The ConorTV Playlist Vol. 5 Shoegaze is a genre widely known by aging hipsters and audiophiles. It’s mostly foreign to the masses. Well the masses are missing out. There are two playlists I have crafted: one on Shoegaze and one on Nu Gaze – new bands inspired by the initial shoegazers. The term “Shoegaze”…
And Why Death Cab’s Benjamin Gibbard Is Wrong “The meteor’s hit. The dinosaurs have all died. And it’s time for whoever’s next to take over. And I think it’s a good time for new ideas.” – Pete Wentz, Fall Out Boy That was 2007. At the time, Radiohead released the pay-what-you-will In Rainbows.…
Matt And Kim’s 4th album “Lightning” is one of this season’s best albums. The duo’s brand-spankin-new video for “Let’s Go” premiered today exclusively on Funny Or Die. And it’s cheese-tastic. The clever concept: Matt and Kim invade a K-Mart-style photo studio and rock some goofy poses while wearing ticky-tacky clothing. Someone dug deep…
The ConorTV Playlist Vol. 4 Since 1994, John Darnielle has recorded a total of 14 full-length albums under the moniker The Mountain Goats. An indie-rock legend, Darnielle has won the hearts of hipsters and critics and performed on a main stage at Lollapalooza. Today, to celebrate the release of his 14th album Transcendental…
London Rockers Slay Chicago Crowd London indie rockers Bloc Party unleashed their now-classic debut “Silent Alarm” seven years ago. Bloc Party were supposed to be the next Radiohead. And while they never became megastars, the band has released four solidly consistent albums that rock. At the Riviera in Chicago Friday night, Bloc Party proved they…
A Mind-Blowing Lineup of Punk and Indie in Chicago’s Humboldt Park Fat Mike of NOFX They say punk is dead. Stale. Watered Down. Redundant. Old hat. Chicago’s Riot Fest proved the naysayers wrong. Ogle these Riot Fest snapshots and the brief commentary underneath each pic. F*** yeah! Fishbone The one band of the weekend…
The ConorTV Playlist Vol. 3 There was Pitchfork. There was Lollapalooza. Now, Chicago strikes again. Yet another unique festival. Riot Fest leans punk with bands like NOFX, The Descendents and Rise Against among the highlights. Legendary acts like Iggy & The Stooges, Elvis Costello and The Jesus And Mary Chain also perform, along with indie rock…
Lyrics that Foreshadow 9/11 Chicago alt-rockers Wilco composed the poetic and triumphant “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” in 2000. The album had been originally slated to be released on 9/11/01. The songs below were written before then. Tall buildings shake voices escape singing sad sad songs I would like to salute the…
The ConorTV Playlist Vol. 2 In the late ‘90s, bands like Milwaukee’s The Promise Ring, Kansas City’s The Get Up Kids and D.C.’s Dismemberment Plan churned out albums filled with confessional lyrics that resonated with the college radio crowd. I was a DJ at KURE at Iowa State University from 1997 – 2001, the golden…
London-based indie rockers Bloc Party have accumulated quite the arsenal of cool and captivating music videos. From the cinematic to the colorful to the animated to the optically poetic, each one has a unique treatment. Bloc Party released their not-so-cleverly titled fourth album “Four” a couple weeks ago. The first single and video “Octopus” is a…
