Rock band reunions normally involve, at minimum, a little live music. But as The Velvet Underground are not your typical rock band, maybe none of us should have been surprised that the reunion of The Velvets at LIVE from the NYPL on Tuesday December 8th had none.
posted by Joe Beese on Dec 16, 2009 - 37 comments

AP article about the chant "The South will Rise Again." In the past few years University of Mississippi officials have done away with both the waving of the Confederate Battle Flag at football games and Colonel Reb, the school mascot who resembles a white plantation owner. However, the school band, nicknamed "The Pride of the South," still plays "From Dixie with Love" at each game and the students still shout "The South will Rise Again" at the end of the song. The AP has a nice article on recent efforts by both the student government and the new school Chancellor, Dan Jones, to end this "tradition."
posted by bguest on Oct 23, 2009 - 301 comments

A complete Album/CD on Youtube... but without any actual video.

...Mercifully, Henry hit him with the soft end of the pistol. Scrotum sprawled on the parquet flooring, and Henry strode back to the window and took aim at the hang glider, now several hundred yards past the lime trees and fast diminishing...

Parts: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Sir Henry at Rawlinson End (link to Transcript) By Vivian Stanshall
posted by selton on Sep 21, 2009 - 18 comments

Metafilter's own COBRA! has been producing a great comic about a rock band for quite awhile; and now it's been released as a book! Get to know the Awesome Boys in Nowhere Band.
posted by interrobang on Jun 23, 2009 - 11 comments

The bar for utterly ironic chorus lyrics has possibly been out of the reach of normal people for now. Hard Place show considerable, erm, 'flair' as well as awareness of, erm....well. Um. This is too hard to describe. Justice can only be done by watching it. (SLYT + 1) via
posted by Brockles on Jun 6, 2009 - 34 comments

Maybe you remember them from their 'hit' single "Push Th' Little Daisies", or from their appearance on MTV's Beavis and Butt-head. Maybe you know them from their appearance in the film "It's Pat" or from their contributions to the "Road Trip" soundtrack or even from their appearance at Chef Aid on South Park. My hope, however, is that you don't know Ween, allowing me the opportunity to let you taste the waste. [more inside]
posted by Bageena on Dec 30, 2008 - 73 comments

Death and Life: Madison New Life Band bid farewell to Bishop Daddy Madison in Washington, D.C. Stooges Brass Band plays in New Orleans [second line].
posted by ferdydurke on Dec 29, 2008 - 2 comments

At Sammy's at 2016 Main, on September 8, a historic jam session occurred, an impromptu reunion of many of the city of New Orleans's finest musicians. Each player who walked in the door was much more than a mere musician that night -- they were an affirmation of life. Not only did their attendance indicate that they had survived the storm, but their collective presence also indicated that their music would survive, too.

The New Birth Brass Band (and friends) tears it the hell up in downtown Houston post-Katrina. The whole show is great, but if you're short on time, parts one and three are especially smoking.
posted by 2or3whiskeysodas on Dec 14, 2008 - 3 comments

Blur have re-formed and announced their intention to play Hyde Park. Who's next?
posted by chuckdarwin on Dec 11, 2008 - 66 comments

Fresh and Tasty band that puts on shows for thousands a day but only listened to by dozens. (NSFW lyrics) [more inside]
posted by BrnP84 on Oct 29, 2008 - 18 comments

Bandstand Busking have decided to put liven up the underused bandstands of London by, well, you know, putting bands on in them. [more inside]
posted by Helga-woo on Jul 20, 2008 - 7 comments

50 Bands, 50 States: The Boston Phoenix declares the best all-time band, best all-time solo artist, and best new band from each state. [more inside]
posted by lunit on Jul 5, 2008 - 83 comments

God is an Astronaut is an instrumental post-rock trio hailing from Ireland. Formed in 2002, they started their own record label, Revive Records, to release their debut album The End of the Beginning. With heavily layered melodies, their music is beautiful and dynamic. They've released three videos Fragile, The End of the Beginning, and From Dust to the Beyond. My personal favorites include Forever Lost and Frozen Twilight. More of their songs can be heard on their Last.fm and Myspace pages. Link to their official website here.
posted by MaryDellamorte on Jun 24, 2008 - 41 comments

