The Evolution of BDWPS.com

Last night while I was sleeping BDWPS.com reached a milestone, attaining its 2000^th follower.  While it may not seem like much in comparison to music blogger powerhouses like The Needle Drops, Aquarium Drunkard, and Brooklyn Vegan, it’s quite an accomplishment considering our little blog’s meager beginnings. When we first started writing about music our readership could be counted on two pairs of hands with those said readers being comprised solely of friends and families.  But somehow, over the years, this little hobby has gained some steam, making it all an even more worthwhile venture.  Since 1,986 of you probably know nothing of BobDylanWrotePropagandaSongs.com’s origin, I thought I’d take a break from writing reviews and give you a quick look back at where it all began…

BDWPS Podcast #14

This month’s episode of BDWPS Podcast is chock full of choice cuts. In fact, start to finish, it may be the best playlist yet. Check it:

Wavves “Afraid of Heights” 
Kaleidoscope “Dive Into Yesterday” 
Youth Lagoon “Dropla” 
Kurt Vile “Never Run Away” 
BOAT “Inside of an Aquarium” 
Slayer “Spirit in Black” 
Bob Dylan “Jokerman”

Subscribe on iTunes (keyword: BDWPS) or listen to it here:

http://bdwps.podomatic.com/entry/2013-05-04T15_41_52-07_00

Phosphorescent

Muchacho

[Dead Oceans; 2013]

Rating: 9.0

When Phosphorescent first broke onto the indie-folk scene in 2003, comparisons to Bob Dylan were a given with Matthew Houck’s knack for writing imagery-laced lyrics over jangly guitars, hints of Freewheelin’ Bob abound. 10-years later with his latest release Muchacho, Houck is still redefining one of Bob’s concoctions, but this time around his inspiration comes from a much different section of Dylan’s cookbook.  No, it’s not country-fried Nashville Skyline nor is it the late night munchie snack of Blonde On Blonde. Instead, Muchacho takes on the essence of the seminal Infidels.

In late 1983, Infidels was heralded as Bob’s return from grace (a return from the “grace of God” in this case after two panned “religious albums”). Infidels is often considered his best album since 1975’s Blood On the Tracks.  The album marked a definitive change in Bob’s approach. Rather than strumming away on his acoustic like he’d done for the better part of the past two decades, Bob stepped back and allowed the organs and synths to broaden space and time.  With Mark Knophler fiddling around on his guitar, the songs often feel spacious and airy.  Of all of his albums, Infidels is his most 80s album to come out in the decade of post punk and new wave.

BDWPS Podcast #13

In this episode I take a look back at some of the highlights and low-lights from the South By Southwest Music Festival, 2013. You’ll hear new tracks from artists like Marnie Stern, Foxygen, Flaming Lips, TV Ghost, and Pissed Jeans as well as some classics from Afghan Whigs and Songs: Ohia.

Song list:

Marnie Stern “Year of the Glad” 
TV Ghost “Phantasm” 
Foxygen “No Destruction” 
Flaming Lips “Sun Blows Up Today” 
Action Bronson “Gateway to Wizardry” 
Pissed Jeans “Teenage Adult” 
Afghan Whigs “Going to Town” 
Songs: Ohia “Just Be Simple”

Check it out here or subscribe on iTunes (keyword “BDWPS”)

BDWPS Podcast #12

In this episode we take a look at some of the best music to be released so far this year. Here are some of the tracks you’ll hear:

Traditional Fools “Please” 
FIDLAR “Cheap Beer” 
California X “Pond Rot” 
Frightened Rabbit “Holy” 
Torres “Jealousy and I” 
Grouper “Vital” 
Cocaine 80s “The Sun and the Moon” 
Nightlands “So Far So Long” 
Bob Dylan “One More Weekend”

Listen below, or subscribe on iTunes (keyword- BDWPS):

Download: 2013-03-06T19_00_22-08_00

My Tumultuous Relationship With Pitchfork.com

As discussed on my Podcast, over the past year I’ve found myself obsessively watching all of the episodes of “Classic Albums” on Netflix, the documentary series that originally aired on VH1 and BBC chronicling the creation of some of rock’s most influential albums.  After viewing around a dozen of these one hour episodes, I came up with the “great” notion to make a list of the episodes, ranking them and discussing each one in a short paragraph. Well, this was easier said that done and remains an unfinished project (maybe this post will get me re-motivated to finish it).