Diffuser.fm » Special Features

5 Must-See Bands at Firefly 2013 [Sponsored Post]

Michael Gallucci — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 18:00:54 +0000

The upcoming three day Firefly Festival, which takes place at the Woodlands of Dover International Speedway in Delaware from June 21-23, is packed with some of music's best bands. Rock legends like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will be

DFA Records Celebrates 12th Birthday in Brooklyn With Red Bull [Sponsored Post]

Cameron Matthews — Tue, 28 May 2013 19:19:58 +0000

There simply isn't a modern successful record label that compares to DFA. Since forming just over a decade ago, the Brooklyn-based company has corralled some of electronic music's most avant-garde performers into a single pen of psychedelic happiness.

James Murphy -- founder of both DFA and its best-known act, LCD Soundsystem -- couldn't be more proud of the empire he's built. On Saturday night (May 25), as the label took over Brooklyn's Grand Prospect Hall to celebrate its 12th birthday as part of the Red Bull Music Academy, the middle-aged rocker stood in a doorway flanked by an army of dance-feigning youths ready to meet the disco messiah.

DFA Records Celebrates 12th Birthday at Red Bull Music Academy [Sponsored Post]

Diffuser.fm Staff — Sat, 18 May 2013 15:00:00 +0000

If guests on hand next Saturday (May 25) for the '12 Years of DFA Records' party are the same folks who typically buy the label's releases, expect Brooklyn's Grand Prospect Hall to be filled with "really dorky white people." Those words come straight from 'Too Old to Be New, Too New to Be Classic,' a mini-documentary (watch below) about DFA produced by the Red Bull Music Academy, a traveling festival/symposium that brings together innovative musicians in cities around the world.

This year, the Academy is hunkered down in New York City, and the DFA b-day bash is just one of the many must-see events taking place at venues across the five boroughs.

Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown Discuss Touring With Jeff Beck [Sponsored Post]

Joe Robinson — Wed, 01 May 2013 15:12:13 +0000

As a kid, 22-year-old rocker Tyler Bryant spent plenty of time listening to the music of Jeff Beck, so it must've been quite a thrill when the classic rock legend tapped him and his band, the Shakedown, as tour openers. It must have been an even bigger thrill when Bryant began guesting with the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer during his headlining set each night.

Watch Matt and Kim + Santigold Make Boring, Ore., A Genuine Hot Spot [Sponsored Post]

Diffuser.fm Staff — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 14:22:31 +0000

"What does it take to transform a town," asks Fuse anchor Yasmine Richard in the video below, a recap of what happened earlier this month when vitaminwater® invaded Boring, Ore., and set about making the ho-hum burg a happening place. Yasmine's question has many possible answers -- economic investment, community buy-in, the dedicated leadership of local officials -- but the good folks at vitaminwater® found an immediate solution for Boring's lack of color: live music, compliments of Matt and Kim, Santigold and B.o.B. Also, dinosaurs. By the look of it, it worked!

Santigold, Matt and Kim + More Make Boring, Ore., Brilliant [Sponsored Post]

Joe Robinson — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 17:26:42 +0000

Never heard of Boring, Ore.? Let’s just say that the rural town of 8,000 inhabitants in the Pacific Northwest lives up to its name. That is until yesterday, when beverage makers vitaminwater® — who are “on a mission to make all things boring brilliant,” as they put it — hosted a concert in Boring featuring Santigold, [...]

Donavon Frankenreiter and Surf Photog Steve Sherman Team Up in Australia [Sponsored Post]

Diffuser.fm Staff — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:51:48 +0000

Earlier this year, outdoor-footwear maker Sanuk premiered 'Sherm's In the Band,' a documentary in which renowned surf photographer Steve Sherman chronicles his travels across Europe with singer-songwriter (and former pro wave rider) Donavon Frankenreiter. Sherm was, indeed, in the band, adding onstage percussion when not shooting backstage photos and video, and judging from the film, the pair had a heck of a time. Now comes a second installment: 'Sherm's In the Band: Part II' (watch below), and once again, it's testament to the sweetness of the rock 'n' roll life.

What Music Video Is This Picture From?

Michael Gallucci — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 17:00:07 +0000

What’s the guy doing in the above video? Yoga with cows? Cutting the grass with an invisible lawn mower? Or maybe he fell into a manhole that someone stupidly placed in the middle of a pasture. This was one of the last videos this band made before going their separate ways. It basically takes place [...]

Morrissey or Taylor Swift?

Michael Gallucci — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 17:00:39 +0000

Who wrote those lyrics above? Was it mopey alt-rock hero Morrissey or boyfriend-troubled pop star Taylor Swift? Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference. Think hard about this one, and then click the button below to see if you’re right. [button href="http://diffuser.fm/its-morrissey/" title="Find Out If Morrissey or Taylor Swift Wrote These Lyrics" align="center"]

What Music Video Is This Picture From?

Michael Gallucci — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 17:00:18 +0000

Is the dude in this picture sleeping? Or is he in deep thought? Or is something more sinister going on here? Given the nature of the artist’s music, it’s probably safe to say that whatever is going on, it’s causing much angst for our video subject. This video comes from the artist’s debut album, and [...]

