Ian Mackaye

“The Believer” Music Issue: Can We Please Ask Ian MacKaye Some New Questions Already?

Michaelangelo Matos | July 14, 2008 1:00 am
Michaelangelo Matos | July 14, 2008 1:00 am

mackaye.jpgI’ve read two Q&A’s in The Believer‘s 2008 Music Issue (there are three). One was illuminating, one less so. One of the issue’s two Andy Beta pieces is a ripping Q&A with Sun City Girl/Sublime Frequencies co-founder Alan Bishop (there’s more on Beta’s blog as well). While I’m not fond of the “schema” format in which Beta jokingly lays out his unsuccessful attempts to find Molam music in Laos, the Bishop interview crackles: lots of clearheaded talk about the motivations behind Sublime Frequencies: Bishop is punk as fuck, right, whatever, but he’s also someone who thinks through ethical questions even if you disagree with his answers. If only the other Q&A I read had the same kind of thrust.

More »


ZZ Top Is Rick Rubin’s Latest High-Profile Comeback Production

anthonyjmiccio | July 2, 2008 4:00 am
anthonyjmiccio | July 2, 2008 4:00 am

AP080521031973.jpgZZ Top! Of course! The trio will celebrate its 40th anniversary by herding into the studio with Rick Rubin later this year, after they wrap up a co-headlining tour with Brooks & Dunn. The band is aiming a sound more “La Grange” than “Sleeping Bag” (aw, can’t they do both?), and Rick Rubin does seem the painfully obvious choice for a high-profile authenticity move. The band has also signed to Rubin’s American Recordings, which heightens the prospect that its forthcoming album will get his full attention, rather than being one of eight projects he watches through a large telescope from inside his ashram. In recent years Rubin has worked with the Dixie Chicks, Linkin Park, Metallica, Weezer, U2, Kanye, Green Day, the dude from Semisonic… is there any respected figure in music that Rubin has yet to work with? I was able to come up with five who would be definite collaboration coups for both sides.

More »


Three Indie Rock Nightmares Guaranteed To Break Your Glasses

anthonyjmiccio | May 1, 2008 12:30 pm
anthonyjmiccio | May 1, 2008 12:30 pm

tales%20from%20the%20crypt.jpgNME news editor Paul Stokes shares three “indie rock nightmares” on the magazine’s blog, but they’re along the lines of “I live with Julian Casablancas” and “this guy from the Klaxons is looking at me!” The world of indie rock has infinitely more disturbing horrors, and while I’ve never actually had the three dreams I describe below, maybe you will once you’ve read them. Prepare to Touch And Go…to hell! Eee-heheheheheheheeee!

More »



Ian MacKaye: Not Dead

noah | October 3, 2007 12:16 pm
noah | October 3, 2007 12:16 pm

In case you were wondering, Ian MacKaye is still alive and well, despite spurious Internet rumors that sparked a flurry of e-mails, Wikipedia updates, and Google searches earlier this evening. More »


Ian MacKaye Lends His Ears To Kent State Investigation

Brian Raftery | May 7, 2007 10:30 am
Brian Raftery | May 7, 2007 10:30 am

This is going to take a while to set up, but trust us, it’s worth the trip: Last week, Alan Canfora–one of the survivors of the 1970 Kent State University shootings–released a newly enhanced audio snippet featuring 13 seconds of National Guard gunfire. More »


Page 1 of 1