The Muse In Music » Paste Magazine

Indie Rock Alphabet Book Giveaway

Patrick — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 20:27:08 +0000

For Christmas I got all the kids in my life two things in order to try and sway their young and impressionable minds in the right musical direction. Each child got their own Indie Rock Coloring Book and each house hold got a copy of the Indie Rock Alphabet Book. Even with ordering the presents later than I should have they all arrived just in time for gift giving day. The one surprise though was that Paste Magazine’s distributing center sent my order of 3 Indie Rock Alphabet Books twice. So now I was sitting on 6 books only 3 of which I had plans for. I’ve contacted Paste Magazine twice trying to figure out how to get the additional books back to them, after all not 6 months ago they were about to go bankrupt. After no replies I sent my last email saying that if I didn’t get a reply I was just going to raffle them off on the blog. Lucky for you there has been no reply.

So tMiM will be holding a giveaway to two lucky people (I know, you’re saying that there were 3 extra books. You’re right but I’m being greedy and keeping one for my future indie rocker). To enter simply send an email titled Indie Rock Alphabet Book Giveaway with your name and address (US citizens only on this one please, the shipping’s coming out of my pocket after all). Entries will be accepted until January 29th and the winners will be contacted via email.

Update: The wife has a good idea in the comment thread. With your entry please include how you will use this book to rear your children, future children or how you could have used it to raise the children that have already grown up.

Buy Music, Help Haiti

Staff — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 22:38:18 +0000

Here at tMiM our hearts go out to the people of Haiti and we encourage everyone to help as much as they can. But if the reward of just knowing that you did something to help your fellow man isn’t enough then Paste Magazine can help. They’ve set up “Song For Haiti”, an organization where more than 200 artists have donated over 250 songs that are available for free download to anyone that donates through the campaign or by any other means. 100% of the donation will be divided between Doctors Without Borders, Red Cross and Wyclef Jean’s relief support via Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund.

Some of the great bands that you can download songs by are Amos The Transparent, Andrew Bird, Ari Hest, Backyard Tire Fire, Damion Suomi, Deer Tick, The Avett Borthers, The Decemberists and many, many more.

So far they’ve been able to raise just under $20,000. That might not seem like a lot considering the expansive devastation but we have to start somewhere.

We’ve donated, now it’s your turn.

Sufjan Stevens Admits 50 States Project "Such A Joke"

Patrick — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:32:08 +0000

He was off to a good start. 2 down and only 48 more to go. Michigan was first in 2003 followed by his break through album Illinois, then he got sidetracked. There were two more LP’s (not state related), a rather lengthy Christmas box set, a string quartet remix album and most recently the soundtrack to The BQE. By this point it was pretty obvious that Stevens had lost his motivation for the project and all he had left to do was officially announce that it was dead in the water, which he recently did with Paste Magazine.

The whole premise was such a joke and I think maybe I took it too seriously. I started to feel like I was becoming a cliché of myself.

Even if Stevens had continued on this journey it would have taken him years to finish. Most bands would find it difficult to release one album a year if they were forced into it. Suppose that Stevens is as much of a musical genius that I think he is. Two albums a year is a lot to ask a person, but let’s suppose that he could pull it off. If he started back at it again at the beginning of next year we would receive the last state sometime at the end of 2034. Stevens would be 58 years old.

In a sad kind of way it’s nice to have that elephant in the room shown the door.

Paste Magazine's Lists

Patrick — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:45:28 +0000

Paste Magazine has been compiling a lot of lists lately. As it comes towards the end of the year these last few months are only going to be about lists. Best Album of the Year, Best New Artists, so on and so forth but Paste is making lists of the best and worst voices in indie rock. Of course this is a subjective list. Although Paste has done a fine job of describing the worst list as “the kind that isn’t classically good, but its technical problems just make it more lovable.” As to avoid as much hate mail as possible.

