Feb
17
Justin Vernon, Megafaun, P.O.S. Make Up New Supergroup, Gayngs
Evan Rytlewski On MusicJagjaguwar Records, already home to two of singer-songwriter Justin Vernon's projects, Bon Iver and Volcano Choir, announced today a release by a new supergroup featuring Vernon: Gayngs. The lineup is spectacular and a little bizarre, featuring members of
Posted at 01:04 PM
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Feb
17
How Reviews Don't Do Justice to Local Native's Gorilla Manor
Evan Rytlewski On MusicI don’t usually concede this, but sometimes it’s better not to read the reviews. There are times when album reviews give a framework with which to appreciate an album, offering context that aids in the enjoyment of music, but sometimes they do
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Feb
16
Download the New Misen Lync Mixtape
Evan Rytlewski On MusicMilwaukee's most productive rap collective, Umbrella Music Group continues to release a stream of free new music on its Web site every month. The latest is Both Sides of the Mirror, a mixtape from UMG's Misen Lync, the trio comprised of rappers T.K.S., Ma
Posted at 01:44 PM
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Feb
15
Bay View Seeks Bands for Chill on the Hill
Evan Rytlewski On MusicThe Bay View Neighborhood Association is looking for bands to fill the 2010 lineup of its popular Tuesday-evening Chill on the Hill concert series at Humboldt Park. The series typically themes its weeks out by genre, providing opportunities for a wide var
Posted at 02:41 PM
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Feb
15
V100.7 Offers a Record Deal
Evan Rytlewski On MusicThe longstanding complaint against Milwaukee's most prominent urban station, the Clear Channel-operated V100.7 FM, is that it hasn't supported Milwaukee music. Though once more or less true, though, that criticism now seems outdated. The station has made
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Feb
11
The Spring 2010 Guide to Upcoming Hip-Hop Shows
Evan Rytlewski On MusicI've got an interview in this week's Shepherd with rapper John Forté, the one-time Fugees cohort who was sentence to a brutal 14-year term in federal prison, then rescued seven years in by a rare (and still never fully explained) commutation by Pre
Posted at 10:53 AM
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Feb
10
The Calcination of Scout Niblett
Evan Rytlewski On Music
On her past releases Scout Niblett has offset emotionally tortured songs with bursts of whimsy, weirdness and girlish spunk. It was a delicate balance, and for some that untamed quirk was an understandable deal breaker. Hit or miss as those playful diver
Posted at 04:42 PM
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Feb
09
Voting Begins in RadioMilwaukee's Milwaukee Music Awards
Evan Rytlewski On MusicWhat's ingenious about RadioMilwaukee's Milwaukee Music Awards is
they don't purport to give a fully representative or even non-biased view of the city's
music scene. They are essentially another form of advocacy for
the artists that the station supports
Posted at 12:04 PM
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Feb
08
Danny Gokey to Play Record Release Concert at Turner Hall
Also: He used to drive a semi-truck
Evan Rytlewski On MusicMilwaukee's highest achieving "American Idol" contender Danny Gokey will play a record release concert Saturday, March 6 at the Turner Hall Ballroom, the venue announced this morning. Gokey will be inaugurating his major-label debut, My Best Day
Posted at 08:59 AM
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Feb
07
The Superbowl XLIV Music and Halftime Thread
The Who show some flesh, while indie bands "sell out"
Evan Rytlewski On MusicThe Super Bowl packs a month's worth of pop culture into a loaded four-hour broadcast, so it's a little bit difficult to keep track of all its big music moments, but here's what jumped out at me the most:
* The Who's halftime show was a disaster, perh
Posted at 10:55 PM
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Feb
05
Yeasayer's Odd Blood is Incredible
Incredible.