'Eyes Without a Face' – Horror Movies That Inspired Songs

Joe Robinson — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 19:17:48 +0000

'Eyes Without a Face,' or 'Les Yeux Sans Visage' in the film's native French, was a 1960 horror film adaptation of a novel by Jean Redon, directed by Georges Franju and featuring Pierre Brasseur and Alida Valli in the starring roles. Even with the film's level of gore minimized for the taste of French censors and the fact that they approved of it, its release still caused some controversy in France. The film debuted in American in an edited and dubbed form in 1962 under the title of 'The Horror Chamber of Dr. Faustus' and, despite not earning strong reviews initially, would go on to earn praise for its poetic style and influence on other auteurs.

'Psycho' – Horror Movies That Inspired Songs

Joe Robinson — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 18:55:43 +0000

Considering how iconic the 1960 Alfred Hitchcock thriller 'Psycho' is, it's not surprising that the movie inspired a song of the same name. It was just four years after the movie hit theaters that Seattle-based garage rock band the Sonics issued the tune 'Psycho' on their 1963 debut album, 'Here Are the Sonics,' and one more for them to release it as a single. 'Psycho' the song never charted -- the Sonics were way more influential than they ever were commercially successful -- but it may have helped start a long-running tradition of garage rockers and later punkers showing a fascination with the horror genre.

'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' – Horror Movies That Inspired Songs

Joe Robinson — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 18:49:25 +0000

The Ramones' eponymously-titled 1976 debut studio album kicks off with the sound of a running circular saw, and then launches into a raging punk ditty with a tempo of nearly 180 beats per second, the fastest track on the disc. The Ramones were big horror movie fans and that influence would play out in the band's music numerous times over the years, so the fact that the very first recorded track of the band's recording career was inspired by one of the genres' biggest classics is not surprising.

'The Fly' – Horror Movies That Inspired Songs

Joe Robinson — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 18:47:57 +0000

Given the Cramps' love of all retro horror and sci-fi B-movie iconography, the legendary psychobilly act was almost destined to write a song titled 'Human Fly.' The tune's lyrics -- with lines like "I say buzz, buzz, buzz / And it's just because/ I'm a human fly and I don't know why / I got 96 tears in my 96 eyes" -- left little doubt that the fly in question was indeed that the protagonist of the 1958 sci-fi movie titled 'The Fly.'

'Night of the Living Dead' – Horror Movies That Inspired Songs

Joe Robinson — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 18:29:45 +0000

Another classic of the horror genre, 'Night of the Living Dead' was released in 1968 and has since managed to gross more than $12 million domestically and another $18 million internationally. Its explicit content caused a backlash against the flick when it first was released, but it has since garnered plenty of critical acclaim and even was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry as a film deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant."

'Two Thousand Maniacs!' – 10 Horror Movies That Inspired Band Names

Joe Robinson — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 19:39:14 +0000

"None of us saw the movie, and we thought the title was '10,000 Maniacs'" -- that's how 10,000 Maniacs bassist Steven Gustafson once explained the difference between his band's name and the title of the 1964 splatter flick that inspired it. 'Two Thousand Maniacs!' directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis and starring 1963 Playboy Playmate Connie Mason, was the second part of what fans have dubbed 'The Blood Trilogy,' a trio of classic horror films also including 1963's 'Blood Feast' and 1965's 'Color Me Blood Red.' 'Two Thousand Maniacs,' which was inspired by the 1947 Lerner and Loewe musical 'Brigadoon,' was remade in 2005 as '2001 Maniacs.'

'My Bloody Valentine' – Horror Movies That Inspired Band Names

Joe Robinson — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 19:33:58 +0000

A movie so nice, they made it twice -- and one of those was in 3-D, no less. To music lovers, the name is synonymous with gazing at shoes whilst strumming over-driven guitars and bending strings, but before My Bloody Valentine the band, there was 'My Bloody Valentine' the movie, a low-budget slasher flick released in 1981 in an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of such cult horror classics as 'Halloween' and 'Friday the 13th.' The original 'My Bloody Valentine' is infamous for having nine minutes cut by the Motion Picture Association of America for excessive violence and gore. That version finally saw the light of day in 2009, around the time the 3-D remake, 'My Bloody Valentine 3D,' hit theaters.

Zooey Deschanel in 'She's Got Issues' by the Offspring

Joe Robinson — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 16:40:45 +0000

Zooey Deschanel was a young and unknown Hollywood hopeful with little more than an episode of the Kristie Alley sitcom ‘Veronica’s Closet’ on her resume when she landed a slot in this 1998 Offspring video. Although she plays a punkish, fire-engine-red-haired Gen-Xer type who sees grotesque comic book-style animation everywhere she looks, she comes across as pure Zooey. ‘She’s Got [...]

Jake Gyllenhaal in 'Giving Up the Gun' by Vampire Weekend

Joe Robinson — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 16:27:29 +0000

Jake Gyllenhaal looks for the performance-enhancing properties of hard liquor as he plays a whiskey-swigging tennis player in the video for 'Giving Up the Gun,' from Vampire Weekend's second album, 'Contra.' Lil Jon, RZA and Joe Jonas round out the cast of W

Matthew McConaughey in 'Synthesizers' by Butch Walker and the Black Widows

Joe Robinson — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 14:25:55 +0000

Matthew McConaughey reprises his role as David Wooderson from the classic ’90s stoner flick ‘Dazed and Confused’ in this Butch Walker and the Black Widows video for ’Synthesizers,’ off 2011′s ‘The Spade,’ the band’s fifth and most recent album. Flanked by two lovely ladies throughout the clip, Woodsen looks pretty good — especially considering the fact that 15 [...]