Month: June 2016

Brand New Begin Tour (Merch, Set List, Stuff Like That)

Jason Tate

Brand New started their tour last night in Canada. So, well, that means it’s time to recap what we know. We know they have new merch (the word is “abrahadabra” in Hebrew), and three new designs are up on their store (including a couple that say 2000-2018, so like bye bye Brand New, I guess they’re staying 18 forever). Oh, and the set list can be found below.

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Defend Girls, Not Pop Punk

Defend Girls
Anna Acosta

Over the past 12 months, as one of its primary proponents, I have spent a lot of time thinking about call-out culture. Or, as some industry heavyweights have phrased it, the trend of “witch hunts” that has been plaguing our scene as of late. I have spent a lot of time frustrated by the perpetuation of the idea that says the call-outs are the problem, instead of the abuses that said call-outs address. I’ve been upset because we know that statistically when an accusation is finally made, they are are overwhelmingly true; however, the opposite manages to live on in the minds of so many. It’s a problem, because as long as the focus is on whether or not call-out culture ought to exist, the real problems and abuses plaguing our scene fail to get properly addressed. As such, it’s a problem I want to solve.

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The State of The Surprise Album

The Ringer
Jason Tate

Speaking of The Ringer, here’s Lindsay Zoladz, writing about the idea of the “surprise album” release:

“Surprise” is pop music’s latest fetish commodity, a new but widely accepted virtue in an industry desperately trying to adapt to the demands (and attention spans) of the digital age. The album promotional cycle used to be pretty uniform: Announce the release date a few months prior, send a single to radio, and tour once the album comes out. But these tactics have now been replaced by, say, obtuse teasers that often feel like perfume ads directed by Terrence Malick and promotional hieroglyphs graffitied onto urban sidewalks (and which often, in the case of Arcade Fire and more recently Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, result in apologies).

“Sounds Delicious”: Vinyl Subscription Kickstarter

Kickstarter
Jason Tate

Turntable Kitchen have launched a Kickstarter for a new vinyl subscription service called Sounds Delicious. The idea is that you’ll get exclusive full-length cover albums by a variety of different artists:

We’ve asked some of indie music’s most exciting and well-respected artists to choose any full length album they love and cover it from front to back. We’ll produce their recordings on limited edition vinyl packaged in beautifully designed jackets. The records will be released exclusively through the Sounds Delicious subscription service and delivered to you every month.