Sunset Rubdown at Zaphod Beeblebrox
King Trash, 2006

Hour.ca profiles White Lies.

White Lies deal in big, dark songs about feelings, about emotions that stay with you instead of one-offs that end as soon as the last note is played. The songs are brooding, a bit painful and undeniably British. But what some seem to be missing is just how tuneful these tracks are and how hard that is to do. That despite the darkness and pain in Cave's lyrics, the music is dynamic and provocative, and its ability to be big and small at the same time is, well, pretty rad.

BBC News examines the internet's (and specifically blogs') role in promoting music.

Gibson Guitars celebrates the 20th anniversary of Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World."

Soon after Freedom’s release countless multi-band bills in rock clubs across America began culminating with the members of every group taking the stage to chop out visceral versions of “Rockin’ in the Free World.” And while the grunge movement faded long ago, the song’s popularity among musicians has not. “Rockin’ in the Free World” has crept across genres to country, Americana, and pop, and still gets played on stage by a wide variety of artists.

Erika Wennerstrom of Heartless Bastards takes BlackBook's pop quiz.

Vampire Hands “No Fun” When I first heard this song, there was no doubt in my mind that the singer was a woman. I was wrong. It’s actually a dude, which I suppose is not totally unfathomable — I was thinking that the voice was similar to that of Celebration’s somewhat androgynous Katrina Ford, who often reminds me of Robert Plant — but I still find it hard to imagine, or at least picture. “No Fun” is floaty and relaxed, but also rather substantial and physically urgent as a result of its busy, ever-shifting percussion. The arrangement strikes a perfect balance of turbulence and tranquility, with the contradictory states leveling out enough to imply a peaceful acceptance of conflict and change.

Visit the Vampire Hands MySpace page.

In all likelihood, David Pajo (of Slint, Dead Child, Aerial M, Papa M, and a gazillion others) is going to be touring with the Yeah Yeahs Yeahs.

Alemu Aga - “Abatatchen Hoy” Hear that buzzing? That's a collection of strings, made variously taut, and then plucked. It sounds like a guitar when I describe it, but not when I play it; when I play it, unlike a guitar, this instrument actually sounds like a collection of strings, buzzing, immanent. Do you feel happy? This buzzing was perhaps the world's first anti-depressant and almost certainly its most effective.

King David is well remembered for his skill for killing with taut string, but less well remembered for his ability to heal using the same. The first King of Israel, David's predecessor Saul, was tormented by an evil spirit, sent by god; the only relief from this torment was provided by David's harp playing -- a tough pill to swallow, so to speak, since Saul rightly viewed David as a formidable rival. Still, what choice did he have but to accept the cure? David would play, buzz, buzz, buzz, and “relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.”

David's harp -- what we now know as the begena -- is not often played anymore outside of Ethiopia, which perhaps explains the world's sadness.

The begena soothes, there's no doubt, but its power is frightening, hence the need for that comforting whisper of a vocal, weaving itself into the begena's buzzing. “It's OK,” says the voice (or so goes my translation from the original Amharic, a language I don't speak). Buzz, buzz, buzz. “Shake the spirit loose; feel better.”

Willie Eason - “Little Wooden Church on a Hill” Which is not to say that guitars don't have a power too.

[Buy Alemu, Willie]

No Age
Dirk Fowler, 2009