Diffuser.fm

News Bits: Bono Dines With the Obamas, Postal Service Release a New Video + More

Diffuser.fm Staff — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:28:16 +0000

What’s Bono doing hanging out in pubs with Michele Obama? [Contact Music] Postal Service take us to a nightmarish laundromat in their new video. [Pitchfork] Brad Wilk is used to raging against the mahcine, but Black Sabbath made him pretty darn nervous. [Ultimate Classic Rock] Savages have extended their fall tour and announced dates with [...]

8 Artists Who Have Bled for Their Music

Carl Pettit — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:28:30 +0000

Emotionally and spiritually speaking, plenty of artists will bleed for their craft, but few are willing to actually let the plasma fly. We can’t help but be captivated by those rockers that have literary shed blood for the sake of their music. While some of our heroes have injured themselves during live performances, succumbing to [...]

Dirty Heads Hitting the Road With the Expendables, Prepping Tour Diary for Diffuser.fm

Diffuser.fm Staff — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:38:09 +0000

There's no time like summertime to spend an evening with the Dirty Heads. Mixing hip-hop, reggae, ska and rock, the SoCal foursome makes musical guacamole best consumed when school is out, the weather is warm and peeps are looking to party. This summer, as the Heads tour the country with the Expendables, they'll file weekly diary entries for Diffuser.fm. Check back every Tuesday.

10 Best Big Star Songs

Michael Gallucci — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:00:46 +0000

An entire legion of fans consider Big Star one of the great lost groups of all time. They're right. All three of their albums are worth owning, but we've broken down the 10 Best Big Star Songs for your playlist.

Sigur Ros, 'Kveikur' – Album Review

Ryan Reed — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:43:26 +0000

When critics write about Sigur Ros, they often focus on the easy bullet points: the band's Icelandic heritage (along with its lazy accompanying imagery: wafting glaciers, massive boulders, deserted landscapes), singer Jonsi's cosmic falsetto, and their occasional use of gibberish vocalizations (which critics themselves dubbed "Hopelandic"). But Sigur Ros' music has never fit easily into one stylistic box.

17 Years Ago: Beck's 'Odelay' Album Released

Michael Gallucci — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:00:10 +0000

For his proper follow-up to ‘Mellow Gold,’ Beck enlisted producers the Dust Brothers to construct a sonic landscape similar to the one they laid out on the Beastie Boys’ classic ‘Paul’s Boutique’ in 1989. Working with a similar template of scratchy old samples and dusty beats that sounded like hip-hop field recordings at times, the Dust Brothers presented Beck with ‘Odelay’’s whiplashing foundation. Beck did the rest.

Eddie Spaghetti, 'The Value of Nothing' – Free MP3 Download

Beth Kellmurray — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:00:04 +0000

Never one to subscribe to conventional genre wisdom, Supersuckers leader Eddie Spaghetti is back with his sophomore solo album, ‘The Value of Nothing,’ and once again, he’s blurring lines between classic rock, punk and country. ‘The Value of Nothing’ is the follow-up to the rocker’s 2011 solo debut, ‘Sundowner,’ which included covers of tunes by [...]

Primal Scream, 'More Light' – Album Review

Michael Gallucci — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:30:45 +0000

Primal Scream frontman Bobby Gillespie doesn’t know the meaning of the word “moderation.” Everything about his band, his band’s music and his way of getting from point A to point B (or C or Z or whatever) is done via the most complicated route. Always. Gillespie truly believes that bigger is better and that anything short on ambition and/or pretention isn’t worth the effort. It was that way on 1991’s breakthrough record ‘Screamadelica,’ and it’s still that way on Primal Scream’s 10th album, ‘More Light.’

Empire of the Sun, 'Ice on the Dune' – Album Review

Ryan Reed — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:15:05 +0000

Empire of the Sun have never been shy about their ambitions -- and they've never been afraid of looking like idiots. The Australian duo's debut album, 2008's 'Walking on a Dream,' was as puzzling as it was delectable: a stew of electro-pop grooves and art-rock atmospheres, tied together by a ridiculous sci-fi concept and 'Dune'-esque cover art. It was also pretty damn original, though the music (released during indie-rock's glammy boom, in the wake of MGMT's debut) was largely ignored outside of their home country.

Austra, 'Olympia' – Album Review

Will Ryan — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:00:06 +0000

Toronto has proven a reliable source of goth-tinged electronic exports in recent years. The electro-punk-turned-dance-pop duo Crystal Castles is the most shining example. Last year’s 'Trust' full-length was an exercise in zero-frills gothic rave. And then there’s Austra.

