| Robbers on High Street: live at Café Du Nord |
| Far from seeming stiff, that “whose scene is this anyway” vibe made the whole night feel new and grand, like an extended first date or a rad redux of your high school prom. |
| ...more |
| | The End of Web Radio? |
| Recent government actions may mean the end of non corporate Internet Radio. |
| ...more |
| | The Rapture Interview |
| betterPropaganda talks with Rapture drummer Vito Roccoforte during the recent Be The Riottt Festival. |
| ...more |
| | 31 Knots - The Days and Nights of Everything Anywhere |
| As our good pal Philip K. Dick said, “sometimes the appropriate response to reality is to go insane.” And therein lies the appeal of The Days and Nights of Everything Anywhere. |
| ...more |
| | CocoRosie: Rainbowarriors |
| A dreamy wash of rhythm and atmosphere, "Rainbowarriors" manages to
sound simultaneously very current and altogether timeless. Because I
don't think I've heard a piece of 21st-century pop... |
| ...more |
| | CSS Interview |
| Watch this exclusive interview with CSS / Cansei De Ser Sexy! |
| ...more |
| | Danger Mouse Interview |
| Check out this classic Danger Mouse interview back before DANGERDOOM took over the world. |
| ...more |
| | Georgia Ann Muldrow Playlist |
| | Brazilian Girls: Jique |
| Never mind the videos, never mind the remixes, just download this and listen to what your ears are hearing. Nah, it's not great art but this
knowing mix of dirty synth lines, electronica g... |
| ...more |
| | Mike Patton's Peeping Tom w/ Dan the Automator |
| Concert Review, Peeping Tom at Irving Plaza, NYC: Mike Patton is still packing a punch and the house.
|
| ...more |
| | David Byrne & Brian Eno: Regiment |
| If songs from the landmark My Life in the Bush of Ghosts album, dating back to 1981, sound far less bizarre than they did 25 years ago, consider that a testament to how prescient a recordin... |
| ...more |
| | Electric Soft Parade: If That's the Case, Then I Don't Know |
| At once squonky and lithe, the latest effort from the British brother
duo the Electric Soft Parade features anthemic chords and resounding
beats, scuffed up fetchingly with fuzzy guitars ... |
| ...more |
| | Girl Talk Interview |
| betterPropaganda talks girly with GIRL TALK. |
| ...more |
| | Jens Lekman: Collection of Songs |
| Jens Lekman, currently on tour, has amassed quite a song collection on betterPropaganda. Click here to listen to a collection of songs from his past five releases including his most recent ... |
| ...more |
| | The Shins: Phantom Limb |
| The Shins' frontman, James Mercer, has the rare if
not unique capacity
to be deeply sincere while singing lyrics that you
can't really
understand. Maybe it's because his melodies ... |
| ...more |
| | Rilo Kiley Live at the Warfield |
| Rilo Kiley opened the North American tour in support of their latest album, Under the Blacklight, at the Warfield in San Francisco on Thursday. The enthusiastic sold out crowd seemed ready ... |
| ...more |
| | Exclusive Spank Rock Interview |
| Naeem Juwan, better known as MC Spank Rock, illuminates about all things Spank Rock. |
| ...more |
| | Stereoprimer / A is for Algorithm - self titled LP |
| This monstrous 75 minute LP is decidedly difficult to pin down – an alluring wash of stutters and blips, bent synth lines and electrostrange moans. |
| ...more |
| | Pop Levi Interview |
| Exclusive Pop Levi Interview! |
| ...more |
| | Plug Research Interview |
| Plug Research is an inventive, hybrid-generating independent label operating out of Los Angeles. While working with a global roster of artists like Camping and Milosh, at the label's core ... |
| ...more |
| | 4/25 betterPropaganda Newsletter: Issue 10 |
| Featured downloads from the new Dosh, Destroyer plus more. Read our picks and download the featured songs for the week of April 25th. Click here |
| ...more |
| | An Interview with Brian Deck |
| Brian Deck is the man behind the scene, but not just any scene. He is the man behind the scene of many brilliant records in recent history. |
| ...more |
| | Best of 2007 - Part II |
| Part II of the betterPropaganda Best of 07! Continue reading to see the rest of our honorable mentions. |
| ...more |
