Jeff Mangum

Why Artists Should Stop Playing Their Seminal Albums Live

On a wispy evening last October, my housemate and I went to see GZA perform his magnum opus Liquid Swords in full at D.C.'s swanky Howard Theater. I wasn't the only one with high expectations. The crowd's hunger escalated with Killer Mike slaying his opening set, pulling out perfectly punctuated sho ... More >>

With the Rolling Jubilee, Debt Activists Strike a Nerve

Long before the curtain goes up on the Rolling Jubilee's kick-off telethon tonight, it was clear that the event's organizers have struck a nerve. The Rolling Jubilee, a project of the debt-activist group Strike Debt, an outgrowth of Occupy Wall Street and the people behind the Debt Resistors Operat ... More >>

The People's Bailout

Yeah, banks, we can bail 
out our own, too

'The People's Bailout'

Stand Up, Man: Das Racist, Immortal Technique, Dan Deacon, Tom Morello To Play May Day For Occupy Wall Street

Occupy Wall Street's plans for May Day are starting to take shape, and amidst the pickets and skill-shares and marches and mayhem, it's looking like there's going to be a lot of music too. We already told you about the Guitarmy being mustered for next Tuesday, but organizers have also announced a n ... More >>

Occupy Wall Street Dreams Of A Giant Jam Session May 1

"Band seeking 1000 guitar players. Other instruments also welcome. Influences include Woody Guthrie, Tom Morello, Willie Nile, and Sergio Ortega." Occupy Wall Street is raising a "Guitarmy." For months, activists have been preparing for May Day, laying plans for teach-ins, bank blockades, marches ... More >>

Live: Suckers Spread The Pain Around At The Knitting Factory

​Suckers w/Devin, Writer Knitting Factory Saturday, February 4 Better than: Shoving people over to grab a seat on the L on a Saturday night. Before Suckers took the Knitting Factory stage on Saturday, the audience segregated itself, seemingly by age. The youth enjoyed the opening acts, using ... More >>

THOSE WERE THE DAYS

Jeff  Mangum stirs up more ’90s nostalgia

Russell Brand at Occupy Wall Street

Russell Brand at Occupy Wall Street​Last night, as a driving rain fell on Lower Manhattan and the General Assembly of Occupy Wall Street debated whether to authorize a statement condemning the Democratic Party as a bought-and-paid for agent of corrupt Wall Street interests, Russell Brand visit ... More >>

Jeff Mangum

Portishead and Deadmau5 Shift the Focus

The Four Best Finds In Occupy Wall Street's Music Library

Over the weekend SOTC pal Ann Powers wondered about what the music of Occupy Wall Street might be, and she discussed the drop-ins by the likes of Jeff Mangum and Talib Kweli as well as the music emanating from the park's current residents; she also mused on the "human microphone," the means by which ... More >>

Facebook + Music: Most People Are DJs

The site's foray into music and the act of performative listening

Jeff Mangum And Michael Franti Play Occupy Wall Street

The Occupy Wall Street protest at Zuccotti Park continues to be a magnet for celebrity musicians offering their support and serenading the occupiers with unamplified sets. Last night, the performances bracketing the twice-daily General Assembly meeting came from dramatically different corners: the ... More >>

Live: Shellac Mixes Jokes, Questions, And Baseball Talk With Songs Like "I Came In You" At The Bell House

Shellac w/Helen Money The Bell House Monday, October 3 Better than: Bawling indie-rock wuss tears as Jeff Mangum sings a Neutral Milk Hotel weeper. For the second year in a row, Chicago post-punk veteran goliaths Shellac graced The Bell House stage for two post-All Tomorrow's Parties hangover show ... More >>

Live: Portishead And Jeff Mangum Come Out Of The Shadows In Asbury Park

All Tomorrow's Parties: I'll Be Your Mirror Asbury Park, NJ September 30-October 2 Better than: Your favorite worn-out band tee. Timelessness isn't a foresight. Most experiences can't predict their own longevity, and as much as any creator strives to avoid miring his or her work in a dated exterio ... More >>

Fall Arts: Music Picks

Second Jeff Mangum Show Added To Portishead's Big Three-Day Fest In Asbury Park

​The Portishead/All Tomorrow's Parties-curated festival I'll Be Your Mirror, taking place down the shore in Asbury Park from September 30 through October 2, has added a second performance by the no-longer-all-that-reclusive Neutral Milk Hotel frontman Jeff Mangum to its itinerary, and is relea ... More >>

How Much Would You Pay To See The Concert Of Your Dreams?

