Meredith Hitchcock
Meredith Hitchcock
Recent Stories
Blame it on Ron Howard
Jamie Foxx has cooler friends than you. No, they don’t dance. They seem to spend all of their time getting out of cars or holding, but not drinking, champagne.
Avant garde, avant dumb
Remember that avant-garde movie that someone said would make sense “when you were older,” but which still doesn’t? Telepathe’s debut album, “Dance Mother,” is like that. Except that understanding it is beside the point.
Kooky Kooks’ ‘Konk’: The most recent expression of British eccentricity
The Kooks are repackaged candy for the long-forgotten, boy-band-loving heart, with its lingering fondness for disposable songs and a carefully crafted image.
Pete Rock still very much Pete Rock, just a bit tired
Kanye West declared himself the “new version of Pete Rock.” But Pete Rock is not ready to be relegated to forefather status just yet.
Sun sets at last on the Royal Navy of the U.K.
British Sea Power has made a career out of being eccentric. Known for their onstage antics, unusual venues and bad luck with keyboardists — one quit and another stage-dove 12 feet onto the floor — British Sea Power’s wackiness and energy carry them pretty far. They continue to sound earnest despite the tiresome album-to-album musical transformations, but the question “Do You Like Rock Music?,” though stupid and irrelevant, seems genuine.
Stephin Merritt learns art of ‘Distortion’
What follows is the story behind The Magnetic Fields’ “Distortion,” as imagined after hearing it. Lead singer Stephin Merritt is at a noise-rock concert. The lead singer of the performing band adjusts the microphone. As the deafening squeal of feedback explodes from the speakers, Merritt cringes and exclaims, “Brilliant!”
More indie-folk identity angst
No one understands existential angst like Bonnie “Prince” Billy, aka Will Oldham. Who is he? What should he do with himself? In forging his identity, should he incorporate a little Bjork, or R. Kelly? Or both? While Billy may not know the answers, he seems hopeful that he can figure it out through covering other people’s songs. And yodeling.
Concert welcomes outside acts
Fixing a hole in the floor to construct a suitable stage, filling out paperwork for insurance of up to $1,000,000 and trekking across campus in search of speakers — rather than being unreasonable measures, these tasks are almost perfunctory when putting on a concert at Yale.
Assume the Position: Fraternities
Initiation Insanity at Yale
Far from tales of urine-drinking and butt-paddling heard from around the country, the members of Yale’s fraternities paint a picture of a pledge process about as arduous as petting a puppy.
Spirited Rubdown a whimsical treat
On “Random Spirit Lover,” the listener is at once the princess of a far-away balladeer rock kingdom, and Sunset Rubdown her minstrel.