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UncensoredInterview.com blog archive

Eat to the Beat: Music in the Kitchen (For Better or Worse)

Posted on January 29th, 2010 by Kathleen Willcox | Follow on Twitter

Despite their best efforts, musicians can’t live without food, and it seems most chefs can’t live without music. So much so that some of the country’s top toques put music above goddess and family (Wylie Dufresne!) as their sources of inspiration. This has resulted in the some of the most sublime edible nectar available to mortals, as well as some…interesting items you may or may not want to actually put in your mouth. And some of which inspires me to want to simultaneously stick a fork in the food in front of me and another in my eardrums. For instance:

The Sweet Sound of Garlic Kicking My Ass…

and rendering me totally unfit for social interaction for two days. If aromatics are going to slap me around, the abuse is gonna come courtesy of the cornily (but appropriately) appellative Molto Mario. The maestro of all things aromatic, porcine and sauced, Mario Batali can’t cook sans music. His top picks are as unpredictable and awesomely odd as his culinary creations, from Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five” to Tom Waits’ Swordfishtrombones.

Run Toward the Wafels, Away From the Music

OK, everyone hearts Wafels and Dinges and their sweet, crisp outer layers of butter goodness bursting with the molten-hot mashed potato, gooey wafel innards that want to make love to my tongue. Don’t get me started on the cornucopia of delectable dinges I can mount on top of the most delicious wad of carbs in America, but really people? Fifties music? Blaring from the truck at all hours of the day? This is what inspires you?

Freakishly Fugly Lady Gaga Cookies

The queen of quirk would most likely not approve of these portraits in confection (by an amateur baker) that resemble fat Cabbage Patch Dolls with bad hair and a ‘tude. Just. Sayin’.

Earl Greyhound Have a Suspicious Package, Tour with Coheed & Cambria

Posted on January 28th, 2010 by Emily Youssef

Earl Greyhound’s sophomore album Suspicious Package is slated for release April 13 via Hawk Race Records. The Brooklyn trio recorded the tracks with producer Dave Schiffman (Mars Volta, Red Hot Chili Peppers, System of a Down), and the down-and-dirty rock ‘n’ roll band will also hit the road as opener for Coheed & Cambria in March.

Rolling Stone called their distorted rock “fuzzed-out stoner-metal,” while The New Yorker predicted they’d be the next big thing. They haven’t blown up yet, but maybe that’s what Suspicious Package is all about. (We can’t resist a pun). Below, check out why escaping the concrete jungle of New York City is a good idea when recording.

Earl Greyhound: Wanna Get Away?.

Eat to the Beat: Crazy Backstage Demands

Posted on January 27th, 2010 by Kathleen Willcox | Follow on Twitter

Thank Goddess for rock stars–-they seem to have been manufactured to entertain, delight, thrill and titillate. All too often, this primarily involves their off-stage hijinks,  including their nonsensical requests backstage, much of which involves epic-long entreaties that would make Imelda Marcos blush.

Revealing backstage requests used to be a gruesome form of dumpster diving no respectable journalist would stoop to. Luckily, thesmokinggun.com does the dirty work for us. Below, highlights (and lots of misspellings) from some of the most princess-y backstage food demands.

Shinedown:

“Lamb and duck are welcome, but nothing beats a good ole fried chicken; fresh, not frozen; dinner must be served on real plates, after all, it’s not a picnic; 2 bottles of grape-flavored Pedialite [sic] (guaranteed to cure a hangover, or if we find a sick baby); 1 box of Grape Nuts (yeah, we know its hippy food) [sic]; 2 jars of peanut butter, one low fat organic plan and one crunchy (even days only); 2 cans of original Pringles (once you pop you can’t stop, really. You can’t, seriously).”

Taylor Swift:

“1 Grande ICED Caramel Latte w/ 2 Sweet’N Lows; 1 Grande ICED Americano w/ 2 Sweet’N Lows with soy milk; 1 bottle Welch’s Grape Juice; 1 16 oz. lowfat cottage cheese; 1 stick butter; 1 bag shredded lettuce; 1 pint Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream; 1 small jar dill pickles.”

Foo Fighters:

“Make-your-own-salad-bar: fresh, organic vegetables and an array of all colors and flavors of salad dressing; pasta/Italian food dishes (and by pasta we do not mean spaghetti soup, as your town already has a homeless shelter. We live out of suitcases for goodness sake); Mexican!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!; I cannot tell you how many times in catering all over the world, I have seen island after tiny island of chicken boobs floating in a mercury likes sauce that gets pawned off as a thirteen dollar (US) entrée. This is not a diss to lunch rooms and the genus of the tator tot or the surly lunch lady per se. Its [sic] just a thought.”

Lady Gaga:

“4-pack of Redbull [sic] Light (on ice); 12 bottles of still water (room temp); small plate of cheese (non-smelly, non-sweaty) ON ICE and whole wheat/healthy crackers; 1 whole roasted chicken (HOT); 1 small jar jelly; packages of Starfish tuna.”

Uncensored Discussions: Pavement, Plus Greatest Hits Track List

Posted on January 26th, 2010 by Emily Youssef

In honor of their temporary reunion, Pavement have released the track list for their upcoming greatest hits album, Quarantine the Past, out March 23.  Before their live dates later this year, catch up on your Pavement trivia with another installment of Uncensored Discussions, our regular podcast series.

