Macrolog: Music
Destination: Boredom Sat 27 Oct 2007 Tomorrow night, I will be going to see this:
Onward to Spiderland Fri 17 Aug 2007 Tomorrow night, I will be going to see this:
Concert Zones Fri 11 Nov 2005
Tim O Thompson proposes a new solution to concert disturbances: Perhaps you could have concert zones. You could have the singing/drumming/air guitar zone, the text messaging zone, the marijuana smoking...
Test Icicles Are Playing At My House Sun 06 Nov 2005
Fuck the Arctic Monkeys. That’s right. Test Icicles are my new favourite band. What can I say? They’re fresh, original; lots of noise, lots of groove; and very much unclassifiable....
It Even Cured Me Sun 22 May 2005
Well I did try to post a spiel about the Mike Watt show last week (honest!) but that didn’t quite work out.* So here’s one I hastily cobbled together...
The Sea Cures Everything Thu 12 May 2005
In Dublin tonight? Nothing better to do? Well, you could do worse than head along to Whelan’s of Wexford St to see Mike Watt and his band crank out some...
John Peel, 1939-2004 Fri 29 Oct 2004
There’s not much more I can say about the untimely death of radio legend John Peel earlier this week that hasn’t been said already, and said better. So I’ll withhold...
Miss Machine Fri 30 Jul 2004
After two weeks of impatient thumb-twiddling, my package from Relapse Records finally arrived this morning: a package containing a limited edition copy (with bonus DVD) of Miss Machine, the long-awaited...
Mission Of Burma in Dublin Wed 07 Jul 2004
Mission Of Burma played a blinder of a show last night at the Temple Bar Music Centre, despite technical problems that threatened to end things before they started (to...
Jumping On the GarageBand-Wagon Wed 05 May 2004
Though there was a lot that I didn’t get around to doing during my visit to South Africa (I’ll make up for that next time, which will only be a...
Happy Birthday, D. Thu 01 Apr 2004
A photograph of D. Boon from in 1985.
Ben & Benjamin On Classic Rock Thu 05 Feb 2004 | 1 Comments
Ben and Benjamin discuss the merits of Cream’s Sunshine Of Your Love: Ben: This is rock music but you could play it at a disco. Benjamin: Yeah, at a dude...
Free Cris Kirkwood! Wed 04 Feb 2004 | 6 Comments
Were you watching Txt, Drugs and Rock’n’Roll on MTV2 this afternoon? Did you happen to see the following message on the screen?: Play some Meat Puppets! Free Cris Kirkwood! If...
Bleep Revisited Mon 26 Jan 2004
I have posted a revised version of last week’s piece on Warp Records’ Bleep.com download service. If you enjoyed it, please enjoy it again. If you haven’t, well this was...
Bleep Tue 20 Jan 2004 | 1 Comments
The Sheffield-born, London-based electronic music label Warp Records (home to Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, et al) has recently, after much anticipation, launched its Bleep.com music download service. Essentially, the label has...
Top Eleven Albums of 2003 Wed 31 Dec 2003 | 1 Comments
Seeing as I only bought a handful of records this year — a significant percentage of which being compilations of more ‘vintage’ material — the list I am about to...
The Walrus of Love, 1944-2003 Sat 05 Jul 2003
In tribute to the late, great Barry White — who passed away yesterday from kidney failure after a long period of ill health — I present to you, kind reader,...
Ethan James RIP Thu 26 Jun 2003
Mike Watt recently posted (on the Watt list) the following tribute to Ethan James, the LA producer/engineer probably best known for his work on the Minutemen’s Double Nickels on the...
A Missed Opportunity for Fleeting Infamy Mon 05 May 2003
Friday night at Whelan’s: Eric Copeland from Black Dice is standing at the edge of the dancefloor after their show with his back to me, talking to some music geek....
On Selling Out Mon 21 Apr 2003 | 6 Comments
On Kottke’s weblog today, there’s a post comparing manufactured pseudo-punk Avril Lavigne to her supposedly less phony pop-punk genremates, with a link to an interesting rant by Dave Eggers about...
