Cut Through the Noise

Now Playing October 2008

Here’s what’s been keeping me company as of late: Lizzie Grant, Gramma SparkalerTrailerHeaven [sic] Who is this girl? Un-freaking-believable. Don’t let the bad graphics scare you away. Men at Work, Overkill They always somehow find a way onto my mixtapes. If you haven’t heard Collin’s solo work, you must. Transcendental Highway’s my favorite. Lykke LI, Little Bit Kate Bush meets Thompson [...]

Letters from the Road: Karl Mullen

Guest post this week from one of my closest pals, musician, painter, fashionista, and all-around wickedly wonderful guy, Karl Mullen: Dear Kate, Thanks for the request to be a guest blogger. This is my first …. though back in the late 70’s early 80’s as an illegal alien I played in the punk band Carsickness under the [...]

Don’t Read This

Perhaps it’s inherently American, this idea that you CAN have it your way, an innate sense of entitlement — even arrogance — that, on the one hand, has its merits (the very foundation of our constitution, for example). A preemptory bumption perpetuated by Democracy. Capitalism. The American Dream. Liberal Arts degrees. Starbucks, among other things. So [...]

I Hate New Music

Folks, I’m slackin’ on you this week. Truth be told, I’m neck-deep in writing a business model and let’s just say that crunching numbers: not my favorite. So instead of the usual musings, I’ll be following my own advice. Here goes: “Before any of you start a band, or join a band, or aid or [...]

Now Playing August 2008

Oops! I forgot last month… here’s what was spinning at the Outlandos headquarters. You know the drill. Some of it new. Some of it new-ish. Some of it just plain new to me. And then there’s the old and the just because…. Eef Barzelay, Lose Big Clem Snide front-man/main-man back [...]

Letters from the Road: Jon Pousette-Dart

Guest post this week from legendary singer-songwriter and one of the best musicians I know, Jon Pousette-Dart. Dear Wandering Musicians, A few thoughts, from a road well traveled. The truly great thing about music, is that it transcends everything that is passing by. In the end, the ones who were focused on what they should be, the [...]

Un-Save Music

Seriously. Even I’m over it. Not the novelty of Guitar Hero (God willing, that’ll never wear off)…. Rain forests, black rhinos, the ozone layer; now that shit needs saving. But the music industry? Puh-leeze. First, CNN is ridiculously late to this story. Then there’s the RockBand Live Tour. Get this…headlined by [...]

Tribal Shorts

Certainly, what unites us here at Cut Through the Noise is music… but it’s more than that… more than just something that goes on between your ears. It’s an axiology that extends from the music to our music-lover lifestyles: how we vote, what we drive, what we eat, what we wear, etc. We are a [...]

Fahrvergnügen

I LOVE driving. The freedom to just go, $4/gallon be-damned. Inherently and wonderfully American, isn’t it? But as carbon-footprint-conscious as I like to think I am (and although I’ve never actually owned a Volkswagen) the idea of “driving pleasure,” to me, is as self-evident as apple pie. Which is why last weekend, on the return [...]

Letters from the Road: Ashton Allen

Guest Post this week from one of my favorite artists, Ashton Allen: Dear Music Industry, So, I have a question. I’m confused. Ok, so you got Miley Cyrus, right? And then there’s Hannah Montana. Buuuuuut…ok wait. Are they the same person? Cause umm, one’s a brunette annnnd…the other’s blonde annnnd….but….I heard it was the same girl….but then [...]