By Jonah Bromwich Better Than: a performance of The Magic Flute being interrupted by a robot invasion. Complaining about low quality sound after the concert of an artist you like is kind of like griping about the refs after your team loses a game--if the artist is good enough, they should be able ... More >>
James Blake and his band walked briskly out onto stage. Taking his place behind his keyboard and laptop, he led his trio in a chaotic, explosive rendition of one of his first singles, 2009's "Air and Lack Thereof." Swirling blue and green lights swallowed up the band. The skuzzed out bass swallowed ... More >>
For James Blake, the differences between his self-titled 2011 debut and its hotly anticipated follow-up, Overgrown, boil down to a pretty simple fact: He had no idea he was writing his way towards a record the first time around, and this time he did. "We came to about 10 songs and I thought, 'Oh, wo ... More >>
Fans of minimal emotional music, take heed! James Blake's new album Overgrown is out next week. But before it does, you can cozy up to it at one of several early listening parties around town this week, the details of which are as follows...
This promises to be a fantastic year for electronic music, as the calendar is peppered with releases from some of the most exciting names around. Here are some acts to make sure you keep an eye on throughout the year. A quick note: You can classify much of the music that follows as dubstep, a genre ... More >>
Haale Gafori and Matt Kilmer are a modern day Renaissance couple. In addition to their post-dubstep duo the Mast, they function as writers, directors, poets, and visual artists. Gafori, who is lithe and gorgeous in a post-hippie sort of way, was invited to read her poetry in Assisi, Italy at a Globa ... More >>
In no particular order, here are ten can't-miss shows in New York this weekend. For the Voice's full rundown of New York concerts, hit up villagevoice.com/concerts. See Also: - All Tomorrow's Parties Preview: Founder Barry Hogan on the Festival's Move to New York City - Fear of a Talibam! Planet - ... More >>
With Facebook's stock and growth rates skydiving, it's time to say something that should have been said a long time ago: Myspace was better. Maybe not when it came to its coding or those garish "personalized" pages, but definitely when it came to music. Back in the day -- say, about 2004 or so -- ... More >>
Indie folk phenoms Bon Iver return
Check out our photo galleries: Electric Zoo Gets Sweaty | The People Of Electric Zoo Electric Zoo Randalls Island Friday, September 1 through Monday, September 3 Better than: This. "You know I know how/ to make them stop and stare as I zone out/ the club can't even handle me right now/ watching y ... More >>
If you're familiar with chaos theory, which in its basic form is the attempt to find patterns in this planet's many happenings, then you may understand the difficulty that comes with describing a full day at the South By Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. To break down the chaos, a few of Village ... More >>
Brooklyn singer-songwriter Doe Paoro is a wild mixture of contemporary sounds and ancient techniques. Her single "Born Whole," taken from her debut Slow to Love (out last month), has the spectral fervor of Zola Jesus's haunted house swirl, Adele's retromaniacal bombast and ghostly traces of James Bl ... More >>
Philip Glass and Friends Tibet House U.S. Benefit w/Laurie Anderson, Tim Fain, Das Racist, Antony, Lou Reed, Stephin Merritt, and Rahzel Carnegie Hall Monday, February 13 Better than: Seeing how most ethnic Tibetans live. Last night's all-star benefit at Carnegie Hall began with a performance by ... More >>
Every day this month, Sound of the City has been publishing pieces about Philip Glass turning 75 years old, in conjunction with the Voice's cover story on the composer. Naturally, of course, this has led to an interview with Dapwell (Ashok Kondabolu) of Das Racist, who's performing Monday night at t ... More >>
Philip Glass curates the Tibet House jam
The world-renowned composer is still a neighborhood staple
Today Amnesty International releases Chimes Of Freedom, a really, really huge compilation of bob Dylan covers by artists both canonized and obscure. Trying to analyze such a huge undertaking can only be done in one way: Mathematically. Amount of music in this collection: 73 songs on four CD ... More >>
Feelings, whoa-whoa-whoa
Bring King Krule some ribs
Think of the orange car as a clue. The resurrected NBA season kicks off (thankfully, finally) on Sunday. To celebrate, we've paired each team with a notable album from the past year; the list, with tweet-sized justifications, is below. (NB, although the NBA-savvy of you might have already fig ... More >>
James Blake lets it all out
James Blake Webster Hall Wednesday, July 13 Better than: Hundreds of people crying about their exes, alone, in their bedrooms. It took a handful of songs at last night's James Blake show for the audience to get used to the musician's intensely reserved demeanor. The man barely looked up from his ... More >>
Washed Out, Grimes, Blood Orange The Bowery Ballroom Monday, July 11 Better than: Trillwave? To any musician with an audience, it's been clear for agesprobably dating back to when Dylan went electricthat to change your entire instrumental vocabulary is one of the biggest risks you c ... More >>
Forward motion from five electronic dance labels
Fall for James Blake
A Brit art-world darling finds out what happens when Kid A falls in love
This week in the Voice, Runnin' Scared's own Jen Doll details the ups and downs of being a single woman in New York. Gotham may stack the odds against women, and the oft-repeated stats are discouraging, but she urges women to "make New York your playground and stop complaining about how singl ... More >>
James Blake has probably got Album Everyone Will Be Talking About This Week honors all sewn up for now, but roundabout next Tuesday a nation's fawning eyes will turn to PJ Harvey's fantastic Let England Shake, far from the screamiest entry in her 20-year catalog (!), but among the bleakest, h ... More >>
Yes In My Backyard is a semiweekly column showcasing MP3s from new and emerging local talent. Brooklyn bass duo Sub Swara will scramble your insides with low-end by any means necessary. Their music refuses to sit still or be easily described, frantically crossing the lines between instrument ... More >>
"The whole chart thing is kind of like sports," said an unimpressed Merge label chief Laura Ballance, back when Arcade Fire hit #1 on the Billboard charts. That may well be true. But if selling records is like sports, Arcade Fire are weirdly good at it, considering they're a bunch of spindly ... More >>
Expect Destroyer's swoony yacht-rock-via-chillwave excursion Kaputt to be the year's first lavishly praised album (along with the whole James Blake thing) -- Dan Bejar is certainly rolling out the full PR detail for it. Record's out at the end of the month; his full tour starts in March, and ... More >>
Good luck learning all the chord changes in "Jane Says," dudeSo TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek has joined Jane's Addiction, in some unspecified bassist/songwriter/possibly-non-touring-member capacity, which is super bizarre when you first hear about it, but is, upon reflection, not the stranges ... More >>
Welcome to Sound of the City's year-in-review rock-critic roundtable, an amiable ongoing conversation between five prominent Voice critics: Rob Harvilla, Zach Baron, Sean Fennessey, Maura Johnston, and Rich Juzwiak. We'll be here all week! James Murphy, pulling no punches.Dear fellow illumin ... More >>
Welcome to Sound of the City's year-in-review rock-critic roundtable, an amiable ongoing conversation between five prominent Voice critics: Rob Harvilla, Zach Baron, Sean Fennessey, Maura Johnston, and Rich Juzwiak. We'll be here all week! Pay Rich Juzwiak what you owe him, Jay Leno. Twitpic by Dav ... More >>
Head to Randalls Island for World Team Tennis
What a Perfect Burg for This Racket
Borough of Manhattan Community College Struggles Without the Help That Has Come to Stuyvesant High
What a Racket When the U.S. Open Champion Turns Out to Be a Loser
Public Advocate Is the Best Choice
Levar Harper-Griffiths Strategy: Step Onto a Tennis Court When Youre Three Days Old
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