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NICK SYLVESTER

Latest Articles

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The down side

Finding the heart of the Arcade Fire
This is the same kind of self-alienation that dominated Funeral , except now there’s no tunnel, no back seat, no time for wishful thinking. Arcade Fire, "Black Mirror" (mp3)
By NICK SYLVESTER  |  March 06, 2007

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Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Some Loud Thunder | Self-released
Too bad this Brooklyn-Philly-Boston indie act got tapped as early as they did for the Internet big leagues.
By NICK SYLVESTER  |  February 20, 2007

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Deerhunter

Cryptograms | Kranky
From their MySpace quote (“the sadness of laughter”) to this album’s glorious failure to wed atrophied guitar drones with screw-it-all garage-rock propulsion, the Atlanta psych-rock act Deerhunter seem obsessed with paradox.
By NICK SYLVESTER  |  January 30, 2007

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Pointed pop

The bemused machinations of the Knife
Beyond the technophobia, and the pomo paralysis, and the communications-breakdown undertones, the Knife's  Silent Shout ’s other devastating reminder is that all recorded music is a lie. Blade runners: Our interviewer goes around, over, through, and under the Knife.
By NICK SYLVESTER  |  November 14, 2006

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Metal mixes

Let's dance
Without naming names, I have to say I’m not crazy for all this Franco-filter-metal dance music that’s been making so many indie-dance party playlists lately — lots of overdriven guitars set incongruously to boilerplate four-to-the-floor beats.
By NICK SYLVESTER  |  August 29, 2006

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House party

Matthew Herbert, August 23 at Irving Plaza
U’d rere Skye is the Morcheeba chick, who could have been a pretty hip/cool high school chorus instructor ($25/hour) if she hadn't right-place, right-timed herself as trip-hop's last girl scout.
By NICK SYLVESTER  |  August 29, 2006

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Pop goes a Neptune

Pharrell Williams raps his way into a corner
Pharrell is a fascinating rapper when he lets himself go — so why does In My Mind blow so hard? Listen to the best of the Neptunes throughout the years
By NICK SYLVESTER  |  August 24, 2006

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Dancing fools

Dance tracks for the dance-music haters
Here are a few dance tracks that you otherwise normal, dance-music-hating people should give a chance — in the ear, the club, the car, wherever, as long as it’s air-conditioned.
By NICK SYLVESTER  |  August 01, 2006

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MySpace celebrity

Lily Allen’s Web-tastic career
No charm, little grace, what’s left of Alright, Still by the end are rich young Allen’s swipes at her poor, old, and obvious targets, horrific classism, the worst kind of celebrity self-obsession. Lily Allen, "Smile"  (mp3)
By NICK SYLVESTER  |  July 31, 2006

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Notoriously stingy labels

Get them while you can
A bunch of labels still refuse the unedited, half-decently coded MP3 as a mechanism for publicity.
By NICK SYLVESTER  |  July 25, 2006

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The Daytrotter sessions

A trip to Rock Island, IL
Since it’s just not good enough anymore to start a blog and offer stolen MP3s, a new site called  Daytrotter  is inviting indie bands to its ragtag studioand recording tracks for them, then giving away four “Daytrotter Session” songs for download.
By NICK SYLVESTER  |  July 11, 2006

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Cam'Ron

Killa Season | Atlantic
When misogyny runs this in-your-face, it’s hard to make a case for metaphors.
By NICK SYLVESTER  |  June 20, 2006

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Hype writers

Gnarls Barkley punch all the right keys
St. Elsewhere has songs about Inspector Gadget, Transformers, necrophilia, and various kinds of monsters. Fun fun fun. Fantastic Voyagers: your soundtrack to summer . By Nick Sylvester
By NICK SYLVESTER  |  June 08, 2006

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Fantastic voyagers

Your soundtrack to summer
What will be this year's songs of summer? Here are the top contenders. LISTEN: Nelly Furtado, "Maneater" | Keane, "Is It Any Wonder?"
By NICK SYLVESTER  |  June 07, 2006

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Sonic Youth

Rather Ripped | Geffen
We’re allowed to like albums about getting old but never being old, so I don’t know why this one works.
By NICK SYLVESTER  |  June 06, 2006

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The Walkmen

A Hundred Miles Off | Record Collection
Granted the best song here is a big dig on the city of Boston, and Hamilton Leithauser’s reedy voice has gone from Dylanesque to Dylan forgery, and there’s no one massive track to rally behind.
By NICK SYLVESTER  |  June 16, 2006

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Life got you down?

Misery loves company
A few days ago, my computer went to shit on me, something I never thought would happen.
By NICK SYLVESTER  |  May 15, 2006

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Sunset Rubdown

Shut Up I Am Dreaming | Absolutely Kosher
Shut Up is unabashed and far-reaching, a thousand parts sweated down to four players and one harrowing Robert Smith karaoke voice, occasionally too synth-proggy but always high stakes.
By NICK SYLVESTER  |  May 08, 2006

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T.I.

King | Grand Hustle/Atlantic  
Atlanta rapper T.I. pushed 500,000 King units the first week, but I don’t think his pro forma rags-or-riches movie debut ATL or America’s boner for all things Southern deserve the credit.
By NICK SYLVESTER  |  April 20, 2006

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Slow dives

Shoegaze standouts
Surely the Interpol dick-riding will end soon, yes?
By NICK SYLVESTER  |  April 24, 2006
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