​The Daily Swarm got wind of an eBay auction for a pair of tickets to Elephant 6 cult hero Jeff Mangum's September 9 show at the Sanders Theatre in Cambridge, which predates his appearance at the Portishead-curated ATP in Asbury Park by about three weeks. The asking price for the chance to be ... More >>

Neutral Milk Hotel's Parks & Rec Shoutout

Via GoldenfiddleDon't look now, Andy, but you just landed On Bad Boyfriend Island.​ Prime-time shout-outs to one of the most cult-beloved indie bands of the past 20 years shouldn't surprise too much. [Insert lengthy rant about the culture industry, and people creating culture pitched toward th ... More >>

Jeff Mangum Tickets For Town Hall Are On Sale At 11 A.M.

​Update: This is already sold out. Let the weeping begin. Just a friendly reminder that tickets for Neutral Milk Hotel guru Jeff Mangum's feverishly awaited solo show at Town Hall (happening October 29, which is an impossibly far-away date to conceive of right now, but those Pavement shows hap ... More >>

Jeff Mangum at Town Hall Tickets Sell Out Instantly, And a Twitter Nation Laments

At 11 a.m., New Yorkers got their long awaited, announced in advance, ticketed-and-everything, first official Neutral Milk Hotel show (slated for October 29th) in a long, long time. And at 11:01 a.m., perhaps unsurprisingly, it was already over--if LCD Soundsystem can sell out Madison Square Garde ... More >>

The Week We Let Our Eyes Wander

​Last week we spent a lot of time searching for solid ground in a world where Arcade Fire win Grammys and Odd Future take over Fallon. This week Tyler got his shoe back, Thom danced, and we all moved on.

Jeff Mangum Is Touring, Playing Town Hall

​The greatest indie-rock comeback story of all time (probably) (hopefully) continues apace: Neutral Milk Hotel deity Jeff Mangum has now announced a clutch of East Coast shows to complement his appearance at that crazy Asbury Park ATP event that I'm assuming is all sorts of sold out by now. Th ... More >>

Week In Review: We'll Never Get Over The White Stripes

​We started out the week on a positive jam. Riding high off Bob Dylan Week, we spent the weekend paying tribute to all those bands who came before with Craig Finn at Music Hall of Williamsburg and trying with all our hearts to sing along while the Dismemberment Plan flailed around on stage at ... More >>

Week In Review: Bob Dylan Is Waiting In A Van Outside Your House

Photo via Fred W. McDarrah, there from the start.​Yes, it was Dylan Week here at SOTC, a veritable orgy of Greenwich Village-scouring videos (with installments covering Cafe Wha?, Jones Street, the Gaslight, and Washington Square Hotel, or just enjoy the whole thing in one shot here), along wi ... More >>

Portishead And Jeff Mangum Are Headlining All Tomorrow's Parties In Asbury Park, NJ

​Good lord. All Tomorrow's Parties is bringing their boutique full-immersion indie-rock weekend blowout to a new spot this year: Asbury Park, NJ. ATP's three-day I'll Be Your Mirror fest will be partially curated by Portishead (!) and headlined by none other than fuckin' Jeff Mangum (!!!!), la ... More >>

Week In Review: Stop Looking At My Moms

​In the week we continued counting down the worst songs of 2010, noting atrocities from Susan Boyle, Liz Phair, Christina Aguilera, Jackyl, and NeverShoutNever, and Die Antwoord, we also began our overall year in review, listing the 10 biggest music stories of 2010, our 10 favorite concerts, t ... More >>

Yes, Neutral Milk Hotel's Jeff Mangum Performed A Surprise Show In Brooklyn On Saturday Night

via​We feel bad for Jeff Mangum, who probably has some trouble leaving the house in this city without people acting a little strange. So we respect and applaud his decision to return to the stage in secrecy, as he did on Saturday night, when he played ten Neutral Milk Hotel songs to a delighte ... More >>

More On Jeff Mangum's Bushwick Show: Co-Organizer Ben Goldberg Explains Why You Weren't There

This is pretty much what it was like​So Jeff Mangum played a bunch of Neutral Milk Hotel songs in a Bushwick loft on Saturday night, for a crowd of around 75 people, you not among them. The show was partly set up by Ba Da Bing Records guru Ben Goldberg, who has a lot of explaining to do, so we ... More >>

Ten Bands From The '90s That Haven't Reunited

Mark Ibold, still happier about the Pavement reunion than you are​So Chavez is reuniting, or whatever you want to call it. A Pavement reunion just dominated most of last week in New York City. Before that, it was a never-dissolved-but-certainly-largely-inactive Superchunk. In the past few year ... More >>

Download Sisters' Dissonant, '90s-Checking "Highway Scratch"