Evan Rytlewski On MusicIn December, Stereogum ran an odd mea culpa. Having played up Yeasayer’s sophomore effort Odd Blood as one of 2010’s most anticipated albums, they walked back that endorsement in an early, first-listen review of the record that could barely co
Posted at 02:16 PM
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Feb
04
Pavement Will Play Chicago's Pitchfork Music Festival
UPDATED: Modest Mouse, LCD Soundsystem, too
Evan Rytlewski On MusicAs was widely rumored, Pavement will play this year's Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago, Tribune writer Greg Kot confirmed today. The festival is expected to make an announcement tomorrow, the day tickets go on sale for the July 16-18 event. Single-day
Posted at 11:55 AM
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Feb
03
Meat Puppets to Play Club Garibaldi
Kid Sister and Own Pallett are coming to town, too
Evan Rytlewski On Music
Though it was somewhat overshadowed by new albums by fellow '80s underground rock luminaries Dinosaur Jr. and Sonic Youth, the Meat Puppets released an excellent late-period album last year, Sewn Together, which in its fusion of psychedelia and relaxed c
Posted at 02:35 PM
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Feb
02
Pabst/Turner Announce a Slew of Indie Shows (No Hip-Hop, Though)
Girls, Apples in Stereo, Frightened Rabbit and Sigur Rós' Jónsi playing this spring
Evan Rytlewski On Music
The Pabst Theater Foundation announced today four shows coming to the Pabst Theater or Turner Hall Ballroom this spring, including:
* Girls at the Pabst Theater on Sunday, April 11
* Jónsi Birgisson (of Sigur Rós, a band no
Posted at 01:49 PM
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Feb
01
The Great Milwaukee Hip-Hop Debate Continues
Evan Rytlewski On Music
RadioMilwaukee's Tarik Moody ignited a torrent of discussion with his blog post last week asking "is Milwaukee afraid of hip-hop?" and wondering in particular why the city has hosted so few touring national hip-hop acts lately. I responded with
Posted at 02:31 PM
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Feb
01
How Rebirth Derailed Lil Wayne
Evan Rytlewski On MusicLil Wayne's rap-rock album Rebirth arrives in stores tomorrow, and it won't surprise anyone that the early reviews have been brutal. Critics disinclined toward Lil Wayne have been provided a rare opportunity to knock the guy with impunity, and they're tak
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Feb
01
The 2010 Grammys Get It (Relatively) Right
Evan Rytlewski On MusicWhile it won't do much to combat the perception that the Grammys are hopelessly out of touch, this year's list of winners is actually a pretty good representation of the public's tastes. Of course, any year the Grammy's top honor doesn't go to a Steely D
Posted at 10:07 AM
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Jan
28
Why Doesn't Milwaukee Book More Hip-Hop?
Evan Rytlewski On MusicRadioMilwaukee DJ Tarik Moody asks a question today on the station's Soundboard blog that most Milwaukee hip-hop fans have asked before: Why doesn't the city book more hip-hop?
Last night on air, I talked about the Mos Def and MF Doom show in Chicag
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Jan
27
Lloyd's Young Goldie EP is a Revelation
Evan Rytlewski On MusicLloyd’s voice makes me a little uncomfortable. It’s not just that it’s feminine, in a Michael Jackson ballad sort of way; it’s that its felty, like a cat’s tongue. It's smooth but a little icky.
It’s hard not to r
Posted at 03:21 PM
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Jan
26
Is Pit Er Pat Riding the Indie-R&B Bandwagon, or Mocking It?
Evan Rytlewski On MusicContemporary R&B is the new African music.
Wait—that sounds wrong. Let me rephrase that more precisely: For a small but visible subset of indie-rock acts, contemporary R&B is the latest unlikely muse suddenly in vogue. Much as some
Posted at 03:43 PM
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Jan
22
Sunday Radio
Evan Rytlewski On MusicI'll be joining FM 102.1's Ryan Miller for another chatty hour of his "Indie Soundcheck" program this Sunday night at 11 p.m. We'll be playing music from Surfer Blood, Art Brut, Vampire Weekend and the Supergrass side project Hot Rats. We'll als
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Jan
22
Summerfest Announces New Alternative Music Festival
Evan Rytlewski On MusicMilwaukee's recently departed RiverSplash festival may no longer be around to mark the start of the city's festival season, but Summerfest has announced today that it is launching a new music festival at the Henry Maier Festival grounds during what would
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Jan
21
Phantogram and the New Shape of Trip-Hop
Evan Rytlewski On MusicI try to resist describing bands too much based on their influences, but for the rural New York duo Phantogram, it’s hard not to, since they draw from so many and find such striking ways to incorporate them all into something new. Their debut full-l
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Jan
20
Pazz and Jop 2009: Indie-Rock Hegemony and "Music Racism"
Evan Rytlewski On MusicThe Village Voice posted its annual New York Pazz and Jop poll yesterday, and while the annual survey of the country’s top music critics has lost some of its relevance in recent years—it doesn’t help that this year was released a full mo
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Jan
19
Milwaukee Rap Gets its First Compilation
Yo! MKE Raps
Evan Rytlewski On Music
The latest product of Milwaukee's increasingly collaborative hip-hop scene: Yo! MKE Raps, a 19-track compilation that gives a fairly comprehensive sampling of the different sounds coming out of the city. Curated by local rapper JC Poppe and the local rap
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Today in Milwaukee
Says You
Matt Mattingly:Hey Russ. Thanks for all the great comments. You are ...
Robin Marohn:Bingo. Good piece.
anonymous:iwas in the march to madison