Burn Piano Island, Burn! Fri 28 Mar 2003
Last night I was at the Temple Bar Music Centre to see this lot: It was an excellent show (click here for a review) despite the poor turnout. If anything,...
A Reply to ‘Freeloader.com’ Fri 07 Mar 2003 | 2 Comments
Perhaps my personal feelings on the matter have clouded my judgement, but I find it hard to believe at this stage that there are still people (otherwise intelligent, articulate people...
Thirst for the Obscure Sun 09 Feb 2003
I came across the following quote last week in a review on the Pitchfork website: Rock critic Michael Goldberg recently speculated that what makes music fanatics thirst for the obscure...
Some Stuff I Found Sun 12 Jan 2003
A couple of days ago I rediscovered two records that I completely forgot I owned, namely OXXXES by OXES (who else?) and Rye Coalition's On Top. I don't think I...
Top Eleven Albums of 2002 Sun 29 Dec 2002
It took me ages to write this list. Please don't take the numerical order as any degree of quality, merely personal preference. To be honest, I'd probably write a...
Too Cool For School Sun 22 Dec 2002
I'm still working on my own shortlist (since I did one this time last year, I thought why not do it again) but Pitchfork's list of the top 50...
On the Minutemen Sun 22 Dec 2002
Just happened to read this by accident whilst blog-hopping, as you do, and I couldn't help but notice that the Minutemen were mentioned. I must say, what's written here...
Shipping News Sun 01 Dec 2002
Can it be true? Oh please let it be true! It looks like Shipping News have included Ireland in their 2003 European tour schedule. Oh yes....
J Mascis (and Other Random Observations) Tue 26 Nov 2002
So yeah, it's been nearly a week since I last posted. There isn't that much to report. Work is... well, I did promise I wouldn't talk about work here...
Orthrelm Wed 20 Nov 2002
np: Orthrelm 2nd 18/04 Norildivoth Crallos-Lomrixth Urthiln Need I say more?...
The Sleaziest Band in the World Sun 17 Nov 2002
My eyes hurt so this is gonna be quick. The New Bomb Turks were excellent last night. Even though I couldn't stay for the whole show - had to...
Slap A Ham Closing Down Tue 29 Oct 2002
Slap A Ham Records are closing down soon, so if you're a fan of good underground hardcore, grindcore or power violence, check out their site quickly because they're liquidating...
Fugazi: Good. My Workplace: Bad. Sun 27 Oct 2002
The Fugazi gig last night would have been excellent were it not for the 90 minutes we spent standing outside the Red Box in the rain waiting to get...
Beaches and Canyons Mon 14 Oct 2002
I received a nice surprise when I got home this evening: a parcel all the way from San Francisco containing the new Black Dice album, Beaches & Canyons, and...
Twenty Years of Dischord and a Triple Espresso Sun 06 Oct 2002
I've been listening to the just-released Dischord Records anthology box set since I got my hands on it last night. It's a truly beautiful thing. Most of the bands...
The Dillinger Escape Plan Mon 09 Sep 2002
I'm sure that my opinion will alter somewhat in the future, with more experience, but as of right now I officially declare The Dillinger Escape Plan to be the...
Nothing Special Thu 22 Aug 2002
We don't get VICE Magazine in Ireland; the reason being that we don't have any VICE stores here. But I am actually acquainted with the publication, having perused a...
Redd Blood Cells Sun 18 Aug 2002
Steve McDonald of Redd Kross has added bass parts and harmonies to the White Stripes' White Blood Cells, with the full consent of Jack and Meg. You can download...
A Shrine At Which to Worship Sun 18 Aug 2002
The Trouser Press website has finally been relaunched (c/o xBlog). I remember looking for this when I first got onto the intramanet almost four years ago, and being very...
Sorry Mr. Pollard Sat 17 Aug 2002
I've toyed with the idea of going to see Guided By Voices live, a couple of weeks from now. But they're playing the Ambassadump. And I can just imagine...
