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None of Them Knew They Were Robots

The mysterious sounds of Wooden Robot

Local band Wooden Robot couldn’t be more mysterious. First, there’s their undeniably spooky sound: Think haunted Old World carnival or, better yet, a vodka-drenched dance party with your dead Polish-babushka grandmother. Then there are the places they usually play: dimly lit bars, crowded houses of friends and dark corners in cramped basements. The band’s performance at Turner Hall Ballroom on July 26, opening for Secret Chiefs 3 with The Demix, will mark a rare appearance in the spotlight.

Local Music

The Heavyheads Up Their Game

A cautious optimism has permeated Milwaukee’s once demoralized music scene. As local bands—through a mix of talent, vision and, perhaps most importantly, strategic self-promotion—begin to make a name for themselves and as radio stations and print publications make a more visible effort to cover the local scene, there’s an increasing sense that Milwaukee musicians may now actually have a shot at national exposure. That feeling is certainly driving The Heavyheads.

About That New Black Kids Album...

Pitchfork posted another one of those “psych, here’s an image instead of a real review” reviews of the Black Kids album today, but unlike their clear-cut Jet review, this one was a little more ambig...

Concert Reviews

M. Ward @ The Pabst Theater

Saturday, July 19, 2008

There are few musicians in today’s indie scene as enigmatic as M. Ward. His latest album, 2006’s critically acclaimed Post-War, came across like a series of bulletins from a long-gone era, with Ward’s voice often sounding like it was channeling the highs and lows of American history. The result was a record that had something of an otherworldly feel to it. Post-War was clearly rooted in the past, but there was something about Ward’s delivery that made the record feel incredibly relevant . . .

Jennifer O'Connell Really Likes Milwaukee

It's tough to tell whether she's always this bubbly, but Matador Records songstress Jennifer O'Connell had nothing but kind things to say about Milwaukee after her appearance here last week at the Cac...

Concert Reviews

Stone Temple Pilots @ The Marcus Amphitheater

Friday, July 4 @ the Marcus Amphitheater

Concert Reviews

Rock the Bells Festival @ First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre

Sunday, July 20, 2008 (Chicago, IL)

If the touring hip-hop festival Rock the Bells had existed in 1998, its line-up might have looked virtually identical to this year’s. Headliners like A Tribe Called Quest, The Pharcyde, De La Soul and Mos Def were the biggest names in alternative rap a decade ago, and they remain so today. Of course, that’s as much a sad comment on the dearth of new talent in the scene as it is a testament to the headliners’ longevity, but the veterans did their best to prevent the bill from becoming a nostalgia tour. Although A Tribe Called Quest . . .

Club Noise

Curtiss, McKeehan Make Dark, Deep Debuts

Plus: Honey Dijon sweetens the deal

Techno keeps twisting its way toward the top of Milwaukee’s underground dance music scene. This week, it’s Detroit/Berlin’s Lee Curtiss who bridges the gap between house and techno with dark and minimal tenacity. The Spectral Sound artist says he took cues from Chicago’s Derrick Carter and melded them with the reverb of producers such as Ricardo Villalobos, Zip (aka Dimbiman), Matthew Dear, Peter Ford and Richie Hawtin. In 2007, Curtiss headlined Spectral Sound’s sixth “Death Is Nothing to Fear” tour across North America, garnering critical success from the underground dance music masses. Dark, deep and uncompromising in his mix, the DJ/producer has performed live sets with the likes of Samim and Alex Smoke for the Kontrol crew in San Francisco, as well as a play date for Bill Patrick’s acclaimed Robots bash in New York City. An alumnus . . .

CD Reviews

Jakob Dylan

Seeing Things (Columbia/Starbucks Entertainment)

With the Wallflowers on hiatus, the band's frontman, Jakob Dylan—who happens to be the result of rock's greatest romance in Bob and Sara—attempts to find his own identity among the usual route of hushed obscurities and loosely finger-picked acoustic guitar. Seeing Things . . .

CD Reviews

Weezer

Weezer (“Red Album”) (DGC/Interscope)

Get ready to laugh, cry or do both the moment you hear Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo start rapping on the band’s third self-titled album. That he does so over a song filled with piano and choral-chanting bombast (no lie) suggests that Cuomo may have seriously lost his marbles. His hysterically loyal fan base is no doubt . . .