Wonderfully artistic video for the song "God Loves My Country", by Balthrop, Alabama, a small-town band.
posted by emelenjr on May 26, 2008 - 12 comments

Post-hardcore/noise rockers No Age discuss their latest album, Nouns, track-by-track. [more inside]
posted by klangklangston on May 1, 2008 - 14 comments

Paulo in London asks musicians to write him a story on an index card. [more inside]
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Apr 15, 2008 - 7 comments

At the Isle of Wight Festival, Dylan was the only monster on the bill capable of attracting a monster of an audience. In refusing to play the Woodstock Festival and in then letting himself be talked into playing the Isle of Wight, Dylan in effect was telling England's counterculture: ''C'mon. Let's hold our own Woodstock.'' And so, on the Isle of Wight, a dot of land that certainly wasn't the easiest place in the world to get to, Dylan almost single-handedly proved an enticing enough attraction to collect an audience sometimes estimated to be as few as a 125,000 and sometimes as many as 250,000.

My Dylan Papers: Part 2 The Isle of Wight

Another scrap from the late Al Aronowitz, the self-styled Blacklisted Journalist, and former Dylan courtier, recalling the only full concert Dylan gave solo or with the Band between 1967 and 1973 and sung in his Nashville Skyline voice, to boot, no less. And now you can have it all to yourself.... [more inside]
posted by y2karl on Jan 26, 2008 - 10 comments

Rubber band warfare just got deadlier. (Single YouTube link to rubber band gun AWESOMENESS.)
posted by Astro Zombie on Jan 16, 2008 - 30 comments

Folks, don't worry about energy crisis. Because Standard Oil, Shell, Gulf, Mobil, Texaco, Amoco, Esso, Sunoco, Exxon, Nixon, Standard Oil, General Motors, Chrysler, George Wallace, and Ford is not the backbone of America. The backbone of America is a mule and cotton. [mp3] Bluesman, outsider artist, vaudevillian: Abner Jay was a real One Man Band and, as he put it, "the last great Southern black minstrel show". Some more mp3s: [Cocaine Blues, excerpt]; [I'm So Depressed, excerpt]; [The Reason Young People Use Drugs, full]
posted by billysumday on Aug 30, 2007 - 8 comments

Orson Welles: The One Man Band - a movie that takes a look at the last years of Mr. Welles. German/English with English subtitles. Full .avi download available.
posted by Burhanistan on Jul 13, 2007 - 18 comments

Growing.
posted by hama7 on Jul 7, 2007 - 26 comments

Beware the Ides of March. Almost everyone knows that the phrase comes from the story of the assassination of Julius Caesar, most familiarly in the Shakespeare version, although "The Life of Augustus," written by Nicolauas of Damascus, contains what is thought to be the earliest narrative of the plot to murder Julius Caesar, based in part on eyewitness accounts. But, not everyone knows that The Ides Of March is also a band [flash intro] (best known for the song "Vehicle") [YouTube], an epistolatory novel by Thornton Wilder (with forward by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.), an instrumental song by Iron Maiden [YouTube], and two paintings, one by Edward Poynter and one by Andrew Wyeth.
posted by amyms on Mar 15, 2007 - 10 comments

LOS GAUCHOS DE ACERO
posted by bardic on Mar 7, 2007 - 21 comments

The Indie Band Survival Guide: A fantastic, free, 101 pages collection of useful information for musicians - covers topics such as recording, copyright, major label contracts, commercial radio, promoting your music, band websites, distribution, filesharing and live shows.
posted by Ira.metafilter on Feb 25, 2007 - 9 comments

IJN Battleship YAMATO (from 2005 Toei film). NHK IJN feature 1,2,3,4,5,6. Glorious Imperial Japanese Navy, Modern mashup, JSDF fanvid pt 1 & 2. JMSDF Fleet Review rehearsal. JSDF Marching Festival 2006: Opening Ceremony, USAJ Band (sad), 7th Fleet Band (gack), III MEF Band (nice!), J NDA Honor Guard. PLA schools everyone.
posted by Heywood Mogroot on Jan 28, 2007 - 29 comments

The Format. Indie pop and flying dogs.
posted by NationalKato on Jul 26, 2006 - 14 comments