Christian Rock Tue 13 Aug 2002
I want to talk about Christian rock. I used to have a real big problem with it, and I still do to an extent. Especially with crap like Creed...
One Beat Sun 11 Aug 2002
Thanks to those lovely people at kill rock stars, one can listen to a live stream of the new Sleater-Kinney album, One Beat. You'll probably need more than a...
New Records Sat 10 Aug 2002
We've been playing a couple of new records in the shop this week which have caught my ear. Like the new album from Ben Kweller. You know, the scrawny...
Is it Really So Wrong to Like Rush? Tue 06 Aug 2002
We were playing this new compilation CD in work yesterday caled Rock Monsters. One of those RAWK-type comps that someone might stick on at a party for an ironic...
Coming Attractions Sun 04 Aug 2002
The Dillinger Escape Plan are coming back to Dublin at the TBMC on September 8th. This'll make up for missing their show with Nasum back in May. Not only...
Music Is My Life Mon 22 Jul 2002
I bought 15 CD's and a book at the end of my shift today, the above-mentioned record being one of them. I know that might seem like a lot,...
On The Air Mon 22 Jul 2002
Cormac Battle's hosting a show on FM104 right now. He played Fugazi and Jawbox before I tuned in. Fingers crossed he'll play Husker Du or fIREHOSE later (I know...
Late Night Radio Tue 09 Jul 2002
I listened to the last hour of Jay Ahern's show on 2FM last night, and immediately fell in love with it. I've been missing out so much. Why did...
Tenacious D: Good. Ambassadump: Bad. Mon 01 Jul 2002
Fuckers. MCD have moved the Tenacious D gig from Whelans (good) to the Ambassadump (very bad). Well, to be fair, the Ambassadump isn't the epitome of crappiness, since it...
The Thing About Jello Mon 24 Jun 2002
This great article by the Doors' John Densmore (c/o Mat) reminds me of the Jello Biafra vs. DK's situation, particularly since the DK's played here last night. I didn't...
On The Horizon Mon 17 Jun 2002
I might go see The American Analog Set next week, if I feel like it (although it is at the Shelter, and that's along walk back to my bus...
Double Booked Fri 14 Jun 2002
Oh no! Tenacious D are playing Whelans on the 6th of July, which just happens to be the same night the WWA is coming to town. Aaaargh! I already...
Fugazi Postponed Fri 31 May 2002
The Fugazi tour has been postponed due to a death in the family. I don't know who, I don't know the band anyway, and it feels kinda cliched of...
Record Executives Foiled By Black Magic Marker Mon 20 May 2002
It was only a matter of time before someone discovered this. I noticed a few copy-protected CDs today at work. Funny, they were all shite dance discs, the kind...
Fingers Crossed Tue 07 May 2002
Pssst. Pass it on: Fugazi are playing in Glasgow next month, so it's quite likely that they'll play here in Dublin too. Fingers crossed, eh? In other music-related news,...
The Coolest/Uncoolest Records of All Time Mon 06 May 2002
Rolling Stone has provided us with yet another redundantly subjective music magazine top-whatever list: this time, it's the 50 coolest, and 50 uncoolest, records of all time. Why am...
Finally the Truth Comes Out Sat 04 May 2002
Finally the truth comes out. It just goes to show that the recording industry really has misunderstood the demographics....
Synth-Pop Fri 26 Apr 2002
I dunno whether there's something funny in the air, but there seems to be a whole rash of 80's synth-pop compilations coming out at the moment. And I want...
Layne Staley Dead Sun 21 Apr 2002
Layne Staley is dead (from Muj on the Wattlist). I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. The man was a heroin addict after all. But it's...
Cut Your Heart Off... Sun 21 Apr 2002
While I'm on the subject of music, and before I set the video for Touch of Evil and hit the sack, yesterday I got the new Redneck Manifesto album,...