CD Reviews

The Orb

The Dream (Six Degrees)

The subgenres of acid house and ambient electronica have produced sonic wallpaper by the yard, but few artists as creative or compelling as The Orb. The duo of Alex Paterson and Youth, two Englishmen on the ground floor of late-’70s punk, meld found voices and electronic melodies into a symphony of sampling and gentle . . .

CD Reviews

Barbara Stephan

I'm Awake

Milwaukee's Barbara Stephan has built a reputation as a jazz-pop vocalist with blues flavor. She must realize, however, that Diana Krall and Etta James aren't getting as much airplay as other adult-contemporary divas, so she has adapted—and pretty well, at that. At this solo album's best, when Stephan . . .

Concert Reviews

John Hiatt @ The Pabst Theater

Friday, June 27, 2008

John Hiatt knows how to show an audience a good time, as evidenced by an evening he christened “Summerfest Indoors” to an enthusiastic Pabst Theater crowd Friday. “Hello, young people,” Hiatt said as a greeting to his mostly older but jubilant fans. “Your mayor said this week is all about fellowship, beer and entertainment, and that’s what we’re about tonight.” The entertainment part, which kicked off at 9 p.m., lasted about 2 hours and went a long way toward creating fellowship between the audience and Hiatt’s band, The Ageless Beauties, with or without . . .

Music News from Pollstar.com
The Closing Bell
New dates for Funeral For A Friend, Jessica Simpson, Phil Vassar and The Morning Benders, plus links to items about T in the Park, The Rolling Stones, Gloria Estefan, the latest financial problems for the owners of the Rothbury Festival site and the senator who wanted to use Springsteen tickets for fundraising make great reading in your last update of the day!
Scheduled To Appear 07/22
Who says Friday is the best day of the work week We love Tuesdays, when we get to dive into the new release section of our favorite music retailer.
Your Latest Update
New listings for Buckcherry / Avenged Sevenfold, Robin Thicke, Smashing Pumpkins and Stone Temple Pilots!
Kid Rock Gets Probation For Waffle Scuffle
Kid Rock has been sentenced to a year's probation and fined 1,000 for his role in a fight at a suburban Atlanta Waffle House last fall.
Midday Update
Noontime on the Fresno Coast and we have new dates for M83, The Blasters, Buckethead and Atlanta Rhythm Section, and links to items about Motley Crue, Buddy Guy, Rick Ross, Britney Spears and "Fashion Rocks." It's all waiting for you in the Midday Update!
Stereogum MP3 Feed
Calexico - Two Silver Trees
posted in "New Calexico - "Two Silver Trees"" at http://stereogum.com/archives/mp3/new-calexico-two-silver-trees_011210.html
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Astral Facial (Siren Festival 7-19-08)
posted in "New Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - "Astral Facial" (Live At The Siren Festival)" at http://stereogum.com/archives/mp3/new-stephen-malkmus-the-jicks-astra-facial-live-at-siren-fes_011181.html
Santogold - Starstruck (Diplo Remix)
posted in "New Santogold (Feat. M.I.A. & Gorilla Zoe) - "Get It Up"" at http://stereogum.com/archives/mp3/new-santogold-feat-mia-gorilla-zoe-get-it-up_011147.html
Conor Oberst - Danny Callahan
posted in "Conor Oberst Debuts New Tunes In Brazil" at http://stereogum.com/archives/video/conor-oberst-debuts-new-tunes-in-brazil_011145.html
Mount Eerie with Julie Doiron and Fred Squire - Flaming Home
posted in "New Mount Eerie With Julie Doiron And Fred Squire - "Flaming Home" & Lost Wisdom Album Art" at http://stereogum.com/archives/mp3/new-mount-eerie-with-julie-doiron-and-fred-squire_011127.html
Chromeo - Fancy Footwork
posted in "Quit Your Day Job: Chromeo" at http://stereogum.com/archives/quit-your-day-job/quit-your-day-job-chromeo_011076.html
Bodies Of Water - Gold, Tan, Peach, And Grey
posted in "Bodies Of Water Do Daytrotter" at http://stereogum.com/archives/mp3/bodies-of-water-do-daytrotter_011069.html
Babe Terror - Mount Dorothy
posted in "The Outsiders: Vol. 16" at http://stereogum.com/archives/the-outsiders/the-outsiders-vol-16_011013.html
 
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