Last week, the Internet exploded when word began circulating that Radiohead would play a show at the Occupy Wall Street protests. That turned out to be a hoax, but last night all was redeemed when formerly-reclusive Neutral Milk Hotel songwriter Jeff Mangum popped up to play an acoustic show in support of the protesters. He opened with a thematically-appropriate cover of the Minutemen’s “Themselves.” Continue reading »
Last month, we mentioned a new tribute compilation of Los Angeles bands today covering their L.A. influences. Titled Beat LA, the punk-leaning album features city upstarts like No Age and Crystal Antlers digging deep into L.A.’s musical history to cover bands both obvious (The Doors, Minutemen) and less so (Thelonious Monster, 20/20). It’s out today and you can stream the whole thing below. Continue reading »
Last night a slew of alt-indie heroes descended on New York’s Bowery Ballroom to pay tribute to the bands featured in Michael Azerrad’s era-defining tome Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991. Ted Leo covered Minor Threat, Titus Andronicus did the Replacements, and, strangest of all, Dirty Projectors played Black Flag. Continue reading »