Sometimes Omaha feels like Chapel Hill’s indie rock sister city. We have relatives (Sorry About Dresden’s Matt Oberst), re-transplanted natives (ex-White Octave/Cursive’s Stephen Pedersen, now back in Omaha; the Gladhands), a compilation comprised of members of the two cities (NE vs. NC, The Versus Series, Vol. I on Redemption Records), and now our own musical […]
Chris Parker
Bio: After a fond stint in the Triangle, Chris Parker lives in Cleveland, Ohio, where he writes about music and politics for a variety of newspapers and magazines. He has written about music for INDY Week since 2002.
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Rank readies new Snatches set
If the world were perfect, it wouldn’t be,” Yogi Berra once said, and you might say the same about rock ‘n’ roll. That’s certainly how Michael Rank feels. He just finished the recording, mixing and mastering of the forthcoming new Snatches of Pink album, and he did it as raw as possible. “After 20 years […]
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In bringing it all back home
Since returning to Chapel Hill, Chris Stamey’s lived a double life as an artist and producer. It’s not an unfamiliar couple of roles. In 1973, he hooked up with Peter Holsapple to create Rittenhouse Square and a few years later while in college at UNC started The Sneakers, with drummer Will Rigby and guitarist Mitch […]
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in cool breezes
His soft-spoken vocals and smooth, feather-touch solos were an enormous influence on Mark Knopfler, making it impossible to hear J.J. Cale and not be reminded of Dire Straits. Cale’s songs helped launch Eric Clapton’s solo career, as he graciously rode “After Midnight” and “Cocaine” to far greater acclaim than Cale is ever likely to see. […]
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Pickin’ where he left off
After a night of watching Richard Thompson play guitar, longtime indie-rocker Bob Mould (no six-string slouch himself) once said that he was ready to give up playing. Such is the response often engendered by musicians who witness this underrated legend. In the 35-plus years Thompson has been making music, he’s recorded more than 20 albums, […]
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Camper Van Beethoven is not dead
Even within the ’80s underground that birthed them, Camper Van Beethoven was considered unusual. Surveying everything from ska and punk to polka and world music, the self-described “surrealist aburdist folk” quintet was renowned for its off-beat songs tackling subjects such as caring for skinheads and meeting Jerry Garcia’s progeny. This year, Camper is touring for […]
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Silver Jews
Like Joe Pernice, Sparklehorse’s Mark Linkous and Kurt Wagner of Lambchop, Silver Jews’ David Berman melds elements of blues, country and pop with wry, downbeat lyricism to construct poignant, poetic songs. The one-time Malkmus crony retains his lo-fi roots in the often spare, straightforward arrangements, but in execution, their rich, pristine beauty is anything but. […]
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Life in a Northern Town
Unfolding with the languid grace and hazy, blurred colors of a remembered summer romance, Death Cab for Cutie traipse through a minefield of memories, negotiating emotional egress in such a way to avoid blowing their hearts to bits. From a son’s squelched anger, expressed through an evasive epitaph for an alcoholic, deadbeat father (“Styrofoam Plates”), […]
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Another Damned Show
Some things are eternal, like teenage rebellion, youthful exuberance, and bad hair days. Judging from the evidence, The Damned belong on the list as well, having enjoyed all three for more than a quarter of a century. As old-school as the Sex Pistols or The Ramones, their song “New Rose,” was the first punk single […]
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Superchunk
Anyone waiting for a reprise of On The Mouth was probably disappointed albums ago, so it should come as no surprise to current Superchunk fans that the new album, Here’s To Shutting Up, is another subdued affair compared to the anxious, feedback frenzy of the first four albums. What’s replaced the unbridled energy is greater […]