| | Best of the Web - Muxtape |
| Yeah, Muxtape is already 100 in internet hype years, but we're hooked on the sheer simplicity and flexibility it offers. |
| ...more |
| | Best of the Web 4/8 |
| | Best of the Web: Fabulist |
| Fabulist is a cultural grab bag - music highlights, yes, but they also feature art and architecture, consumer culture, videos, oddball news, and whatever
else comes on their radar. |
| ...more |
| | Best of the Web: Gabba |
| Gabba is user-driven: anyone can submit a song, but tracks are hand-picked for the front page by an editorial staff. |
| ...more |
| | Best of the Web: Motel De Moka |
| | Best of the Web: Said the Gramophone |
| | Best of the Web: Take Away Shows |
| | Best of the Web: The Sixty-One |
| The Sixty-One takes two very common ideas and merges them into one weird one. Like thousands of other sites, The 61 is a music discovery site. |
| ...more |
| | betterPropaganda Newsletter: 5/16 |
| Read our picks and download the featured songs for the week of May 16th. Click here |
| ...more |
| | betterPropaganda Newsletter: 5/2 |
| | betterPropaganda Newsletter: 5/23 |
| Featured downloads from the new Ratatat, HEALTH plus more. Read our picks and download the featured songs for the week of May 23rd. Click here |
| ...more |
| | betterPropaganda Newsletter: 5/30 |
| | betterPropaganda Newsletter: 5/9 |
| | betterPropaganda Newsletter: 6/13 |
| Click here to read our picks and download the featured songs for the week of June 13th. |
| ...more |
| | betterPropaganda Newsletter: 6/20 |
| Read our picks and download the featured songs for the week of June 20th. Click here |
| ...more |
| | betterPropaganda Newsletter: 6/27 |
| Read our picks and download the featured songs for the week of June 27th. Click here |
| ...more |
| | betterPropaganda Newsletter: 6/6 |
| | betterPropaganda Newsletter: Issue 2 |
| | betterPropaganda Newsletter: Issue 3 |
| | betterPropaganda Newsletter: Issue 4 |
| | betterPropaganda Newsletter: Issue 5 |
| | betterPropaganda Newsletter: Issue 7 |
| | betterPropaganda Newsletter: Issue 8 |
| | betterPropaganda Newsletter: Issue 9 |
| | betterPropaganda Podcast: Spring 2008 Mix |
| | Calico Horse - Mirror |
| From the opening bells of "All We've Left to Do is Pay the Boatman", Calico Horse takes us on a dream-like journey aboard a rickety boat made of lost love, life, and direction. |
| ...more |
| | Cassettes Won't Listen: Collection of Songs |
| | Collection of Songs: Eliot Lipp |
| We've been a fan of Eliot Lipp since his early days and have the songs to prove it to you. |
| ...more |
| | Dan Deacon Live at Great American Music Hall |
| What he does is not a secret: if you're already a follower, you pretty much know what kind of weirdfest you're getting into. |
| ...more |
| | Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs |
| Narrow Stairs is full of introspective narratives, ones that describe pivotal moments in the pursuit of self-discovery and the failure to find one’s own path. |
| ...more |
| | Dizzee Rascal - Maths and English |
| The album feels like a rough prototype of a new style, all the rough edges and bizarre unnecessary growths still attached. |
| ...more |
| | Easter Egg: Wiggers and Hipsters Vol 1 |
| A free mixtape (free! more on this later) drops into my lap – or the digital equivalent of my lap – with the tagline, "hey, you might like this. It's pretty much Girl Talk 2." |
| ...more |
| | Fabulist Presents: Orouni |
| Today we've got a track from Orouni, "Panic at the Beehive," which was recommended by Olga and the Fabulist crew. |
| ...more |
| | Fingertips Explores the Archives: Badly Drawn Boy - Once Around the Block |
| "Once Around the Block" never fails to sound like a bolt from the blue, unlike anything around it. |
| ...more |
| | Fingertips Explores the Archives: Orenda Fink - Bloodline |
| Formerly one-half of the the delicate Georgia duo Azure Ray, Orenda Fink emerged on her first solo CD in 2005 with a striking new musical persona: tough, propulsive, and vibrant. |
| ...more |
| | Fleet Foxes - Live in San Francisco 6/26 |
| I've been to hundreds of shows in my life - possibly approaching 4 figures. Never in my life has a band sounded as perfect live as Fleet Foxes. |