Spirit was an American jazz/hard rock/psychedelic band founded in 1967, based in Los Angeles, California. Their 1970 album Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus is highly regarded for originality and uniqueness and is considered by many to be one of the best albums made by a Los Angeles group [source]. Among the many bits of fascinating rock trivia surrounding the group: founder and frontman Randy California jammed with a pre-fame Jimi Hendrix. Curious fans can also peruse unofficial sites for original members and founders Randy California and Jay Ferguson.
posted by joe lisboa on Jul 3, 2006 - 39 comments

Os Mutantes have reunited and will be playing the Pitchfork Media Festival this summer. Archival footage of the band discussed here.
posted by hydrophonic on Apr 14, 2006 - 12 comments

The 23rd Century is a sweet band that just released their new CD, "Take A Trip Though Time With...The 23rd Century", for free online in mp3 format. The album was created by metafilter user tcobretti and his cousin. You can purchase the album here to support them, or you can buy their tshirt, obviously inspired/ripped off from the John Titor insignia. There is also a cool schematic-based navigation to the site, presumably from the same great mind who brought us runoffgroove.com. [via mefi projects]
posted by banished on Mar 17, 2006 - 12 comments

Sticker causes panic. This bike is a pipe bomb sticker causes Ohio University officials to call the bomb squad. Pic here.
posted by fixedgear on Mar 3, 2006 - 104 comments

Thou Shalt Not Not Rock! If you didn't get a chance to get out to Church to rid yourself of your sins, why not let the Brooklyn-based Sin Destroyers rock the Evil out of you. "When you think about it, it's simple. If God created everything, including trees and Japan, he could certainly wail harder than anyone. A rock band in his name would rock harder than everyone else combined! Furthermore, Jesus kicks ass with his unstoppable stream of goodness. The Virgin Mary was smoking hot and still kept her shirt on. Only a heathen can deny the cosmic allure of the Holy Spirit. For all of their indefatigable awesomeness, they ask for only one thing in return: to spread their word. Furthermore, Jesus kicks ass with his unstoppable stream of goodness. The Virgin Mary was smoking hot and still kept her shirt on. Only a heathen can deny the cosmic allure of the Holy Spirit. For all of their indefatigable awesomeness, they ask for only one thing in return: to spread their word." (via.)
posted by pelican on Nov 27, 2005 - 21 comments

Os Mutantes on Brazilian TV. Os Mutantes, Brazilian counterculturalists and one of the greatest psychedelic bands of all time, perform on the Brazilian television show Som Pop- TV Cultura in 1969. Torrent file here.
posted by Sidthecat on Oct 17, 2005 - 21 comments

Mandarin: 1998-2005, R.I.P. (warning: 21 MB QT Movie) A farewell slide show with musical accompaniment by/to a great Denton, Texas band: Mandarin. Many of the images are of Denton and the surrounding area, tour photos and various other bric a brac captured beautifully by Peter Salisbury, the bass player who compiled the slideshow. They were my friends and Denton was my home for many years. Their music will be missed by many.
posted by grandcrewno2 on Sep 26, 2005 - 12 comments

DJ Shadow likes high school bands.
High school bands like DJ Shadow. (2nd link requires Windows Media Player, via Soul Sides)
posted by myopicman on Sep 15, 2005 - 20 comments

Sometimes You Can't Fix You On Your Own. (Quicktime and Windows Media.) If there has ever been doubt about Coldplay's burning ambition to be U2, let it be put to rest.
posted by Saellys on Aug 5, 2005 - 85 comments

Smashup Derby performs mash-ups live. As in, an actual band plays one song while a singer sings another.
For example, here's their rendition of "Smells Like Billie Jean."
posted by me3dia on May 20, 2005 - 29 comments

Everybody At the Beach! (.mov, slightly NSFW) - Need New Body's music has been described as psychedelic, unnerving, and all-out spastic. But really, what's not to love about a band with lyrics like "Pen pen pen! Where's my pen?!"
posted by buriednexttoyou on Jan 30, 2005 - 19 comments

McRorie - One man band from the future
posted by mr.marx on Nov 30, 2004 - 24 comments

Prussian Blue is a "white-power" band named after the color of the residue Zyklon-B leaves in a gas chamber. They do some originals, but mostly folk covers of neo-Nazi bands like Skrewdriver and RaHoWa. Oh, and they're twelve-year-old twin girls. (via Vice.)
posted by fungible on Nov 10, 2004 - 37 comments

