On her 2004 covers album, Relations, revered British singer/songwriter Kathryn Williams breathed new life into classics such as Nirvana’s “All Apologies,” the Velvet Underground’s “Candy Says” and Pavement’s “Spit on a Stranger.” In commemoration of the release finally reaching U.S. shores on Tuesday (via One Little Indian), the Bad Penny asked the Mercury Prize nominee to christen a new feature: Revising History. Continue reading
Any indie-rock fan worth their salt is either talking or thinking about Matador’s big “Lost Weekend” in Las Vegas, which starts tomorrow. The lineup is the record label’s equivalent of MLB’s All-Century Team, feature the likes of Pavement, Guided by Voices, Superchunk, Yo La Tengo and oh-so-many more. Continue reading
Los Campesinos! consist of seven musicians. But they are more than a band. Los Campesinos! are flying up the totem pole of indie stardom because of their spectacular concerts. But they are more than a spectacle. Los Campesinos! evoke joy, celebration and fun in the purest sense. But they are more than a feeling. Continue reading
There’s Nuggets. There’s Led Zeppelin’s Complete Studio Sessions. And then there’s the best box set ever. A bold statement, certainly. But by the end of this post, you should be swayed. Continue reading
Jason Drake is having a hard time concentrating.
It’s late July 2009, and he’s chatting with me on his cell from a Whole Foods parking lot somewhere in L.A. Continue reading
Eleven years ago, I studied for five months in Santiago, Chile. As part of my education regiment, I chose a class on the history of rock and roll. You might think that’s as much as a cop-out as taking a class in bowling or frisbee golf. But as someone who had mostly shunned classic rock till that point, I actually learned a lot. My teacher was obsessed with Deep Purple and Cream, and explained to us how Ozzy Osbourne was rock’s first psicótico.
I like to think I returned him the favor by teaching him a bit about Nirvana, of whom he wasn’t much aware, in my final paper. The self-generated topic: How Nirvana ushered indie-rock, rougher production values and anti-corporate attitudes into the mainstream with In Utero. El profesor told me I worked harder than any of his Chilean students in the class, and that I nailed the exam (70 out of 70), too.
These days, my Spanish is a bit rusty, so I couldn’t tell you what most of the paper means. But here it is for your archival viewing pleasure. PDFs are included in case the images are too taxing on yer eyes:
The Bad Penny (beta) 