| ...more |
| | Flying Lotus - Los Angeles |
| Flying Lotus' new album, Los Angeles, is a soulful blend of R&B rhythms and electronic experimentation. |
| ...more |
| | Fourth Anniversary Party! |
| | From the Archives 6/13: Grizzly Bear - On a Neck, On a Spit |
| | From the Archives 6/6: Minus Story - You Were On My Side |
| Minus Story is a band that I'm not reminded of too often, but 2004's The Captain is Dead, Let the Drum Corpse Dance still comes back to me. |
| ...more |
| | From the Archives: Howard Hello |
| We're kicking off a series designed to highlight the older tracks we rediscovered or the ones that stuck with us all along. Howard Hello's "Belief" is the first installation in the series. |
| ...more |
| | From the Archives: Octopus Project |
| Picture this: It is the year 2010. You are a robot. Yes, in two years you will be a robot. |
| ...more |
| | From the Archives: The Perceptionists |
| Anyone who claims even surface knowledge of underground hip hop needs to back their credibility on the essential releases of Mr. Lif and Akrobatik. |
| ...more |
| | Grand Archives Out February 19th |
| Any fan of Band of Horses will love Grand Archives. Mat Brooke's voice shines, having a similar timbre to Archer Prewitt but, with all the vocal harmonies fluttering together, sounding lik... |
| ...more |
| | Jimmy Edgar Interview |
| The world will be hearing a lot from Detroit's 22 year-old Jimmy Edgar, who's got a new CD out on the very prestigious electronic label Warp. While music is his first love, he's also adept... |
| ...more |
| | June Album Releases |
| Click on the below album titles to check out artwork and download a FREE MP3 from each of these releases. |
| ...more |
| | M83: Saturdays=Youth |
| Anthony Gonzalez, better known as M83, has built a career on ambient, yet progressive shoegaze music. |
| ...more |
| | May Album Releases: 5/16 More Added! |
Click on the below album titles to check out artwork and download a FREE MP3 from each of these releases!
|
| ...more |
| | Metronomy - Pip Paine (Pay The £5000 You Owe) |
There's a saying by Albert Einstein: "The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources." Pip Paine (Pay The £5000 You Owe) gracefully responds: "up yours, Al!" |
| ...more |
| | Mount Eerie: Black Wooden Ceiling Opening EP |
| Emerging as The Microphones in the late '90s, Phil Elvrum built a cult following, common amongst K Records artists. |
| ...more |
| | My Morning Jacket / Fleet Foxes |
| | New Podcast on iTunes Now! |
| betterPropaganda's podcast is back with another installment - The Best of February (with a few classics thrown in for good measure). |
| ...more |
| | New Podcast Up: 6/2 |
| | New Site Features: Weekly Podcast, RSS feed, and more |
| You may have noticed a couple new buttons located above our navigation menus - we've recently made some upgrades to feed you our content in a more efficient manner. |
| ...more |
| | No Age - Nouns |
| On their sophomore release, No Age has created a sound that is, at times, as artistic as Liars, as volatile as Lightning Bolt, and as inspiring as Nirvana. |
| ...more |
| | Noise Pop '08: Opening Night Party |
| The festivities kicked off on Tuesday night at The Rickshaw Stop with Tempo No Tempo and Mika Miko. |
| ...more |
| | Noise Pop '08: The Walkmen |
| On Wednesday, February 27th The Walkmen performed at The Independent in SF for Noise Pop 2008. |
| ...more |
| | Pinback Live at the Fillmore |
| With driving force and a straight- forward stage presence, Pinback rocked a full house at the Fillmore last Sunday night. |
| ...more |
| | Rock Sellout Presents: Natalie Portman's Shaved Head |
| | Rock Sellout Presents: Turn Blue |
| Here's the first installment of what will become an ongoing feature: an introduction to the best new bands around, delivered by some of our favorite blogs. |
| ...more |
| | Said the Gramophone Presents: Hologram |
| Hologram is a miracle disguised as an everyday event. To best describe what I mean, think of, well, think of a hologram. |
| ...more |
| | SF Events Calendar June 26 - June 29, 2008 |
| Have a better weekend with the betterPropaganda San Francisco Events Calendar for this Thursday through Sunday.
