaser (sort of), Todd Glass, Doug Benson, and John Hodgman. Highlights ...
- 6/13/2013
- avclub.com
Gawker editor-in-chief John Cook has stirred up a lot of trouble for Toronto Mayor Rob Ford recently, alleging that a video exists of Ford inhaling from what appears to be a crack pipe. Like everyone else (except the Toronto Star), Huffington Post has not seen one frame of the video that Cook claims he got to watch after making a special trip to Toronto from New York, based on an email from a tipster.
Cook is adamant that what he saw is real and, in keeping with their penchant for sensationalized news reporting, Gawker has started a crowdfunded "Crackstarter" campaign to raise $200,000 to buy this video from the drug dealers he says currently own it. Though Gawker is forewarning people that they may not actually be able to acquire the video, if they do publish it all hell will break loose in Canada.
So this got us thinking, who is this John Cook,...
Cook is adamant that what he saw is real and, in keeping with their penchant for sensationalized news reporting, Gawker has started a crowdfunded "Crackstarter" campaign to raise $200,000 to buy this video from the drug dealers he says currently own it. Though Gawker is forewarning people that they may not actually be able to acquire the video, if they do publish it all hell will break loose in Canada.
So this got us thinking, who is this John Cook,...
- 5/24/2013
- by HuffPost Canada Music
- Huffington Post
Superchunk’s last record, 2010’s Majesty Shredding, broke a seven-year new release drought for the group. Fortunately, fans won’t have to wait that long again, as the band has announced a new LP. The excellently titled I Hate Music is out Aug. 20 on Merge Records and is available for pre-order now. While the band hasn’t released any singles yet, fans can get a taste of a few songs from the record via a trailer made by frontman and label head Mac McCaughan. Watch below, get appropriately stoked, and then check out the group's fall tour ...
- 5/13/2013
- avclub.com
In the late ’80s, Bitch Magnet occupied the noisy, guitar-heavy territory where the burgeoning sounds of post-hardcore, post-rock, and indie-rock overlapped. But really, the band just, you know, rocked out. So much so that Temporary Residence released Bitch Magnet—a deluxe, three-disc collection of the Ohio/North Carolina band’s influential output—late last year. (Following Bitch Magnet’s breakup in 1990, frontman Sooyoung Park formed Seam with Superchunk’s Mac McCaughan... but that’s another story.) The discography coincided with Bitch Magnet’s reunion in England last December for the Battles-curated All Tomorrow’s Parties. Now, Bitch Magnet has ...
- 6/26/2012
- avclub.com
The arrival of Superchunk’s fourth album, Foolish, in April 1994 accompanied significant changes for the North Carolina band that, nearly two decades later, have become indie-rock lore. First, Foolish was the band’s first full-length on Merge Records, the indie label run by guitarist-vocalist Mac McCaughan and bassist Laura Ballance. Now on its own away from Matador, which released its preceding albums, Superchunk had no label advance to fund the studio sessions. That made for a breakneck pace at Pachyderm Studios with producer Brian Paulson—17 songs in three days. As drummer Jon Wurster writes in the new reissue ...
- 9/20/2011
- avclub.com
By Amanda Sprecher
The Pitchfork Music Festival hit Chicago this past weekend, and this concertgoer is here to tell you why you should join her there next year.
1. You actually get to see the bands you want to. The Pitchfork Music Festival has expanded since its 2005 debut, working its way up from one day to a full three-day affair. For this past weekend's event, the sound systems were improved immensely, and it was more organized. Rarely were there the giant overlaps between bands that force festival-goers to make difficult choices.
Due to the size of Union Park, only the festival was expanded and luckily not the crowds. This year attracted approximately 48,000 people over a three-day period, which might sound big, but compared to larger-scale indie festivals like Coachella, it was very comfortable.
Do you want to check out rising electronic artist James Blake croon at his keyboard from three rows...
The Pitchfork Music Festival hit Chicago this past weekend, and this concertgoer is here to tell you why you should join her there next year.
