Nic Harcourt, who may be the most influential radio DJ in America not named Ryan Seacrest, will step down from his post as music director and morning show host at Santa Monica’s KCRW on Nov. 30, so he can spend more time with his family and on other projects like his music-supervision gig for the CW’s remake of 90210.
Supermarket shelves in other parts of the world (and at certain specialty shops in the US) contain a food product called Marmite, which is basically a bread spread made out of yeast extract. I personally tried it when I was 16, after an Australian pen pal sent me a few packets, and my Cool Ranch and Domino’s-trained palate found it absolutely repellent; I haven’t tried it since, because the thought of doing so makes me shiver. But apparently it’s pretty divisive in the UK, to the point that the product name is actually being used by some music-biz insiders to describe certain artists who have a love-’em-or-hate-’em appeal. The musical omnivores at Popjustice explain: “the phrase describes the sort of band or artist which divides opinion as strongly as the disgusting/delicious yeasty food product Marmite. It is not a phrase used to describe how good or bad something is–there’s no value judgment involved.” Popjustice says that Alphabeat, the Scissor Sisters, and Bob Dylan are all “Marmite artists”–although a shitty band being pushed by a publicist to no avail is not, so don’t try it next time, publicists. Confused yet? Well, in keeping with our English-class form, the term is used in context after the jump!
We sent Idolator videographer Alex Goldberg to the steaming hot Coney Island boardwalk for Siren Fest on Saturday, and while he was there he chatted up a few of the artists present, including Nick Diamonds from Islands. More »
Todd Martens of the Los Angeles Times is taking a midseason look at the contenders for the Grammy Awards’ fourth or fifth most prestigious award: Best New Artist, which has been given in the past to such luminaries as Paula Cole, Arrested Development, and A Taste Of Honey. Looking at all the exciting music produced by those who qualify for the award, it’s really anyone’s guess who will take home the prize next February. No wait, the winner’s definitely going to be Duffy, isn’t it?
Vampire Weekend mania is not over yet, people! The band continues to stoke the flame with a video for “Oxford Comma,” directed by Richard Ayoade of The Mighty Boosh. More »
Lurking within today’s New York Times‘ op-ed section is David Brooks’ attempt to get in early on calling the rise of the “geek” in society, no doubt because he’s looking for another genre of well-off people to sucker into buying a book that shows “who they really are” in the grand sociological scheme of things. (Oh, for the days when people read and wrote in an effort to experience cultures that may have been at least one degree removed from their own.) Brooks’ column about the “nerd ascendancy” name-drops Tina Fey and Jason Kottke, notes that the new geek uniform eschews pocket protectors for “text-laden T-shirts,” calls Barack Obama “the Prince Caspian of the iPhone hordes,” and, of course, runs down the sort of cultural product that people who experiment with fonts for fun consume in their spare time:
NME 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!
If Gilmore Girls were still on the air, it’s highly likely that there would be at least one Vampire Weekend name-check by this point in the season. Here are four possible–and highly plausible!–scenarios for that reference. More »
This weekend, Vampire Weekend cemented their superstar status, joining the ranks of such timeless acts as 3-D, the Tragically Hip, the Bus Boys, Timbuk3, and the Hothouse Flowers as musical guests on Saturday Night Live! There’s been a lot of talk about whether these guys are really Columbia douchebags or just playing up an image of Columbia douchebags and while there’ve been some salient points about the precarious position of class and race, we… wait a minute, what the fuck is that guy wearing? Really? A scarf the size of a tent? Indoors? He looks like Stuart Little after he curls up for a nap inside a shirt sleeve.
Amy Adams (whose IMDB page looks distressingly like my “favorite TV shows” list on Facebook) is hosting SNL tomorrow, and the musical guest is everyone’s favorite cultural imperialists, Vampire Weekend. More »
This weekend, Vampire Weekend cemented their superstar status, joining the ranks of such timeless acts as 3-D, the Tragically Hip, the Bus Boys, Timbuk3, and the Hothouse Flowers as musical guests on Saturday Night Live! There’s been a lot of talk about whether these guys are really Columbia douchebags or just playing up an image of Columbia douchebags and while there’ve been some salient points about the precarious position of class and race, we… wait a minute, what the fuck is that guy wearing? Really? A scarf the size of a tent? Indoors? He looks like Stuart Little after he curls up for a nap inside a shirt sleeve.