|
| ...more |
| | Shugo Tokumaru - Exit |
| With the release of his latest album, Japan's best kept secret is poised to become an international wonder. |
| ...more |
| | Song of the Day 4/10: UFO! - Forbidden Love |
| Perhaps this is not what I expected from an artist with an exclamation point in his name. |
| ...more |
| | Song of the Day 4/14: JDSY - Smoke and Mirrors |
| "Smoke and Mirrors" from JDSY
sets in like an anxious daydream, spotted with bells and blips that wander around like submarine pings. |
| ...more |
| | Song of the Day 4/16: Wolf Parade - Call it a Ritual |
| Wolf Parade is back, clutching their scope of self-propagated influences like a bouquet of ravaged flowers. |
| ...more |
| | Song of the Day 4/17: No Age - Eraser |
| Is "Eraser" a pop song with a noisy backdrop, or a punk bender that leaves room between the chords for some jangly guitar tambourine? |
| ...more |
| | Song of the Day 4/2: Ladytron - Black Cat |
| Driven by bass and drums - which sound like they're trying to pound their way out of a black hole - this track is fuller, darker, a marked step up from their past work. |
| ...more |
| | Song of the Day 4/21: Dosh - If You Want To, You Have To |
| Dosh spends a fair amount of time on tour with Andrew Bird, and it's clear that Bird's sideways composition has an influence on him. |
| ...more |
| | Song of the Day 4/22: Destroyer - Dark Leaves Form a Thread |
| | Song of the Day 4/23: James Pants - We're Through |
| James Pants is a little bit weird - "We're Through" sort of blurs the line between parody and tribute. |
| ...more |
| | Song of the Day 4/28: Shy Child - Astronaut |
| One part psychedelic for every three parts body-moving, Shy Child is the latest gem on the Kill Rock Stars roster. |
| ...more |
| | Song of the Day 4/29: Osborne - There |
| This a dark track, but without the sense of panic - Osborne offers in its place an air of muted anticipation. |
| ...more |
| | Song of the Day 4/30: Boddicker - When I Go Out |
| If you're the type of listener who throws on some early Modest Mouse every so often for nostalgia's sake - then Boddicker is right up your alley. |
| ...more |
| | Song of the Day 4/7: Port O'Brien - I Woke Up Today |
| Two weeks after moving to San Francisco, I came across a pile of junk on the sidewalk, adorned with a handwritten note... |
| ...more |
| | Song of the Day 4/9: Jamie Lidell - Little Bit of Feel Good (Mochipet remix) |
| | Song of the Day 5/12: Animal Collective - Water Curses |
| Animal Collective is perhaps most lauded for their hyper-aggressive commitment to lovingly dismantling and reassembling the definition of freak-pop as they see fit. |
| ...more |
| | Song of the Day 5/15: Tim Fite - Big Mistake |
| | Song of the Day 5/19: HEALTH - Triceratops (CFCF remix) |
| HEALTH is a strange, isolated case - a thrash+reverb outfit that found their way onto the electro remix circuit... |
| ...more |
| | Song of the Day 5/20: Lykke Li - Dance, Dance, Dance |
| All trends reach a saturation point, and I don't think it's a huge leap to say that the archetype of smoky, adorable female vocalist is just about there. |
| ...more |
| | Song of the Day 5/21: Ratatat - Shiller |
| At this point, it seems effortless for Ratatat. Their progression has been natural and at the same time stunning. |
| ...more |
| | Song of the Day 5/28: M83 - We Own The Sky (Maps Remix) |
| Maps and M83 is quite the appropriate pairing - two spacey, shoegaze acts that would nestle up alongside each other quite nicely on a mix CD. |
| ...more |
| | Song of the Day 5/30: The Chap - They Have A Name |
| Everyone loves a band that can flash a sense of humor and lay down some genuinely sweet music to go with it - think Hot Chip or !!!'s weird delivery. |
| ...more |
| | Song of the Day 5/5: Herbaliser - You're Not All That |
| | Song of the Day 5/6: (Bon Iver Remix) The Rosebuds - Get Up Get Out |
| | Song of the Day 5/8: The Presets - This Boy's in Love (Lifelike Remix) |
| | Song of the Day 6/10: Chairlift - Evident Utensil (MGMT Remix) |
| | Song of the Day 6/11: The Chap - They Have A Name (Atlas Sound Remix) |
| | Song of the Day 6/12: CB Radio - Muevete |
| | Song of the Day 6/16: Marlena Shaw - California Soul (Diplo Remix) |
| Diplo's got a little bit of a soft spot for the classics. This time around, he's punched up Marlena Shaw's
