Jeremy Messersmith on "song sharking" and writing the worst song ever
Jeremy Messersmith
Photo by Nate Ryan/MPR
Songwriting ain't what it used to be.
Need some fresh new chords? Try Microsoft Songsmith. Having trouble finding that perfect simile? Give MasterWriter a go. Want to know if your new song is a hit? The algorithms at uplaya.com can help. More and more, it seems that the craft of writing songs is being aided (or subverted) by digital tools.
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MaLLy's 'The Last Great...' out today, release show this Friday
Buzz behind new record is in full force
'"The Last Great..." hits shelves on May 15
The release show is Friday, May 18 at the 7th St. Entry
While he’s just now getting some well-deserved accolades, MaLLy is actually no stranger to the Twin Cities. Since 2007, the young MC has been steadily releasing new music, often with the harmonious help of producer the Sundance Kid. One look at MaLLy’s Bandcamp alone illustrates the breadth of his output; 14 releases currently grace the front page with one more out today.
Read full post ›New Music
Local Radar: Part Mammal, Deimos Phobos and Wolf Mountain
Local bands that deserve must-hear status this week
Dial-Up's Elliott Snyder releases new record
His once-solo project now has a live band to bring some gorgeous ideas to fruition.
Local Radar highlights bands that the local team at The Current is spinning heavily at their desks. You'll be able to preview a track from each as well as hear them on The Local Show and Local Current.
Read full post ›Review
Ronnie Spector and the 5.6.7.8's cap off inaugural Girls Got Rhythm Fest
Ronnie Spector
The pop icon led an all-girl lineup at the Amsterdam. Ben Clark
There has been a lot of discussion about gender politics in the Twin Cities art scene this spring. I’m happy to say that even though I'm one of a small number of female music writers working in the area, sexism isn't something that I encounter very often while doing this job. As I headed out on Saturday night, first to see St. Vincent at First Avenue and then to Ronnie Spector and the 5.6.7.8’s at the inaugural Girls Got Rhythm Fest in downtown St. Paul, I couldn't help but wonder: Are we still in need of events like Girls Got Rhythm? Or is there still more work to be done?
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Loring Park Music & Movies lineup unveiled by the Walker Art Center
Night Moves performing at SXSW
The Minneapolis quartet will perform in Loring Park as part of Music & Movies. Ben Clark
The Walker Art Center is once again hosting three nights of Music & Movies in Loring Park and wrapping up the series with a unique event on its own grounds, this time around with Brute Heart composing and performing an original score during a screening of the silent film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Other bands on the bill this year include an additional pair of local acts -- recent Domino Records signees Night Moves and folk-rock band Rogue Valley -- plus Zimbabwean Afropop artist Oliver "Tuku" Mtukudzi.
Read full post ›Friday Five
Friday Five: Prof gets serious, Howler gets bloody, and The Alrights break up
Local music notes from the week of May 7-11
Mike Dreams
The uplifting MC has a new single out now.
This week it's all blood splatters, misery, introspection, and band break-ups. Luckily Mike Dreams is here to pick us up at the end of the Friday Five rundown, because it's a doozy. Hold on tight!
Read full post ›Slideshow
Duluth Homegrown Music Festival 2012
I recently traveled to Duluth for the second half of the city's eight-day-long Homegrown Music Festival, which showcases talent exclusively from the Twin Ports area.
View slideshow ›Interview
Soul Asylum's Dave Pirner talks about new album Delayed Reaction 2
Album comes out July 17, with a show at First Avenue on July 20
Dave Pirner
The Soul Asylum frontman stopped by the Current for a chat. Andrea Swensson
It's been six years since Soul Asylum's last record, The Silver Lining, hit the shelves, and the band has stayed pretty quiet in the time since that release, only playing the occasional benefit show. But though they have stayed out of the limelight, the band never stopped pushing forward; after touring behind The Silver Lining, frontman Dave Pirner got to work crafting songs for their next record, and the past four years have been spent recording different parts in L.A., Minneapolis, and his homebase, New Orleans.
Read full post ›New Music
Local Radar: Nallo, Flavor Crystals and North House
Local bands that deserve must-hear status this week
High-schoolers reign
St. Louis Park Senior High student Alex Tronson released his new EP last week.
Local Radar highlights bands that the local team at The Current is spinning heavily at their desks. You'll be able to preview a track from each as well as hear them on The Local Show and Local Current.
Read full post ›New Music
Soul Asylum Returns
Dave Pirner stops by The Current Wednesday to tease new record
The original Soul Asylum line-up Photo by Mark Seliger
It’s been quite a while since veteran Minnesota rockers Soul Asylum put out The Silver Lining in 2006. But the last week of March heralded a big announcement from the band: the forthcoming release of their new record Delayed Reaction on July 17th.
Frontman Dave Pirner will be stopping by The Current studios on Wednesday, May 9th at 5 p.m. to chat with Mary Lucia and debut a brand new song from the record.
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About the blogger
Minnesota music is my life. For the past seven years, I have worked as a music writer and editor, researching and reporting on our local music community. I strongly believe that the strength of an artistic community relies not only on its artists and performers, but on the support of a media infrastructure that can act as a spotlight, a gauge, and a living, breathing document of what’s happening right here, right now.
The Local Current Blog is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
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