John Darnielle

Jakob Dylan Cancels Folks Fest Appearance

Listen Up

Fast reviews of recent releases

Sound Bites: Ancestors, AU, the Mountain Goats, Brian Setzer Orchestra and xx

Ancestors​Welcome to another edition of Sound Bites, our economy-sized album reviews, wherein we give you the lowdown in 75 words or less. Today, Nick Hall weighs in on recent releases from Ancestors, AU, the Mountain Goats, Brian Setzer Orchestra and xx after the jump.

Backbeat writers weigh in on the year's best national releases

Ancestors​Welcome to another edition of Sound Bites, our economy-sized album reviews, wherein we give you the lowdown in 75 words or less. Today, Nick Hall weighs in on recent releases from Ancestors, AU, the Mountain Goats, Brian Setzer Orchestra and xx after the jump.

Top ten five blogs by bands

Photo courtesy of Kanyewest.com​ Last week, Kanye christened his new web site with the above photo of his girlfriend, Amber Rose. Then, Thom Yorke announced the name of his latest band on the Radiohead blog. Which got us thinking about the other band blogs we have bookmarked. In our bitchin' ... More >>

Can musicians still impact politics?

​As the labor protests wage on in Wisconsin, several prominent musicians have taken to using their art to express their support. John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats recorded a hundred-year-old folk song "There is Power in a Union," and Steve Earle rereleased a single of his own to benefit The ... More >>