The Null Device
Posts matching tags 'indie rock'
2009/10/29
A new documentary showing at the London Film Festival looks at Iran's underground rock scene. In this case, "underground" meaning not so much "uncommercial" as "illegal":
The threat of the police and authorities is all around. Bands soundproof secret rehearsal spaces and venues; one heavy metal band avoids arrest by playing in a stinking cowshed on a farm far out of town; members of another band talk about having their instruments confiscated. The police are often out of shot, however - perhaps adding to the omnipresent menace and what feels like an arbitrary exercise of power. When Negar's car is stopped and her pet dog taken from her, we never see the police officer who does the snatching.The film, No One Knows About Persian Cats, was co-written by Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi, who was subsequently imprisoned by the Iranian regime.
2007/3/15
Remember the Cat And Girl "Indie Rock Is A Dead Language" T-shirt that was on sale a while ago, and then disappeared without a trace? Well, it has been reprinted, though is available only for a short time, so if you want one, you'll have to hurry.
2006/11/13
Subject: line found in spam folder: "Laboratory pep rally".
That would make a pretty good title for the kind of record one might see reviewed on Pitchfork.
2002/10/23
A BBC article on the much-hyped New Saviours of Rock; i.e., the Strokes/White Stripes/Vines (oh, and the Datsuns too, Jen).
Form your own "new rock" band You will need:
- To be thin
- To be male
- To be white
- To have dark hair
- To have a band name starting with "The..."
- To wear tight T-shirts or leather jackets
- To know a maximum of three guitar chords
2002/4/10
"It's just a twisted mass of black-frame glasses and ironic Girl Scouts T-shirts in there.": 37 Record Store Clerks Feared Dead In Yo La Tengo Concert Disaster in Athens, Ga. Rescue workers are still sifting for the wreckage for copies of Magnet, heated debates over the definition of emo and other signs of life.
2001/4/26
Cute: In an attempt to help cult indie band Guided By Voices break into larger markets, some journalists tested their music with a focus group from one of the largest music-buying demographics: 10 and 11-year-olds:
Zoe C.: "They look dirty in all the pictures."
Zoe S.: "They need more style: rings, earrings, and colorful clothes."
Tony: "Colorful clothes, baggy pants maybe, and matching outfits."
Cody: "They need a name that catches your attention. How about the Shining Stars? Now that's catchy!"
Lena: "The songs are mysterious, but definitely too weird."
Cody: "I could make this up just as good by making up three words."