Best Voices

Brandi Carlile
Chan Marshall (Cat Power)
Antony Hagerty (Antony and The Johnsons)
Sally Ellyson (Hem)
Thom Yorke (Radiohead)
Neko Case
Jim James (My Morning Jacket)
Jonsi Birgisson (Sigur Ros)
Gillian Welch
Mark Kozelek (Sun Kil Moonn)

Best Worst Voices

Will Oldham
Jeff Mangum (Neutral Milk Hotel)
Karen Peris (The Innocence Mission)
David Berman (Silver Jews)
Dan Bejar (Destroyer)
Joanna Newsom
Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes)
Colin Meloy (The Decemberists)
Emil Svanangen (Loney, Dear)
Matt Berninger (The National)

Personally I think that I would have to take out Brandi Carlile from the #1 spot on best voices just on the requirement of having to be an indie music singer and really don’t think that Emil Svanangen deserves to be on the Best Worst Voices list at all.

Thoughts, Comments, Concerns?

Bands To Watch

Patrick — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 19:45:01 +0000

Paste Magazine started posting on what seemed like countless bands that they felt were going to making their move into the mainstream sometime soon. I’ve listened to all of them and have made a list of which ones I agree with them about.

Band: Harlem Shakes
Album: Technicolor Health
Track of Note: “Strictly Game”
For Fans of: Vampire Weekend, White Rabbits, Talking Heads

Band: Blind Pilot
Album: 3 Rounds and A Sound
Track of Note: “The Story I Heard”
For Fans Of: The Decemberists, The Shins, Death Cab For Cutie

Band: Patrick Watson & The Wooden Arms
Album: Wooden Arms
Track of Note: “The Great Escape”
For Fans Of: Andrew Bird, Tom Waits

Band: Delta Spirit
Album: Ode To Sunshine
Track of Note: “Ode To Sunshine”
For Fans Of: Spoon, Blitzen Trapper, Cold War Kids

The Indie Rock Alphabet Book

Patrick — Sun, 31 May 2009 18:57:28 +0000

Being added to the list of presents to get for my nieces and nephew is now The Indie Rock Alphabet Book created by Paste. Starting with A for Animal Collective and ending with Z for The Zombies, this is a way to teach kids the alphabet without having to read all those other boring child oriented learning books where A is simply for Apple. Don’t you want you’re kids to be sitting in class and say “N is for Neutral Milk Hotel”? I know I do.

While every letter and rhyme aren’t home runs, the art work is great, especially Thom York.

The book can be viewed in it’s enitrety here and purchased in paperback for $12.95 here.

Music Blogs that Twitter

Patrick — Tue, 26 May 2009 15:45:14 +0000

I don’t Twitter and even if I did I probably wouldn’t admit to it here. I don’t think that I even fully understand what Twittering is other than a portable Facebook wall. But apparently it is not beyond the music blogging world to Twitter and Paste Magazine has compiled their list of 12 music blogs that are worth following on Twitter. I might even give it a try myself although I already have a hard enough time keeping up with all the music blogs that I follow via Google Reader.

On a side note, for those of you that have disposable incomes, Paste Magazine is facing financial difficulties and is looking for donations to keep them up and running. As incentive to donate Paste is offering 100+ free downloads from artists such as The Decemberists, Neko Case and Band of Horses when you donate.

The Annuals Visit Paste Magazine

Patrick — Sun, 10 May 2009 20:54:32 +0000

The Annuals are one of my favorite consistent bands and this week they paid a visit to Paste Magazine’s studio to perform an acoustic version of “Down The Mountain” from the album Such Fun.

The Annuals song “Brother” ranks up there as one of my favorite songs of all time. If you haven’t heard it before then be patient for the first minute and then the goodness starts. There is an mp3 of Manchester Orchestra covering this song from their 2007 tour somewhere but all the links that find don’t seem to work so if you know where I can find it let me know because I would live to hear it.