Yes In My Backyard is a semiweekly column showcasing new and emerging MP3s from local talent. Fletcher Chancey​Brooklyn noise-punk duo Sisters spray sunny rays into those long, lonely voids when Lightning Bolt or No Age or Matt & Kim aren't running through town. They're a spazzy, scuzzy, cudd ... More >>

More from Last Night's Chris Knox Benefit at Le Poisson Rouge, Including Weeping at Jeff Mangum

The six-hour benefit for underground New Zealand songwriter Chris Knox at Le Poisson Rouge on Thursday was indie-fundraising done right: all-star jams that made sense, meaty set lengths, a thoroughly worthwhile lineup, decidedly fan-oriented ticketing, and a stunning marquee name to sell out the r ... More >>

Week in Review: May Day

Salute. Photo by Sam Horine.​In the week we finally got to unleash the initial Siren Festival details on the world (July 17! 10th anniversary! Matt & Kim, Ted Leo, Surfer Blood, Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and Harlem! Totally free!), we celebrated Cinco De Mayo like Anna Wintour, Pharrell, a ... More >>

Tonight! Clipse, Ninjasonik, Lucky Dragons, Beach House, Washed Out, Sia, Local Natives, Jeff Mangum, a-ha, Bear Hands, Lemonade, And Dinosaur Feathers

Having learned about Pusha T's badass grandma (not to mention that Rambo-themed pizza joint) yesterday, you can better appreciate NYC tour guides/coke rap extraordinaires Clipse tonight at Highline Ballroom. For obvious moral support, Ninjasonik will also be there, "squeezing into tight pants and ... More >>

ONE QUESTION

How many songs will Jeff Mangum do?

The Chris Knox Benefit at Le Poisson Rouge Has Already Raised $40,545

​Which is to say that the May 6th show, featuring Yo La Tengo, the Clean, Jeff Mangum, and a bunch of other people is way beyond sold out--even at $75 per ticket. The indie start-up for indie start-ups, Kickstarter, hosted the bidding, and you can still give money there--as little as a dollar- ... More >>

Week in Review: Shut It Down

Scenes from MtyMx. Photo by Rebecca Smeyne.​In the week LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy told our own Michael Musto to "eat it" and Musto sensibly retaliated by telling him to "suck it" right back, we spent a good chunk of the week unpacking the twin out-of-state enterprises that were SXSW and M ... More >>

Download the Library Is On Fire's Awesomely '90s-Revival Anthem "Vanessa's Theatre of Peace"

Yes In My Backyard is a semiweekly column showcasing MP3s from new and emerging local talent. ​Brooklyn trio The Library Is On Fire is a straightforward, all-thrills, unpretentious alt-rock blast--a band that understands the perfect balance between noise and melody. It helps that frontman Ste ... More >>

Surfer Blood Cover Neutral Milk Hotel, Owe Todd P Everything According to Miami New Times

Hey, wouldn't you know it, Surfer Blood casually cover Neutral Milk Hotel's "Two-Headed Boy" over a bottle of El Presidente, and it's not half bad for a bunch of dudes who won't even get up off the couch! They even screw up a couple times and it's still better than that awful Apples in Stereo vers ... More >>

RIP Vic Chesnutt: "I Really Do Think My Best Days Are Ahead of Me"

Vic Chesnutt died on Christmas Day, after an overdose of muscle relaxants left him in a coma. If you've ever seen the man play live, you likely have "a Vic Chesnutt story." Mine involves a Boston-area opening stint for Jonathan Richman in the mid-'00s, when Chesnutt wheeled out onto the Somerville ... More >>

News Roundup: Brendan Flowers, Live Nation, Neutral Milk Hotel, Chris Brown/Rihanna

--The Killers' Brendan Flowers likely got to live out a childhood fantasy Saturday when he joined Bruce Springsteen for a duet of "Thunder Road" at the opening night of the Neatherlands Pinkpop Festival. Nowadays, it's a right of passage for Springsteen-influenced acts to join their idol onstage. Th ... More >>

Neutral Milk Hotel Are Trying To Preserve a Monument from My Childhood, Help Them Please

This morning, Merge Records issued a press release on behalf of Julian Koster--former Neutral Milk Hotel member, singing saw savant, man from the Music Tapes--asking for help in preserving a Massachusetts merry-go-round. Weird, right? Weirder: This is my shit!

Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise Tour at the Knitting Factory

Brief Guide to All the Wacky Shit You Missed This Weekend, Ponce

Breihan vs. Harvilla: Does Indie-Rock Need Rhythm?

Siren Call: A Conversation with Elvis Perkins

MPFrees: Shit We Downloaded That Isn't "Icky Thump"

Mellow Troubadour Wallows in Whimsy

Seamen and Booty

Mutiny on the Bounty's what these stevedores are all about