A Magazine for Craftmakers
Kimya Dawson Clears Up ‘Anyone Else But You’ Assumptions
THE MOLDY PEACHES: No, really, who’s got the crack? If you’re like us and figured “Anyone Else But You” was written as a spit-swapping duet between the Moldy Peaches back when they still liked one another, the following Kimya Dawson clarification might shock you: “Me and Adam Green wrote this song while sitting on a […]
Q&A: Mathew Jonson of Cobblestone Jazz
Mathew Jonson is mostly known for his fresh, slightly-mental take on minimal techno (see such slamming singles as “Decompression” and “Return of the Zombie Bikers”) and the carefully-curated roster of Wagon Repair, a Vancouver-based label he helped launch in 2004. Jonson didn’t get his start hand-crafting beats, however; his music background actually begins with his […]
Win a Pair of White Williams Tickets!
Blogs have been abuzz about White Williams‘ Hot Chip-ish electro pop since his minimal, subtle debut (Smoke, Tigerbeat6) dropped last fall. That includes everything from CMJ appearances to a recent L.A. gig that earned the following accolades from Bathtub Explosion: [White Williams] is a smooth operator; he doesn’t freeze up, he doesn’t fall down, and […]
BUY IT, BURN IT, SKIP IT: Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, Bauhaus, Ghostland Observatory
STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS: That girl in the hat sure looks familiar, eh? [Photo by David Torch] By Aaron Richter As you all certainly know by now, new releases hit record-store shelves and digital-download services each Tuesday. So every week self-titled presents a new release you’d be stupid not to own (Buy It), one […]
In the Garage, We Don’t Feel Safe
Various Artists The Rubble Collection: Volumes 1-10 (Fallout) Back in 1984, a guy named Phil Smee had a record label, a vision, and an idea. The label was called Bam Caruso, and the vision behind that label was to drag the flashing lights and saucer-eyed whimsy of Britain’s psychedelic pop scene of the late ‘60s […]
Boris @ The Knitting Factory, 3.4.08
Text/Photos by Andrew Parks The last time I saw Boris (in October at the Bowery Ballroom’s Billyburg doppelganger) I left before Japan’s finest underground extremists could finish. Looking back on it now, I’m not sure why. Maybe it was because the ever-lovely Dean & Britta had already lulled me into the first stages of sleep. […]
GUITAR HEROES: The Big Sleep
A chord-chopping Danny Barria unleashes his “Top 5 Loud Guitar Parts” 1. Led Zeppelin, “Black Dog” It’s off-kilter, it’s got weird pauses, and it still rocks. This song doesn’t need much of an explanation because it pretty much invented rocking. 2. The Verve, “Gravity Grave” The first song on the first release I got by […]
Q&A with Slayer | Interview by Andrew Parks
SLAUGHTERHOUSE FOUR [L to R: Dave Lombardo, Jeff Hanneman, Tom Araya, Kerry King] Here’s something we would have never guessed about Tom Araya: the Slayer vocalist/bassist, one of the most important extreme music icons ever, still gets nervous before shows despite the fact that his cantankerous crew of thrash-metal pioneers formed 25 years ago. “If […]
IM S/T: Sally Shapiro
Interview by Arye Dworken Sally Shapiro is so terrified of performing that her first brief tour of the U.S. (including a stop tonight at New York’s Mercury Lounge) is a DJ-only affair alongside her Italo-sculpting producer Johan Agebjörn. While this’ll be exciting to all the disco revivalists out there–the kind that equally worship Lindstrøm, Giorgio […]
Gang Gang Dance @ The Park Avenue Armory (Whitney Biennial), 3.9.08
Text/Photos by Aaron Richter It seemed like few knew what to expect in the minutes before Gang Gang Dance‘s performance at the Park Avenue Armory, in conjunction with the opening of the 2008 Whitney Biennial. Even more were confused as they were told that the room was at capacity and to please stop crowding the […]
Q&A with Cadence Weapon | Interview by Michael Tedder
KNIVES OUT Photos by Aaron Pederson Cadence Weapon approached his second album, Afterparty Babies (Anti-), with one of the purest goals an artist could have: the desire to meet Tina Fey. Of course, the rapper/producer also finds time to gripe about girls and dis ridiculous hipster fashion. But that’s besides the point, really. self-titled caught […]
THE S/T SCOOP: An Exclusive Isobel Campbell Interview About Mark Lanegan, Sunday at Devil Dirt
While the recent announcement of Sunday at Devil Dirt–the second full-length from the sweet and sour pairing of Mark Lanegan and Isobel Campbell–may seem like a surprise to most given Lanegan just released the Gutter Twins’ debut, we know better over here at self-titled. Why? Because Campbell told us the duo was almost done with […]