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Music
The Audacity of Hype
Alternative Tentacles, the Bay Area record label that helped launch influential punk band the Dead Kennedys, celebrates its 30th anniversary starting November 5th with Incest-a-Thon, a three-night stand at the Great American Music Hall. The shows will feature label owner and former Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine, along with several of the label’s acts from over the years. After primarily focusing on his spoken word career for many years, Biafra released The Audacity of Hype with his new band in October. He spoke with SF Station during a phone interview. More
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Music
All Grown Up
Women in hip hop don’t have it easy, just ask anyone in the business. Keeping it real is difficult when most female rappers are anything but. Dolled up into sex objects, or shot up with testosterone, hip hop is seriously void of real females. Maybe this explains one of the reasons Kid Sister’s album has been so heavily anticipated. She’s not trying to impress anyone with something she’s not, rather she says things like “I’m gonna fart on Usher.” Not to mention, she has skills. The Chicago rapper has a style of her own, and as SF Station chatted with her, it became clear it’s more than just music. More
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Music
Released on Rough Trade Records, 10/6/09
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.
Alela Diane has been touring incessantly over the past year to support the success of her third release, To Be Still. Released last February on Rough Trade, it is wonderfully layered, both delicate and commanding, and a wholly significant modern folk album in structure and sound. More
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Music
Released on Dangerbird, 8/18/09
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.
Dark and dreamy, tranquil and strange, Division Day’s Visitation is a big step forward for the band. After the critically acclaimed Beartrap Island, the band were in a bit of an odd place, finding themselves with a much loved album that didn’t really represent what they felt they were all about -- and what they’ve come back with after a period of reexamination is rather unexpected More
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Music
Released on Arts & Crafts, 7/28/09
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars.
Mellow and skillfully performed, redolent of nostalgia for more than one great musical decade and yet with a timeless Southern vibe, this is the sort of album people of all ages who appreciate great music will love. More
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Music
Island Fever
The Treasure Island Music Festival returns October 17th and 18th, marking the end of the 2009 Bay Area music festival season. In its third year, the formula for the event largely remains the same, with a mix of electronic/dance music (mostly Saturday) and indie rock (mostly Sunday). SF Station caught up with several acts on the bill to find out their most memorable festival moments of 2009 and what they would bring if they were stranded on the island for two days. More
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Music
Being Human
The first thing people notice about Brother Ali is that he’s a white albino rapper. To ask him about this fact completely ignores his life, his struggles, and the experiences he’s witnessed. With his last album The Undisputed Truth, Ali delved into experiences like his failing marriage and being homeless, providing one of the rawest personal narratives in recent hip hop albums. With his new album Us, Ali now looks outside himself, trying to understand American society discussing slavery, rape, and race. His messages are not preachy but insightful, encouraging and entirely what hip hop needs. More
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Music
Released on 4AD, 9/22/09
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
The sky opens up through the metallic clouds, raining guitars and looping beats, you shine two lanterns across the vast sea, and that’s when The Big Pink comes into sight. Robbie Furze and Milo Cordell’s debut album A Brief History of Love is a ravishing racket with heartfelt lyrics that shoot like Cupid’s arrow through the vessel of sound. The London duo’s opening track “Crystal Visions” is far out and spellbinding. The guitars crash on the beaches of the mind leaving visions of raining fire. More
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Music
Released on Rough Trade, 9/8/09
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.
If you want music to listen to while meditating or during yoga class, Taken by Trees may be just the band for you. If you’re less New Age inclined, you might find yourself a little confused. Taken by Trees are a love-them-or-hate-them kind of band. Gentle, melodic, rather soothing, they seem more suited to a mountain retreat than to your average music venue. More
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Music
Released on True Panther Sounds, 9/22/09
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars.
Girls seem to want to be Elvis Costello when they grow up, which isn’t a bad ambition to have, actually. Witty, clever, ironically tinged guitar pop is on notably thin ground these days. The question is, are Girls any good at it? More
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