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April 1, 2015 Liam Mathews

“Listen In” is a weekly feature in which we ask musicians to curate a mixtape-length YouTube playlist of songs they’re currently digging. Click the big play button above to hear the whole playlist or scroll down to see and hear individual tracks. Friend Roulette is an enigmatic weed-fueled chamber pop outfit from Brooklyn. They have […]

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December 15, 2014 Prachi Gupta

It’s been years in the making, but Modest Mouse has finally confirmed its new album, Strangers to Ourselves, it’s first since 2007. Fans have likely heard some of the indie rock band’s new music at concerts, but the group just dropped the lead single, “Lampshades on Fire,” on The Current. Give it a listen below: […]

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June 3, 2014 Andy Cush

“Listen In“ is a weekly feature in which we ask musicians to curate a mixtape-length YouTube playlist of songs they’re currently digging. Sunbathing Animal, Parquet Courts’ new album, refines the Brooklyn band’s post-punk squall, slowing down and stretching out without sacrificing the energy that made their last two records so compelling. The approach works: “Instant Disassembly,” a […]

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May 5, 2014 Andy Cush

The 1990s were a glorious time: good economy, lots of “x-treme” things, rock songs that got played on the radio. There was also, apparently, a lot of “la-la-la-hey-hey-hey-na-na-na-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh” going on those rock songs. Take a quick aural tour through the era in the “90s Alt-Rock Vocal Hook Supercut” above, which starts with the immortal “Cannonball” […]

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April 8, 2014 Andy Cush

“Listen In“ is a weekly feature in which we ask musicians to curate a mixtape-length YouTube playlist of songs they’re currently digging. This week’s playlist comes from the Detroit punk band Protomartyr, whose excellent sophomore album Under Color of Official Right was released today via Hardly Art. Though the new record mellows out the raw, drunken […]

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January 2, 2014 Andy Cush

Each week in Sample Wars, we’ll pit two songs which sample the same source material head-to-head against each other, to determine which one rocked the sample better. Vampire Weekend’s “Step,” one of the best songs of 2013, just got a pretty great rap remix featuring Danny Brown, Heems, and Despot. On the heels of that track, […]

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October 8, 2013 Andy Cush

I’ll be upfront here. Posting this video is mostly an excuse to get you to listen to “You Got Me Wonderin’ Now,” Parquet Courts’ 100% rad new single. It comes from Tally All the Things That You Broke, their forthcoming EP, which you can stream here, and it is smart and scrappy and catchy and the best […]

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August 6, 2013 Andy Cush

“Listen In” is a weekly feature in which we ask musicians to curate a mixtape-length YouTube playlist of songs they’re currently digging. The Massachusetts-bred indie rock quartet Speedy Ortiz contributed this week’s playlist, a genre-hopping trip that touches on ’90s rap, ’70s outsider folk, and mellow indie, closing with one of the greatest seven minutes […]

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June 11, 2013 Andy Cush

“Listen In” is a weekly feature in which we ask musicians to curate a mixtape-length YouTube playlist of songs they’re currently digging. Big Deal’s music takes the familiar sounds of power pop and acoustic balladry and lovingly twists them in new ways. Similarly, much of the band’s “Listen In” playlist is comprised of a who’s […]

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May 7, 2013 Andy Cush

“Listen In” is a weekly feature in which we ask musicians to curate a mixtape-length YouTube playlist of songs they’re currently digging. This week’s playlist comes from our friends in the Boston garage trio Banditas, whose 2012 release Save the Rats I’d recommend to any fans of boozey, bluesy rock and roll. The mix, curated by bandleader […]

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