What You Readin’ For?: Climber On ‘Moby Dick’

Posted in Features, What You Readin' For? with tags on 09/27/2010 by Kurt Orzeck

Climber frontman Michael Nelson just reached out to the Bad Penny to take part in our “What You Readin’ For” series, in which literature and music flirt. The vocalist/pianist/multi-instrumentalist submitted a series of deep thoughts on his latest read: Herman Melville classic “Moby Dick.”
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Best Metal Albums Of 2010: Black Anvil, Black Breath, Withered, Down, Howl, More

Posted in Album Reviews, Lists, Reviews with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 09/25/2010 by Kurt Orzeck

With a handful of this year’s best metal releases dropping Tuesday, the timing feels apt for the Bad Penny to round up its favorite 2010 LPs – at least so far. Continue reading

Rock ‘N’ Roll Rebus #2

Posted in Features, Fun And Games on 09/25/2010 by Kurt Orzeck

Looks like many of you dug the first installment of “Rock ‘N’ Roll Rebus.” So here’s a new one, related to a band that recently got some coverage on this blog. Continue reading

Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan’s Hawk: Filter Review

Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags , on 09/25/2010 by Kurt Orzeck

Here is another not-terribly positive album review I recently wrote for Filter. This one criticizes Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan’s Hawk – a record that should instead be attributed to “Campbell and Friends” or simply “Campbell.”

Jarrod Gorbel’s Devil’s Made A New Friend: Filter Album Review

Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags , on 09/25/2010 by Kurt Orzeck

Here is my less-than-favorable Filter review of Devil’s Made a New Friend, the new album from singer/ songwriter/ ex-Honorary Title frontman Jarrod Gorbel.

Cover Me: Paper Tongues’ Paper Tongues

Posted in Cover Me, Features with tags on 09/25/2010 by Kurt Orzeck

Submissions to the Bad Penny’s “Cover Me” feature are coming fast and furious. The latest comes courtesy North Carolina rock septet Paper Tongues, whose guitarist, Joey Signa, would die to hear MGMT, Passion Pit, Mutemath and others reinvent songs from the band’s self-titled debut. Continue reading

Cover Me: Research Society’s Best Of Seven EP (Exclusive MP3 Download Included)

Posted in Cover Me, Exclusives, Features with tags on 09/24/2010 by Kurt Orzeck

Research Society took an innovative approach to participating in the Bad Penny’s ongoing “Cover Me” series: Rather than let one bandmember do all the talking, co-songwriters Namky (vocals, rhythm guitar, programming) and G Mann (lead guitar, bass, backing vocals, programming) had a lil’ dialogue. Here’s what the indie-rock band – which hails from Los Angeles’ Los Feliz neighborhood – dreamed up for its new Best of Seven EP – along with an exclusive download song from it. Continue reading

Meet And Greet Danny Ross; Download Exclusive MP3s

Posted in Exclusives, Features, Interviews, Meet And Greet, MP3s with tags , , on 09/23/2010 by Kurt Orzeck

When I caught up with Danny Ross in late August 2009, he was trying to get his feet wet – but not in the literal sense.

“It’s been rainy, uncharacteristically rainy, the last two months” in New York, he said.

A little over a year later, the singer/pianist/multi-instrumentalist/composer has gotten them more than just a little wet. Ross is now fully drenched in music accolades, and on Saturday night, he headlines a show at NYC’s prestigious Mercury Lounge. Continue reading

Memento: Winterlings’ Autumn Harvest

Posted in Features, Mementos with tags on 09/23/2010 by Kurt Orzeck

The Winterlings – a self-described “nocturnal alternative-folk band” – recently reached out to the Bad Penny with some thought-provoking pictures that warrant another installment in our ongoing “Memento” series. And with the fall having just arrived and Halloween around the corner, the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Continue reading

Bad Penny Exclusive Premiere: TV Buddhas’ Third Vlog

Posted in Exclusives, Features, Videos with tags on 09/21/2010 by Kurt Orzeck

Bad shows are a dime a dozen. But it doesn’t get much worse than TV Buddhas’ recent gig-that-wasn’t in New Orleans: When they showed up, the venue didn’t even know a concert was scheduled. Watch all the gory details about that incident and beyond in the third installment of the Israeli band’s tour vlog, which is premiering exclusively on the Bad Penny. Continue reading