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Interview: Darker Lighter

Darker Lighter
Adam Grundy

Darker Lighter is the alias of the talented musician, Salar Rajabnik, who has spent countless years on the road perfecting his songwriting craft and musicianship. Along the way, Rajabnik caught the eye of artists like Foo Fighters, Queens Of The Stone Age, and Kim Gordon, who entrusted him as their guitar tech and associate. In this interview, I asked Darker Lighter about his great new single called “Nice To Meet You,” his upcoming self-titled album, and much more.

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Review: The Maine – Dyed (2008

Adam Grundy

The surprise new album from The Maine dropped mid-week, just as many fans of the band were en route to the 8123 Fest, taking place between January 16-17th in Mesa, Arizona. This new LP, called Dyed (2008 – 2023), features several re-worked demos/ideas from every era of The Maine’s discography, and yet it plays out much better than any other “compilation” of collected B-sides ever would. The reason why it works so well is that The Maine have the confidence to go in any direction they please, as was displayed on their 2024 single “Touch”, and further cemented on this latest record. The band have been no strangers to reinvention, as documented in their dynamic nine-album discography, and yet this album that touches on each of their past recordings showcases what The Maine are capable of creating when firing on all creative cylinders. While it may have been easier for the band to simply dust off these old demos and release them as-is, taking the easy road simply isn’t in The Maine’s DNA. Dyed brings the listener back to where it all started, offers a cohesive journey through their past work, all while still sounding like the band we have known and loved over time that continues to get better with age.

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Now Playing: My Raspberry Pi Weekend Project

Raspberry Pi
Jason Tate

A few weeks ago I started working on a new weekend project. I wanted to build a mini-computer that could sit on my desk and display what I was currently listening to. A simple idea. After completing it, I figured I should write up the entire process, because if I don’t blog about it … did it really happen?

I’ve compiled everything I used in making the little device, and walked through the process below. Most of it is pretty straight forward if you’ve ever worked with a Raspberry Pi or Unix before, and I documented the tutorials I used as well as the actual code I used for the website.

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Review: IOTA CENTAURI – “Lullaby For A Dying Sun”

IOTA CENTAURI - "Lullaby For A Dying Sun"
Adam Grundy

If you’ve ever wanted to explore the vastness of space through a great-sounding ambient track that fits somewhere in the realm of Thrice’s Vheissu, paired with the sprawling rock of band’s like Caspian, IOTA CENTAURI is your next obsession. With the release of the project’s new single called “Lullaby For A Dying Sun,” IOTA CENTAURI have also announced their debut LP called Supermassive. IOTA CENTAURI is the solo moniker of TJ Fulfer, and the new album explores themes of love, loss, tragedy, and the growing distance between two people, expressed through the vastness of space, the mysteries of the universe, and the weight of darkness—all woven into sweeping soundscapes and deeply evocative melodies.

The latest single features some guest vocal spots from Ken Pendola and Meg Zahora to help round out this band’s approach to songwriting. The epic final chorus of, “And when it vanishes / Nothing is remembered / Only an emptiness / Where light once lived,” takes the concept of traveling alone through the depths of space and still hones in on the human element of what makes us all want those key connections to others.

Big Tech Wants You Trapped

Linked List
Jason Tate

Joan Westenberg:

It’s about whether we build systems that distribute power or concentrate it. Big Tech’s dominance wasn’t inevitable, and it’s not unbreakable. But it’s reinforced by the choices we make every damn day. Because over and over again, we choose easy. We choose platforms with less friction. We pursue mass audiences in the hope that we’ll be granted enough attention to become one of the Chosen Few, the influencers, the wealthy. 

Each time we post exclusively to Instagram, we strengthen their position. Each time we accept X’s limits on expression, we legitimize their authority. Each time we pursue engagement solely within their systems, we validate their fuckery.

This isn’t nostalgia. 

It’s pragmatism.

Agreed. This whole piece is good.

Jack’s Mannequin Announces The MFEO Tour

Jack's Mannequin
Jason Tate

Jack’s Mannequin are celebrating their 20th anniversary with a tour. Andrew talked with Rolling Stone about the announcement:

I’ll be honest, I’m anxious about it. My therapist will be on call for this round. With Jack’s Mannequin it was so story-driven. Since it was mine exclusively from a writing standpoint, it became this vehicle to really latch my journey to my writing and be able to author those things through these three records. I never expected that Jack’s was going to be a three-record project, I think we just got so caught in the swirl of everything that was happening around the project.

Those three records, that period of life, everything is so attached and bound together. Stepping back into that will be a workout, emotionally and physically. I’m excited to be able to tell that story onstage every night. We’re going to learn all of these songs and try and keep the set really alive and unique from show to show so that people who are fans of the band get a taste of everything. As we get deeper into rehearsals, we’re going to try and get a lot of the B-sides learned as well. Obviously, we know it’s the 20-year anniversary of Transit, so there’ll be a lot of Transit in there, but we’re going to have a whole lot of time to really dig in.

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Interview: Mitski

Mitski
Charlie Joseph

It’s hard to put into words the effect of Mitski’s music. Her voice is as clear and sharp as a knife, and the instruments wrap around you with the warmth of a blanket on a cold day. Even though the name of her new album, Puberty 2, sounds like a cheesy American teen movie a la American Pie, Mitski reminds us that life is messy, the question of where you belong is complex, and we can’t always have the things we want. I had the pleasure of talking with Mitski during the lead up to this new album about everything from the music to the in-between.

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