1. You actually get to see the bands you want to. The Pitchfork Music Festival has expanded since its 2005 debut, working its way up from one day to a full three-day affair. For this past weekend's event, the sound systems were improved immensely, and it was more organized. Rarely were there the giant overlaps between bands that force festival-goers to make difficult choices.
Due to the size of Union Park, only the festival was expanded and luckily not the crowds. This year attracted approximately 48,000 people over a three-day period, which might sound big, but compared to larger-scale indie festivals like Coachella, it was very comfortable.
Do you want to check out rising electronic artist James Blake croon at his keyboard from three rows...
- 7/19/2011
- by MTV News
- MTV Newsroom
The end of 2010 is just about upon us, which means that cultural analyst types will be making attempts to compile the best moments, releases and events of the year that was. The film world takes this very seriously, and the parade of awards shows over the next few months (culminating with the Academy Awards on February 27, 2011). The first big push into the awards season hit on Tuesday (November 30) when the Independent Spirit Awards handed out their nominations. The music world will follow suit tonight (December 1) when the Grammy nominations are announced during a live broadcast that will feature performances by Justin Bieber and Katy Perry and will be hosted by LL Cool J.
But while the music world only has one real big awards show, they should really have their own version of the Independent Spirit Awards. Only indie releases need apply, and like the ISAs (which recognized under-seen but bold films like "Winter's Bone,...
But while the music world only has one real big awards show, they should really have their own version of the Independent Spirit Awards. Only indie releases need apply, and like the ISAs (which recognized under-seen but bold films like "Winter's Bone,...
- 12/1/2010
- by Kyle Anderson
- MTV Newsroom
Any fans of Superchunk or Portastatic out there? Because Mac McCaughan of the former and Jim Wilbur of the latter are responsible for a good chunk of the music in Matthew Bissonette's Passenger Side and both musicians will be in attendance at a special screening of the film Wednesday, April 7th at the Royal Cinema at 8pm. How special is it? Well, the film itself was named one of Canada's Top Ten for 2009, which is pretty darn special in itself. But making it even more special is that following the screening McCaughan and Wilbur will be taking the stage to deliver an intimate set of acoustic music for the audience. Nice. Seating is limited so jump to it early.
- 4/5/2010
- Screen Anarchy
IFP/West Los Angeles Film Festival
A Montreal movie from beginning to end and proud of it, "Looking for Leonard" is a low-budget noir looker, written and directed by Canadians Matt Bissonnette and Steven Clark. Accidental killings, hidden treasure, life on the streets, this film has a metaphorical mission that is aptly alluded to in the title.
Finding a sizable audience is the real trick, however, with projects competing for Bohemian audiences everywhere you look. From the performances and wry dialogue to the sets and cinematography, "Looking" is a film with a lot of things going for it.
Canadian actress Kim Huffman as Jo longs to just once see Montrealer Leonard Cohen. As if to grant her wish for our pleasure, the film occasionally inserts silent footage of novelist Cohen, from public appearances to more intimate material. Meanwhile, with the help of Mac McCaughan's score, one easily gets into Jo's and the film's bored-but-expectant mood as we learn she is one of a successful three-person stickup team and is hardly leading a fulfilling existence.
Jo's partners are tough-talking, TV-addicted amateurs Ted (Ben Rainer), also her boyfriend, and his brother Johnny (Darcy Belsher). Determined to move up to robbing banks, which Jo bluntly tries to talk them out of, the brothers leave her alone for a weekend and she meets a just-arrived Czech computer programmer, Luka (Joel Bissonnette), at the store where she's shoplifting seemingly out of boredom.
They have chemistry, with his upright but hapless character fatefully falling in love. Making out at her place, they're surprised by Johnny. A vicious fight starts and Jo hits Johnny with an ashtray. He dies and she sends Luka away.
