03-10-2009
by
ShockHound
Without a doubt one of the most influential rap groups of all time, N.W.A. are about to follow the Notorious B.I.G. onto the silver screen. Appropriately titled Straight Outta Compton, the film will depict the
action-packed story behind Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, MC Ren and DJ Yella's
controversial ascent into the upper echelons of the music world, as well as their subsequent breakup. The film will be produced by Cube and Dre, along with Eazy-E’s widow Tomica Wright; and t...
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03-21-2010
by
ShockHound
Fuzzy mornings and late starts are traditional at SXSW, especially on Saturday, the festival's bleary last hurrah. Less traditional was the 25-degree drop in daytime outdoor temperature that the city of Austin experienced between Friday and Saturday, which chilled us to the bone and made us wish we'd remembered to pack a few extra hoodies into the ShockHound suitcases. The final day on our home turf at the Levis Fader Fort featured a line-up that was heavy on the hip-h...
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08-08-2008
by
ShockHound
WATCH: Escape The Fate wearing and discussing their favorite band logos.By Dan EpsteinBands
come and go, but a great band logo is forever. But what really makes a
great logo? Is it just something that looks cool pasted on a drumhead,
scribbled on a school notebook or affixed to the back of a leather
jacket? Or is it something deeper, a design that somehow magically
crystallizes the sound or essence of the band in visual form? Check out
some of our all-time favorite logo tees, and decide...
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08-08-2008
by
ShockHound
Interview by Dan EpsteinLike so many notable musical siblings before them, the
tension that crackles between Canadian sisters Tegan and Sara Quin is often as
fascinating as the harmonies they create together. They may be identical twins,
but Tegan and Sara are also quite clearly two distinct individuals; they live
at separate ends of their homeland (Tegan in Vancouver, Sara in Montreal),
rarely collaborate as songwriters and, for their first few albums, chose not to
sing on eac...
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08-08-2008
by
ShockHound
LISTEN: The Raveonettes' "Aly Walk With Me" Interview by Tom LanhamThe club’s house manager is apologetic, but still urgent
when he bursts into the dressing room of Danish grind-pop duo the Raveonettes. “Sorry,”
he blurts, “but there’s a girl waiting outside who swears she has an interview
set up with you. The doors are getting ready to open, so I need to know what to
tell her.” “Hold on a sec,” replies blonde bombshell guitarist Sharin
Fo...
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08-08-2008
by
ShockHound
LISTEN: Chris Walla "Sing Again " Interview by Dan EpsteinChris Walla is a difficult man to reach these days. The
Death Cab for Cutie guitarist has been so thoroughly immersed in the making on
his band’s long-awaited follow-up to 2005’s Plans, it’s literally taken ShockHound a month to get him on the phone. (Of course, there was that one time where we
were too caught up in a round of Rock Band to notice that he was
returning our call. Thanks for being understanding about that on...
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08-08-2008
by
ShockHound
LISTEN: HorrorPops "Heading For The Disco" Interview by Aidin VaziriThe HorrorPops get to the very essence of rock 'n' roll: scary tattoos, great hair and lots of upturned middle fingers. Oh, and their music isn't
so bad, either. Drawing on old rockabilly and new wave influences,
their records are freaky, fun and downright dangerous. None more so
than the group's latest, Kiss Kiss Kill Kill, which features the irresistibly gonzo "Heading
For The Disco?" Leading the charge is sin...
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08-08-2008
by
ShockHound
Interview by Tom LanhamShe’s only 20 years old, but UK
alt-folkie Kate Nash has already lived the tumultuous existence of a showbiz
veteran, with a chart-topping debut disc, Made Of Bricks, that contains
such whimsical, hum-a-long hits as “Foundations” and “Mouthwash.” Nash learned
piano in grade school, and later picked up guitar, but set her sights on being
an actress, at least until a rejection letter from a posh drama school and a
fall down a flight of stairs caused her to ...
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08-08-2008
by
ShockHound
Interview by Dan Epstein“It used to be that radio was the only place you could find
out about new music,” says As I Lay Dying frontman Tim Lambesis. “Now, with the
Internet, it’s so much easier for kids to find the stuff they actually want to
listen to, instead of what’s being force-fed. And I think that’s really helped
metal grow in the last few years.” There’s no question that it’s helped As I Lay Dying, as
well. Formed by Lambesis and drummer ...
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08-08-2008
by
ShockHound
Interview by Aidin VaziriEven
though they look like they should be working the counter at the local computer
repair shop, the members of Hot Chip released one of 2007's biggest party
anthems with the jittery, slap bass-infused “Over and Over.” The
London electro-pop group, founded by Joe Goddard and the hyperactive singer
Alexis Taylor returns with its third full-length album, Made In The Dark.
The disc is preceded by the far out first single “Ready For The Floor,”
fe...
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08-08-2008
by
ShockHound
Interview by Dan EpsteinThough Wales proudly proclaims itself "The Land of Song," the United Kingdom's
smallest country has never exactly been known as a hotbed of metal
madness. Plenty of fine rock and alternative bands have come out of
Wales over the last two decades, including Super Furry Animals, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, Manic Street Preachers, Stereophonics and Lostprophets. But the words "Welsh" and "shred" have seldom been mentioned in the same sentence — at least, until Bullet for...
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08-08-2008
by
ShockHound
Interview by Aidin VaziriDespite boasting a distinctly eccentric musical background, and making such dubious career moves as decorating the set for their "Cassius" video with dozens of dangling animal hearts, Foals has become one of the most popular pop prospects of the year in British music, thanks to rabid indie-dance singles like "Hummer" and "Mathletics." Fronted
by Yannis Philippakis, he of the extra angular haircut and yelping
vocal tics, the Oxford quintet has already earned major op...
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08-08-2008
by
ShockHound
Interview by Dan Epstein
Few bands in recent memory have polarized the music world as
drastically as Avenged
Sevenfold. The hard-rocking Huntington Beach, CA quintet pissed off a lot
of their original audience when they replaced the metalcore sound of their
first two albums with the arena-ready metal of 2005’s City Of Evil; they
then further raised hackles by giving a series of less-than-circumspect
magazine interviews, wherein they spoke at length of their collective love for
good ...
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08-08-2008
by
ShockHound
Interview by Tom LanhamThere’s no mistaking the cinematic aspects of the sweeping, cascading guitar
textures on Our Love To Admire, the latest record from Interpol. From the
screen-opening anthem “Pioneer To The Falls,” through the jaggedly flickering “Mammoth”
and “The
Heinrich Maneuver,” to the curtain-closing “The Lighthouse,” the album
rolls past with the moodiness of a classic noir film, as singer Paul Banks’
catacomb-echoed intonations provide the perfect voiceover. And if y...
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08-08-2008
by
ShockHound
Interview by Aidin VaziriLeave
it to Austin, Texas to spit out a band that doesn't quite fit in
anywhere else. Inspired in equal measures by the glitchy electronic
strains of Daft Punk and the balls-out rock attack of AC/DC, Ghostland
Observatory has been bucking definition since frontman Aaron Behrens
and producer/multi-instrumentalist Thomas Ross Turner came together in
2004. After a pair of hyped up independent releases, delete.delete.i.eat.meat and Paparazzi Light...
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