Alex P. Sherman (Interview, Billboard) and Russell Sanzgiri (music video director/producer) discuss Pavement’s history with host Courtney Smith in the second of this two part series. You can also download part one.

 

Download Podcast | Subscribe to podcast feed


Girls, Girls, Girls

Posted on January 26th, 2010 by Emily Youssef

Bye, bye beard-rock. The indie scene isn’t the boys club it used to be, thanks to an influx of new female talent spanning from over-the-top pop divas to whimsical crooners. Or, as Telepathe so succinctly suggested when they visited our studio last year, the era of “cavemen making noise music” is a thing of the distant past.

Indeed, Telepathe were on to something, or rather, they were part of something. In 2009 alone, we saw releases from Florence and the Machine, Neko Case, Fever Ray, Bat for Lashes, Micachu & The Shapes, Dirty Projectors, Sleigh Bells, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, The xx, Elizabeth & The Catapult, Screaming Females, Kaki King, Dum Dum Girls, Ke$ha. Women play equal–if not lead–roles in some of the most popular bands.

And who can escape Lady GaGa, Beyonce and Susan Boyle? Pitchfork said of Ms. GaGa “all of a sudden, for a brief time at least, she’s the only real pop star around.” Pixie Lott, Lily Allen and La Roux all continue to make waves across the pond, and damn if Sade herself isn’t back with a brand new full-length out this year.

No matter your taste in divas, women are topping the charts, and here’s to hoping they inspire a new breed to do the same.

Telepathe get the caveman blues.

Telepathe: Caveman Blues.

Let’s step it up, ladies. The name she’s trying to think of could be yours or mine.

Juliana Hatfield: Rock Goddess Deficiency.

“Diva” ain’t a bad word.

Róisín Murphy: Proud to be a Diva.

Pixtape: Best Free Downloads

Posted on January 25th, 2010 by Emily Youssef

Want free music? We’ve rounded up the best downloads from across the blogosphere so you can download all in one place, guilt free.

1. I’m with Coco Mix
For those of us who think Conan O’Brien got the shaft, Ian Anderson of One for the Team put together this satisfying mix featuring “Say it Ain’t So,” “Lip Service,” “Backstabber” and more. Awesome.
Download mix via Minneapolis Fucking Rocks

2. The Knife “Colouring of Pigeons”
Just as creepy and cool as their other stuff.
Download track via Stereogum

3. Essex Channel “Skinny Dippin’”
This Chicago band just said “screw it” and are making all of their albums available for free download in 2010. Plus they want to go skinny dipping. Right now.
Download track via Windy City Rock

4. Freeway & Jake One “Know What I Mean”
Producer Jake One and rapper Freeway have both had success in the mainstream, but their home on the indie label Rhymesayers makes perfect sense.
Download track via Rhymesayers

5. High Places “On Giving Up”
“Tonight is going to be the night,” the hook repeats. It’s one of those tracks that’s probably supposed to be sort of a downer, but you could actually use it to hype yourself up.
Download track via MBV Music

6. Radiohead “Reckoner” (Nosaj Thing remix)
Nosaj Thing didn’t pick the easiest band in the world to remix, but this is pretty true to the original while introducing some personal touches.
Download track via Stereogum

7. Bok Bok’s Jan 2010 Mix
The London DJ compiled this mix featuring Egyptrixx, Mosco, Terror Danjah, Kingdom and more. It’s heavy on his own crew, Night Slugs, and you know you’d do the same thing if you were making a mixtape for the world.
Download mix via XLR8R

9. Flight “Feels So Good”
Scratchy, catchy lo-fi and good from the first riff.
Download track via The Fader

10. Music for Our Future Mix
Sure, it’s a shill for a SyFy TV show, but the mix–curated by Pitchfork XLR8R and Create Digital Music–stands on its own. Features King Midas Sound, Tyondai Braxton (of Battles), The Field, Atlas Sound and more.
Download mix via XLR8R

Artist to Watch: Semi Precious Weapons

Posted on January 25th, 2010 by Emily Youssef

Who’s broke and tours with Lady GaGa? Semi-Precious Weapons. “I can’t pay my rent but I’m fucking gorgeous” sings lead singer Justin Tranter. But with a new album out this spring and tour dates with the perpetually pants-less Lady GaGa (as part of her worldwide Monster Ball Tour), the glam-rock band may soon be able to afford things far more fabulous than rent.

Uncensored Interview sat down with the spotlight-grabbing frontman back in 2008, and it’s no surprise the band has come so far in less than two years. Catchy guitar riffs combined with his flashy onstage antics have garnered comparisons to AC/DC, Queen and David Bowie. Rolling Stone suggested “Tranter is like Adam Ant, T.Rex’s Marc Bolan and Ziggy Stardust wrapped into one, singing lead on AC/DC’s Back In Black.”

Formed in New York City in 2004, the band released a new EP January 19 that includes three songs from their upcoming full-length, You Love You. The tracks were produced by Joseph Puig (Green Day, Beck) and executive produced by tourmate Lady GaGa. (We bet there were some fashion tips exchanged in those studio sessions, too).

And if you’re wondering where Tranter gets all that sass, he borrows it from talented rock stars who have proven themselves worthy of admiration, in addition to tabloid trash who haven’t done much of anything.

Semi Precious Weapons: Talent Free Inspiration .
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