Luka dumbly leaves his wallet behind, and she self-defensively tells the police he was the killer. Drunk and a wanted man, Luka hits the streets, where he hides in the shadows with opinionated urban scarecrow Chevy (the late Justin Pierce of "Kids" in his final role). Jo lies to Ted and confides with nice girl Monica (Molly Parker) in some of the film's best scenes. Eventually, Jo decides to leave town with a stash of cash, and her fondness for reading Cohen helps Ted uncover her duplicity. Heading for tragedy, the film instead agreeably comes in for a happy landing.
LOOKING FOR LEONARD
Frustrated Films
Boneyard Film Co.
Credits:
Screenwriters-directors: Matt Bissonnette, Steven Clark
Producer: Sylvia Wilson
Executive producers: Lynne Stopkewich, Jessica Fraser, Dean English, Molly Parker
Director of photography: Brian Pearson
Production designer: Patricia Christie
Editors: Annie Ilkow, Andrew Kowalchuk, Michael Dowse
Costume designer: Janine Metcalfe
Music: Mac McCaughan
Cast:
Jo: Kim Huffman
Ted: Ben Rainer
Johnny: Darcy Belsher
Luka: Joel Bissonnette
Monica: Molly Parker
Chevy: Justin Pierce
Running time -- 87 minutes
No MPAA rating...
A Montreal movie from beginning to end and proud of it, "Looking for Leonard" is a low-budget noir looker, written and directed by Canadians Matt Bissonnette and Steven Clark. Accidental killings, hidden treasure, life on the streets, this film has a metaphorical mission that is aptly alluded to in the title.
Finding a sizable audience is the real trick, however, with projects competing for Bohemian audiences everywhere you look. From the performances and wry dialogue to the sets and cinematography, "Looking" is a film with a lot of things going for it.
Canadian actress Kim Huffman as Jo longs to just once see Montrealer Leonard Cohen. As if to grant her wish for our pleasure, the film occasionally inserts silent footage of novelist Cohen, from public appearances to more intimate material. Meanwhile, with the help of Mac McCaughan's score, one easily gets into Jo's and the film's bored-but-expectant mood as we learn she is one of a successful three-person stickup team and is hardly leading a fulfilling existence.
Jo's partners are tough-talking, TV-addicted amateurs Ted (Ben Rainer), also her boyfriend, and his brother Johnny (Darcy Belsher). Determined to move up to robbing banks, which Jo bluntly tries to talk them out of, the brothers leave her alone for a weekend and she meets a just-arrived Czech computer programmer, Luka (Joel Bissonnette), at the store where she's shoplifting seemingly out of boredom.
They have chemistry, with his upright but hapless character fatefully falling in love. Making out at her place, they're surprised by Johnny. A vicious fight starts and Jo hits Johnny with an ashtray. He dies and she sends Luka away.
Luka dumbly leaves his wallet behind, and she self-defensively tells the police he was the killer. Drunk and a wanted man, Luka hits the streets, where he hides in the shadows with opinionated urban scarecrow Chevy (the late Justin Pierce of "Kids" in his final role). Jo lies to Ted and confides with nice girl Monica (Molly Parker) in some of the film's best scenes. Eventually, Jo decides to leave town with a stash of cash, and her fondness for reading Cohen helps Ted uncover her duplicity. Heading for tragedy, the film instead agreeably comes in for a happy landing.
LOOKING FOR LEONARD
Frustrated Films
Boneyard Film Co.
Credits:
Screenwriters-directors: Matt Bissonnette, Steven Clark
Producer: Sylvia Wilson
Executive producers: Lynne Stopkewich, Jessica Fraser, Dean English, Molly Parker
Director of photography: Brian Pearson
Production designer: Patricia Christie
Editors: Annie Ilkow, Andrew Kowalchuk, Michael Dowse
Costume designer: Janine Metcalfe
Music: Mac McCaughan
Cast:
Jo: Kim Huffman
Ted: Ben Rainer
Johnny: Darcy Belsher
Luka: Joel Bissonnette
Monica: Molly Parker
Chevy: Justin Pierce
Running time -- 87 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 7/16/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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