Twin Pushers and Other Free Flight Oddities. "For years, twin pushers were the dominant form of competition model. The format was discovered well before the first world war and remained common until the  mid thirties." Dannysoar excavates a lost model airplane format, and goes on to look at Mystery Biplanes, The Airplanes of Things to Come, Miss Auto Gyro Across the Channel Day, and other winging things, in great and pleasingly eccentric abundance. Klick the Klicker!
posted by mwhybark on Jun 29, 2004 - 7 comments

Captured! by Robots is a band made up of one man and the robots he buit to accompany him. Only the robots - DRMBOT, GTRBOT, AUTOMOTOM, and the HEADLESS HORNSMEN - revolted and enslaved him. Now he has no choice but to serve their evil ends - touring the Western United States and enslaving everyone they come into contact with through song. Some videos of them in action. (.mov)
posted by ChasFile on Jun 23, 2004 - 9 comments

Libraries? Sports? Music Programs? Guidance Counselors? Not on my bill, buddy! That crap is for nerds and jocks. It's all good here in sunny California.
posted by _sirmissalot_ on Mar 10, 2004 - 19 comments

An 80s band hires a much younger group of musicians to lipsync in their new video - and it becomes a hit. It's a good thing the music industry isn't all about image...
posted by chumptastic on Feb 23, 2004 - 24 comments

Yes, We're The Mini*Pops! For a few brief, shining years in the 80s the Mini*Pops were the ne plus ultra of every pre-adolescent's rock star fantasies. From the classic Mini*Pops, to the haunting Mini*Pops Let's Dance, to everyone's seasonal favourite Mini*Pops Christmas, the Mini*Pops embodied the hopes and dreams of pedophiles children everywhere. Of course, no retrospective of the Mini*Pops would be complete without listening to their bastardization of tribute to Abba.
posted by filmgoerjuan on Sep 28, 2003 - 12 comments

Maggot art! Ah, maggots - some folk find them gross (warning, gross), some find them tasty, some think they're pretty bad-ass, and name their hardcore band or rugby team after them. But truly, their greatest talent must be as artists.
posted by jearbear on Apr 12, 2003 - 7 comments

Folk Music. Stefan Wirz and Hideki Watanabe pay homage to their favorites. Check out Hideki's Muscle Shoals page for another slice of his Americana pie. Or click on a name--Eric Von Schmidt, say--on Stefan's completist, slow loading page and wallow in pictures and stories... Then there's the Richard & Mimi Fariña website. Jan Hoiberg's Band site is another. I love labors of love.

And don't forget the Bauls of Bengal or the secrets of John Wesley Harding revealed!

And note, newsfilterians, you can now order Mickey Jone's home movies from the '66 tour, too. I'm going to see the Bobster tomorrow, so I've been thinking of these things.
posted by y2karl on Oct 3, 2002 - 18 comments

More band photos for your enjoyment. Site's in German, but the pictures speak for themselves. Yay, Friday!
posted by Gilbert on Jul 26, 2002 - 8 comments

The National Trust I just cant stop listening to this. I first heard it this morning on a mix disc my friend made me and now it's just on repeat all day at work. I'm buying the album after payday. What albums have you recently heard that stick in your head and your CD/MD/MP3 player? Do you get as obsessed with new bands like I do? Does hearing good new music become as addictive as any drug?
posted by Dantien on Jul 12, 2002 - 39 comments

A little plastic toy piano discovered at a flea market becomes the focus of Twink, the whimsical all toy band. Listen to or download the slightly surreal, sugary and surprisingly complex mp3s to hear the piano and the accompanying toys; hurdy-gurdies, musical saws, busy boxes, speak 'n spells, squeaky toys and giggle sticks. The happy-go-lucky yet vaguely sinister "Hoppity Jones" is a personal favorite. Twink is the brainchild of Mike Langlie, icon maker extraordinaire at Yipyop.
posted by iconomy on Apr 19, 2002 - 16 comments

Mr Mittens, proving weed isn't good for you. A group of guys smoke a LOT of weed and then they write and record songs while high. This results in some funnily crazy and extremely odd recordings (featuring lyrics such as 'I wish my deodorant would kill me') They have about 20-30 mp3s available for download and sadly enough my modem will be getting them all in the next 24 hours..
posted by wackybrit on Mar 24, 2002 - 9 comments