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If you think today was bad, think about 1983! We had no clue, right? At the time, we needed bands like No Trend to point toward the subtext. Their cruelly negging anti-hardcore exploded into Washington DC back in '83, harshly contrasting DC's righteous straight-edge punk scene at the time. Satiric, sarcastic and diametrically opposed to the faddish stratification of youth subculture, No Trend's nihilistic rejection of the punk movement was itself a vital punk-rock expression. This savage mistrust in emergent cultural norms is familiar to... (read more)

The defiance of a fixed notion in Masaki Batoh's world and music is made clear (if the ambiguities of 2019's mortality meditation Nowhere, were unclear) by the title of his new album. Smile, Jesus Loves You shouldn't then, be taken at face value. It might be a politically bitter statement. It might not be political at all. In a time of insane corrupt leaders who clearly believe in nothing except what they can use, it is just a question for anyone who believes and anyone who doesn't.... (read more)

Wake up, wake up - it's the 4th of the month! And the month is March! Can't you just feel that fresh Spring air coming? Don't the sweet creep of impending warmer weather just make you just want to dance? Well, pay attention, BPB hive, because ol' Uncle Bonnie has whipped up some new memories for you - specifically, the opening track of I Made A Place, now transformed into a body-movin', certified New Orleans-style Bounce banger!
 

 With the help... (read more)

It is as we have dared to hope and fear! Box of Chocolates' seminal Fearful Symmetry has returned to our life.

Fearful Symmetry is a story or record of a group of artistically inclined people who haphazardly found themselves living together and who - toward the end of the arrangement - decided to record the experience in the form of songs written whilst at 140 Plymouth Street in Dumbo." Yes, in Brooklyn. Circa 1990. Already, there's more to the story than you would have... (read more)

Hey kids! John Mulaney is set to host Saturday Night Live this weekend! It's his third time doing so, which probably puts him in some select company, but perhaps equally as interesting is the fact that SNLs musical guest this weekend is David Byrne, who, as you recall, makes an appearance on John's new album, John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch! Say, what an excellent time to remind you that while John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch is currently streaming on... (read more)

Earlier this month we told ya Papa M is touring Australia, and now we're pleased to update you with new intel: big Papa is also touring a bit of thee United States, too! Beginning next week, Papa M has a boomerang trip from LA to Louisville and back - fusing current and former home stomping grounds for David Pajo. The dude forms his songs from the deepest, darkest depths, where light is trapped and twisted, refracted and reformed into something piercingly beautiful, all for... (read more)

With a requisite crackle, hum and drone, you're fixed to slide into the dis-rupture in stereo that is guitarist Bill Nace and - well, THIS is a nice surprise - Bill's got his own record out this time! Sweet - in the past 15 years or so, Bill's been a trusty improv partner to so many: Steve Baczkowski, Chris Corsano, Paul Flaherty, Greg Kelly, James Twig Harper, Samara Lubelski and Thurston Moore, plus Body/Head, to name but a... (read more)

The notorious No A.G.E is back! A guitar/drums duo (Randall and drummer/vocalist Dean Spunt) with a penchant for self-recorded samples, No Age are mostly unconcerned with things like space or pause, and Goons Be Gone is gorgeously thick-- a hazy, delirious expanse that's both comforting and disorienting.
 
Listening to Goons Be Gone, it's hard to comprehend how just two people can manage to make so much noise while still sounding so subdued and mysterious-- it's easier to imagine Randall... (read more)

Today, Jackie Lynn shares a new single for “Shugar Water,” a joyous, forward-moving call to arms taken from the band’s recently announced, soon-to-be-released sophomore album Jacqueline, out April 10.
 

The Lynchian video (which features two different people occupying the ‘Jacqueline’ character) was directed by Jacob Forman, and stars Ike Harrell and Norah Wulkopf.  Speaking on the inspirations of the video, director Jacob Forman states: "I can only imagine what the tiniest bit of... (read more)

Just as we had promised, Christmas hath return!  That's right, John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch is finally coming to LP/CD on June 19th.John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch is the soundtrack to the Netflix special of the same name where John has recaptured the magic of that bygone television era when children sang songs about their feelings with celebrity guests on funky outdoor sets!

There are probable hits included like "Grandma's Boyfriend Paul," inspired by the breezy piano pop of... (read more)