Daphne Lee Martin breaks the video mold with “Belly”

It’s probably easy for a director to come up with a video for a song like Daphne Lee Martin’s “Belly.” Put the band in, I don’t know, some period clothing? Have them walk slow motion through, what, a saloon? Maybe cut in some shots of them in a field of wildflowers, Daphne picking one […]

New Fallulah song

Fallulah, one of my favorite Danish artists and occupying space on many a mix I have made, recently teamed up with our good friends over at Danger Village PR. People I like joining together? Always a good thing. And I have quickly been satisfied, as the catchy singer/songwriter just re-released her pop hit, […]

Porco/Rosso

I guess pigs are “in” these days, because for some reason I’ve seen a lot of them lately on the internets, but I’m not quite sure why. I don’t like looking at them, I don’t like thinking about them, and I’m Jewish, so, really, they don’t cross my mind much otherwise.

So I’m […]

[Hype Hype Hooray] The Dull and Pointless Sound

HypeHypeHoorayNEW

Hype Hype Hooray is a biweekly “critique” of the music scene and the blogosphere that feeds it, told through the lens of Jamie Hale, a journalist who likes music about as much as he likes scotch and a firm leather chair. Please enjoy with a grain of salt.

I’ve been struggling to explain how I feel about the modern-day indie scene and why I feel the way I do. I’ve stumbled between descriptions like “uninspired” and “endlessly dull,” but I just can’t seem to put it into the right words.

I see modern indie as something of a dismal affair. In my mind, trying to keep up with the latest “blogged about” bands is like living out an episode of The Twilight Zone. It’s all black-and-white and melodramatic. Maybe we open on a man behind the wheel of a car. A wave of sweat rolls down his haggard face. A thick droplet pools in a dark bag beneath his eye. He wipes it away and sighs.

The car speeds down an empty desert highway. On either side of the road is an endless swath of brown. Heat pulses off the asphalt in the late afternoon sun.

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Junior Prom’s debut EP

OH MY GOD I needed some Junior Prom this morning. Last time I wrote about them I called it “Bright Music Monday,” but, you know, President’s Day was yesterday, so basically this Tuesday is like a Monday. And damn do I need a kick start this week. Winter labors on but Junior Prom […]

Callahan

When the deep chill of winter settles in completely, I find myself drawn to spare, beautiful music that requires dedicated time for listening. Callahan’s delicate acoustic songs are perfect for time spent in your own version of frozen tundra. Callahan is the alter ego of Michigan native Malcolm Cumming, who manages to bring […]

[Hype Hype Hooray] How to Coax a Critic

HypeHypeHoorayNEW

Hype Hype Hooray is a biweekly “critique” of the music scene and the blogosphere that feeds it, told through the lens of Jamie Hale, a journalist who likes music about as much as he likes scotch and a firm leather chair. Please enjoy with a grain of salt.

One day, out of the blue, I got a Facebook friend request from somebody named Daphne Lee Martin. “God dammit,” I grumbled. “Who the hell is this?” I clicked through to Daphne’s profile, wondering why some woman in New England would friend some dude a thousand miles away. I found my answer nestled in Martin’s “About” section: “Songwriter.”

“It’s a trap!” I screamed to myself. “She doesn’t want to be my friend, she just wants publicity!” Theres a lot of shameless self-promotion I’ll put up with in this world, but dubious friend requests just don’t cut it. “Not today, sister,” I muttered, the cursor hovering over the blue “ignore” button. I wanted to click it, I really did, but something stopped me.

The girl was bold enough to friend a stranger, shouldn’t I give her a chance? What if her gesture was some olive branch between artist and critic? What kind of person would I be to reject it? Also, I mean, what if she’s really good?

Continue reading [Hype Hype Hooray] How to Coax a Critic