rendition of "California Soul." |
| ...more |
| | Song of the Day 6/17: Golden Animals - Try On Me |
| The album's called Free Your Mind and Win a Pony, which should
maybe tell you something about the Golden Animals. |
| ...more |
| | Song of the Day 6/18: Starfucker - German Love |
| This song itself gives you the same goofy, sort of juvenile warmth that their name conjures. |
| ...more |
| | Song of the Day 6/19: The Whip - Divebomb (Crystal Castles Remix) |
| | Song of the Day 6/2: Booka Shade - The Sun & The Neon Light |
| Some tracks are inherently visual in that they trigger strong, sequenced scenes inside the listener's mind. |
| ...more |
| | Song of the Day 6/23: Alias - Well Water Black feat WHY? |
| Alias's "Well Water Black" whipped me sideways when the first verse kicked in. |
| ...more |
| | Song of the Day 6/24: Sebastien Tellier - Sexual Sportswear (Donovan Remix) |
| The whole track's strung out on this crazy, relentless tension, so by the end you're left breathless and exhausted. |
| ...more |
| | Song of the Day 6/25: Pink Skull - Crambodia (Plastic Little Remix) |
| Ghostface Killa, Spank Rock and Amanda Blank take turns on this track, which sounds like a grip of electrical wires being torn apart. |
| ...more |
| | Song of the Day 6/26: The Dutchess & The Duke - Reservoir Park |
| Jesse Lortz sounds distinctly Jaggeresque in his vocal timbre, but Dylanesque in his prophetic lyricism. |
| ...more |
| | Song of the Day 6/3: Tu Fawning: Out Like Bats |
| The intro instantly recalls the sloshed, fuzzy intonations of early Sunset Rubdown demos - a comparison that rolls back around in decentered guitar and piano breaks. |
| ...more |
| | Song of the Day 6/30: Van She - Strangers (Van She Tech Remix) |
| Call me a sucker for electro or whatever, but three words in the right order never fail to get me giddy: Van She Tech. |
| ...more |
| | Song of the Day 6/4: Panther - Diamonds, Violence (E*Rock Remix) |
| If you've ever been to a science museum, you've probably played with one of those beds of pins that molds to your touch... |
| ...more |
| | Song of the Day 6/5: PlayDoe - It's That Beat |
| On one hand, Playdoe's "It's That Beat" will unequivocally recall one of your favorite electro / hip hop acts of the past few years. |
| ...more |
| | Song of the Day 6/9: The Poison Arrows - Casual Wave |
| A drillbit guitar line
drives a hole through a wide mesh of drums, resulting in a churning
buzz that carries through most of the song. |
| ...more |
| | Song of the Day 7/1: Lithops - Rosa in a Light Speed Vessel |
| "Rosa in a Light Speed Vessel" from Lithops is experimental dissonance at its finest. |
| ...more |
| | Song of the Day 7/2: The Death Set - Negative Thinking |
| | Song of the Day 7/3: Mogwai - The Sun Smells Too Loud |
| Mogwai reminds us that their sweeping post-rock compositions are infinitely more re-listenable than most any other group in the genre. |
| ...more |
| | Tapes n Tapes: Walk It Off |
| No current band has blended the sound of The Pixies and Pavement as well as Tapes ‘n Tapes, which requires the utmost creativity and talent. |
| ...more |
| | Thao: We Brave Bee Stings and All |
| There's flutter all over this album: clucky beatboxing, hyper-caffeinated guitar lines, hand claps and hums. |
| ...more |
| | The Apes: Record Release Show in DC |
| The Apes put on a solid album release show at DC's Black Cat, but through no fault of their own it wasn't what it could have been. |
| ...more |
| | The betterPropaganda Newsletter |
| The betterPropaganda weekly newsletter is back with a completely revamped layout. Click here to find out what our featured songs are for the week.
|
| ...more |
| | The Ruby Suns - Sea Lion |
| “Blue Penguin,” the first track off of Sea Lion, The Ruby Suns' sophomore album, begins with a dragging acoustic guitar and ambient noise, a combination that would have fit well on Animal C... |
| ...more |
| | The Walkmen - In the New Year |
| On September 16, 2008, The Walkmen will release their fifth full-length album, You & Me. |
| ...more |
| | Vampire Weekend Review |
| There's a lot of pretension in singing about week-long vacations in San Juan and checking out your romance studies professor, yes, but at least they aren't bullshitting anyone. |
| ...more |
| | Xiu Xiu: Collection of Songs |
|