Sonic Youth at Witnness '02 Sat 20 Apr 2002
Sonic Youth are playing at the third annual Witnness festival this summer. Alas, it's much too expensive to go on my own to see just one band (unlike the...
Autechre Host All Tomorrow's Parties Fri 19 Apr 2002
Autechre will curate next year's All Tomorrow's Parties festival next year. I am seriously considering going, if I can find three other people interested enough to take a weekend...
Sick of Poseurs Thu 11 Apr 2002
I'm thinking about going to the White Stripes gig at Dublin Castle on the 4th of May. It's during my exams, but it's on a Saturday, and it's a bank...
On Selling Out Thu 11 Apr 2002
I got the debut Burnt By The Sun album today. Excellent stuff. This is what the kids should be listening to. Then again, if that happened I'd probably say...
Unwound Unwind Sat 06 Apr 2002
Unwound have broken up. I am sad. Why is it that any band I get into either breaks up a few months later, or had broken up a long...
Dave Mustaine Forced to Give Up the Guitar Sat 06 Apr 2002
I just discovered this via wingnutkj on the Watt list. It's quite sad really. How would you feel if your body suddenly prevented you from being able to do...
Major Labels Are Killing Music Thu 28 Feb 2002
This is a complete joke, and a lie. (c/o Mat) Why won't the so-called record industry just admit that its purely a business and doesn't give a flying fuck...
In Pleasant Company Tue 26 Feb 2002
I really love this Shipping News album, Very Soon, And In Pleasant Company. Somebody at HMV ordered in a pocketful (that's six copies, for you outsiders) last summer. They...
Nadir Thu 21 Feb 2002
I got the new Abaddon Incarnate album today. I remember talking with Olan about it before they headed over to Sweden to record - must have been last June...
Bob Mould Interview Tue 12 Feb 2002
I just read a good interview with ex-Hüsker Dü guitar god Bob Mould (c/o Mat), where he talks about his appreciation for professional wrestling, and his job working as...
Kepler Tue 05 Feb 2002
A band named Kepler will be the guests of Godspeed You Black Emperor! at their show here next month. I haven't really heard their stuff - hey, I only...
Top Eleven Albums of 2001 Sun 23 Dec 2001
It's that time of year when annual top-ten lists for just about everything under the sun start to appear everywhere. It's ubiquitous, innit? Whilst I struggle to maintain my...
You Too Sun 23 Dec 2001
This is good: Negativland have re-released the EP that got them sued by both Island Records and SST a decade ago. This has to be some of the funniest...
Pixies Sat 22 Dec 2001
np: Pixies Doolittle It's hard to believe the Pixies were never that popular in the States. I mean, when they broke up it was all over the papers here....
On Meeting Famous Musicians Thu 08 Nov 2001
I got a text from my friend Sarah sometime after I fell asleep last night. She and her friends were at the gig last night and met Mogwai after...
Mogwai Wed 07 Nov 2001
Just got home from the Mogwai gig at the Olympia. Absolutely fantastic stuff. I saw them once before, last April, but this gig was just as good. Most of...
Grindcore Is The Future Tue 06 Nov 2001
The new Nasum album has been delayed, which is a bit of a bummer, but they've done up their website, and I just found shitloads of rare mp3s there....
Fugazi Sat 03 Nov 2001
I got Fugazi's Repeater a few days ago. I've been listening to it nearly long-stop since. I also got their new album, The Argument, a week or so before....
In Their Own Write Sat 03 Nov 2001
From the Online section in Thursday's Guardian, which I only got around to reading this evening: Paul Gorman's coffee table compendium, In Their Own Write (launched today by Sanctuary...
Mixtape Sat 03 Nov 2001
My friend Noel recently made me a mixtape. It's excellent stuff; bands that he saw when he was in Chicago like Lightning Bolt, bands that I've heard of but...
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This is the personal website of MacDara Conroy, a twenty-something journalist, editor and all-round creative type living in Dublin, Ireland.
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This page is a reverse chronology of Macrolog entries by MacDara Conroy filed under Music. You will find many more in the Archives.