News Bits: M.I.A. Drops New Single, Franz Ferdinand Announce Tour Dates + More

Diffuser.fm Staff — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 21:23:50 +0000

M.I.A. said she was gonna ‘Bring the Noize,’ and that’s just what she’s done. [Pitchfork] Franz Ferdinand are about to make the world dance all over again. [Brooklyn Vegan] It may be tastefully done, but Foals’ new ‘Bad Habit’ video is NSFW. [Stereogum] Got $23K? David Bowie‘s ‘Jean Genie’ lyrics could be yours. [Contact Music] [...]

10 Bands That Owe the Smiths a Round

Will Levith — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:24:08 +0000

Smiths lovers and haters alike would agree that the band has been extremely influential for modern indie and alternative rockers. They have that je ne se sais quoi that has been passed down to countless disciples, 10 of which appear on this list of Bands That Owe the Smiths a Round. (If not of beer, maybe tea with a spot of whiskey.)

Bonnaroo 2013 Day 4 Recap: David Byrne and St. Vincent Get Theatrical, the National Captivate the Masses + More

Michael Mehalick — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:54:10 +0000

It seemed to end just as quickly as it began, but that's just the whirlwind nature of the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival and its seemingly endless schedule of talent. As tents were deconstructed and glow-in-the-dark paint washed off, fest goers were treated to one last musical frolic under the oppressive Tennessee sun. Here's how Bonnaroo capped off its 2013 iteration.

Bear Language, 'Rememory' – Exclusive Album Premiere

Cameron Matthews — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:00:11 +0000

Bear Language are doing an excellent job resisting the current trends in indie rock. Instead of slow jams and walls of reverb, the Boston trio has opted for walloping bass lines, distortion-heavy vocals and a real emphasis on melody. The band’s debut album, ‘Rememory,’ drops today, and Diffuser.fm is pleased to offer an exclusive stream [...]

New Music Releases – July 2013

Diffuser.fm Staff — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:27:43 +0000

Summer is coming, and the rich bounty of July 2013 new music releases promises much in the way sweet warm-weather listening. Reading over the list of new July albums, we're stoked about records in a variety of genres -- everything from the hip-hop-infused West Coast punk of the Transplants to whatever the hell you call director's David Lynch's nightmarish dream-pop.

L7 Singer Donita Sparks Discusses Forthcoming Documentary, Possible Reunion + the Absence of Women In Rock

Shauna Farnell — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:00:30 +0000

Remember L7, the all-girl rock band from Los Angeles that made its way into the ’90s grunge scene and spearheaded Rock For Choice? Surely you recall some of their hookiest hits: ‘S—list,’ ‘Pretend We’re Dead’ and ‘Stuck Here Again.’ Fifteen years after L7′s breakup, frontwoman Donita Sparks — infamous for throwing her tampon into the [...]

Modern Merchant, 'Like-Minded' – Free MP3 Download

Beth Kellmurray — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 13:00:18 +0000

Modern Merchant have put their stamp on dreamy harmonies set to swelling instrumentation, joining the likes of Fleet Foxes and Grizzly Bear on that front. There’s even some clarinet in there. The group’s story began in New Haven, Conn., where Jesse Stanford (guitars, vocals, synth) met John Parson (lead vocals, guitar). The duo relocated to [...]

Bonnaroo 2013 Day 3 Recap: Jack Johnson Covers the Mumfords, Beach House Gets Dreamy + More

Michael Mehalick — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 20:32:12 +0000

As the annual Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival rolled into Saturday (June 15), there was a pervading air of mystery. Whether it centered on what was going to happen at the impromptu Jack Johnson headline set, or what outfit Bjork would bring to the stage, there was plenty for fest goers to sink their curious teeth into on the second full day of programming. Here's a recap of the more memorable events, among them endlessly talented and entertaining R. Kelly's U.S. festival debut.

10 Best Albums From 2001

Michael Gallucci — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 19:00:05 +0000

The year 2001 was divided into two parts: the one before 9/11 and the one after. Even though every single record released after the tragic events of the day that make our list of the 10 Best Albums From 2001 was recorded before 9/11, it’s hard not to read parallels and significance in the music. [...]

Then & Now: Soul Asylum

Michael Gallucci — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 16:00:30 +0000

Soul Asylum Then

Soul Asylum were kicking around the Minneapolis punk scene since the mid '80s. But in 1992, thanks to alternative music's new domination of the mainstream, they scored a major hit with their sixth album, 'Grave Dancers Union,' which just missed the Top 10 and spawned four modern-rock hits, including 'Runaway Train,' their only Top 10 pop hit. They followed up three years later with 'Let Your Dim Light Shine,