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Entries tagged “Kanye West”
MIXTAPE: Easter
By Jim Shearer on 04/10/2009
Filed under: MIXTAPE
Two Indie Ear mixtapes in one week? You must be thinking this is Christmas, right? Close (especially if you're gauging in terms of Christian holidays with religious significance). MORE »
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INDIE EAR MADNESS '09: National Championship
By Jim Shearer on 04/07/2009
Filed under: INDIE EAR MADNESS '09
Three weeks ago, Indie Ear Madness '09 began with 64 of the best indie-minded/respected bands in the land. After some fierce and furious competition, TV On The Radio and The Bouncing Souls were the only two acts left standing. Last night they went head to head, competing not only for the 2009 National Championship, but for indie music bragging rights, which (you'd think) would at least guarantee them a free shot of espresso in any non-chain coffee shop in America. MORE »
INDIE EAR MADNESS '09: Final Four
By Jim Shearer on 04/03/2009
Filed under: INDIE EAR MADNESS '09
TV On The Radio, Franz Ferdinand, The Bouncing Souls, and U2 are the final four musical acts left in this year's Indie Ear Madness tournament. Find out which two bands will battle it out next week for the National Championship: MORE »
INDIE EAR MADNESS '09: Elite-8
By Jim Shearer on 03/27/2009
Filed under: INDIE EAR MADNESS '09
Would Kanye West have the final say against TV On The Radio? Could Karen O lead her squad to the Final Four? Did Franz Ferdinand dethrone rock royalty? Did the clock strike midnight for The Thermals? MORE »
INDIE EAR MADNESS '09: Sweet-16
By Jim Shearer on 03/26/2009
Filed under: INDIE EAR MADNESS '09
The battle for Garden State supremacy, two of Brooklyn's favorites go at it, The Black Keys attempt to take out U2, and the most anticipated tournament pairing ever: Morrissey vs. The Cure: MORE »
INDIE EAR MADNESS '09: 2nd Round (Midwest, East)
By Jim Shearer on 03/20/2009
Filed under: INDIE EAR MADNESS '09
The Boss takes on Mr. Lif, The New Pornographers do battle, and Kanye West goes head-to-head against his Viagra buddy: MORE »
INDIE EAR MADNESS '09: 2nd Round (West, South)
By Jim Shearer on 03/20/2009
Filed under: INDIE EAR MADNESS '09
The big names advance, Dan Auerbach has a one-of-a-kind conflict, and after toppling Coldplay in first round competition, will Thunderheist's Cinderella run continue? MORE »
INDIE EAR MADNESS '09: First Round (Midwest, East)
By Jim Shearer on 03/19/2009
Filed under: INDIE EAR MADNESS '09
A high-seed indie favorite falls, Kanye coasts, two AC's do battle, and Karen O is performing like an MVP for the YYY's: MORE »
INDIE EAR MADNESS '09: First Round (West, South)
By Jim Shearer on 03/19/2009
Filed under: INDIE EAR MADNESS '09
With this year's Indie Ear Madness beginning on the same week as SXSW, how would bands--some performing both major events--hold up? Find out now: MORE »
Indie Ear Madness '09
By Jim Shearer on 03/16/2009
Filed under: INDIE EAR MADNESS '09
It's that time of year again--time to pair up the top-64 indie-minded/respected bands in the land and have them compete for the National Championship in Indie Ear Madness 2009. MORE »
10RW: You Should Watch The Grammys
By Jim Shearer on 02/06/2009
Filed under: 10RW (10 Reasons Why)This Sunday night marks the 51st edition of The Grammy Awards. If the last few years are any indication, the organizers will attempt to woo all demographics by pairing together older musicians with younger ones, and even pair together an unknown with a Grammy nominee. Does this yearly spectacle truly honor the best of the best in music? That's a debate for another day, but I can give you at least 10 Reasons Why you should watch the Grammy's this Sunday: (left: A lot of these will be handed out on Sunday night.) #10. C'mon Now It's winter, it's... MORE »
LISTS: Rotoscope Favorites
By Jim Shearer on 01/26/2009
Filed under: LISTSIf you've listened to the radio at all during the last month you probably noticed that Kanye West is riding high on the latest single from his 808s & Heartbreak album, "Heartless." And, if you've spent any time in front of a computer screen during the last couple of months, there's a good chance you've seen his brightly colored, Hype Williams directed video for the song. (left: Kanye West's rotoscoped alter ego.) "Heartless" uses rotoscope animation, a technique performed by animators in which they trace--frame by frame--over live-action film movement. You've seen it in movies (Waking Life), you've seen... MORE »
LUNCHBOX: 2008's Pop Star of the Year!
