CLASS ACT: Psychic Ills Break Down the Back Catalogue of Neil Young
Posted on January 22, 2009
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[Photo by Shawn Brackbill]
Mirror Eye, Psychic Ill’s eagerly-awaited successor to the psych-damaged mantras of Dins, is out now on Social Registry. We highly recommend it for nights that require a suitable drone-on soundtrack …
CLASS ACT: My Brightest Diamonds’ Five Steps to the Perfect Song
Posted on June 23, 2008
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My Brightest Diamond, on the guitar: “[It's] like someone you’ve been married to for 35 years, and it’s still a great relationship, but the sex isn’t quite the same.”
Story by Courtney Balestier
Photos by Matt Wignal
With her slight frame, sweet voice and luminous eyes, Shara Worden—the main creative force behind My Brightest Diamond—looks the part of the playful sprite she embodies in MBD’s ethereal, seemingly effortless songs. Funny, then, that Worden had a hell of a time learning how to write a proper song. Yes, it helps that she’s classically trained (see a degree in opera studies from the University of North Texas), but the singer/arranger insists songwriting is not an academic exercise.
Ah, but what is it then?
CLASS ACT: Tunng Explains How There’s More to Folk Music Than Flowery Dresses and Facial Hair
Posted on January 25, 2008
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What is folk music really? A simple explanation, by Sam Genders of the UK group Tunng.
1. On beards and jumpers.
Several members of our band do in fact own one or more of each of these. It’s often said that the close proximity of the two items creates a harmonic resonance audible only to waif-like girls in flowery dresses. Research to date has been inconclusive.
2. On pop and telly.
Folk music and folklore is really just pop music and telly from before 1936. Humanity falls into the same old traps and revels in the same joys across generations. It’s just that, these days, the chords are harder.
3. On pissing off the old school.
I think someone who once owned a Cecil Sharpe memorabilia tea towel said they didn’t like our album, and the next thing we know, we’re at the heart of a full-on blazing journo-war in the tradition of Dylan vs. Seeger. Except it never happened. Live and let live is our moto, and there are only two types of music: good and bad. Read more