By Jim Shearer on 12/23/2008
Filed under: VIDEO BLOGYeah that's right, I pulled some strings and managed to book the biggest star of popular music in 2008 for this episode of Lunchbox. Think of it as an early Christmas gift: The flash 8 plugin was not detected. var so = new SWFObject("/static/bc/ifc_generic_blog.swf", "vocoder", "380", "295", "8", "#ffffff"); so.addParam("wmode", "transparent"); //change player width so.addVariable("pwidth", 380); //change player height so.addVariable("pheight", 285); //distinguish between different videos so.addVariable("s_movieID", "vocoder"); //insert brightcove title id here so.addVariable("bctid", 5343924001); so.write("vocoder"); CORRECTION: Shortly after taping this piece I realized that I have been mispronouncing the word "vocoder" for years (pronouncing it with an "r," vocorder). I... MORE »
Bonnaroo '09 Announced (Kind Of)
By Jim Shearer on 12/04/2008
Filed under: NEWSThe 8th Annual Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival has officially been confirmed for June 11-14, 2009. The 4-day music and camping festival will be held, once again, in Manchester, TN. Even though the line-up will not be announced until "late January/early February" you can take a great leap of faith with the festival promoters and purchase General Admission or VIP tickets at 12PM today, as part of a holiday pre-sale. (left: Christmas is the time to say "I love you" by buying your significant other tickets to Bonnaroo.) Though Bonnaroo has always kept true to its jam-band roots, the... MORE »
LIKE IT? LOVE IT? HATE IT?
By Jim Shearer on 11/20/2008
Filed under: LIKE IT? LOVE IT? HATE IT?Kanye West channeling his inner Pee-Wee Herman for his upcoming 808s and Heartbreak album. If this is the direction he's going, I have a few questions? Who will by Kanye's Dottie? Who will be his arch nemesis (Francis Buxton)? And will he steal Pee-Wee's (aka Kanye's) new favorite toy: his vocorder? (above: Kanye is a loner, a rebel.) MORE »
Kanye's "Heartless"
By Jim Shearer on 11/10/2008
Filed under: VIDEO BLOGKanye West recently released his second single, "Heartless," from his forthcoming album, 808s and Heartbreak. A Hype Williams-directed rototscope video shortly followed. Here it is: West's 808s and Heartbreak is due for release, on November 25. MORE »
LUNCHBOX: And The Winner Is...
By Jim Shearer on 09/16/2008
Filed under: VIDEO BLOGAs the Summer Music Festival season comes to a close this weekend, we honor the best-of-the-best for the Summer of 2008: The flash 8 plugin was not detected. var so = new SWFObject("/static/bc/ifc_generic_blog.swf", "goldenguitar", "380", "295", "8", "#ffffff"); so.addParam("wmode", "transparent"); //change player width so.addVariable("pwidth", 380); //change player height so.addVariable("pheight", 285); //distinguish between different videos so.addVariable("s_movieID", "goldenguitar"); //insert brightcove title id here so.addVariable("bctid", 1797097745); so.write("goldenguitar"); MORE »
IT'S LIKE THAT: Losing My Fashion Sense
By Jim Shearer on 09/12/2008
Filed under: IT'S LIKE THATIf someone heard my name and the phrase "trend setter" in the same sentence, they'd probably laugh--especially my close friends. They'd tell you that I've been wearing the same cut-off Dickies shorts, Converse one-stars, and thrift store T-shirts for the last fifteen years. They'd also tell you that if I was indeed a "trend setter," it has been a long, long time since I started one. Just because I haven't changed my wardrobe in over a decade does not necessarily mean that I am not fashion conscious. Oh believe you me, I am definitely conscious of fashion, but I'm... MORE »
SUMMER FEST UPDATE '08: Lollapalooza Wrap-Up
By James Ziegenfus on 08/06/2008
It is really difficult to accurately recap a destination summer music festival with 120+ acts over 3 days. Something is always going to be missed. Schedules may be released with enough time for any festivalgoer to make careful decisions about where they want to be at any given time, but plans change. A band sounds terrible, so you walk a quarter-mile to another stage where your second choice is playing. You get a text message that something absolutely cannot be missed. Or maybe you just feel like being in the shade instead of the scorching sun with thousands of... MORE »
Kanye Blogs With Fury
By Jim Shearer on 06/26/2008
Filed under: HODGEPODGEAnd we thought Metallica was going to be the problem child at Bonnaroo. This whole story cracked me up. MORE »
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