A veteran of many a cold winter, Mehan was born in Montreal and reared in Southeastern Wisconsin. After four years spent earning a degree in Japanese literature at the University of Chicago, he spent a year living in Japan before finally landing in Washington D.C. A technology policy activist by day, Mehan spends his nights listening to, watching, photographing and writing about music. You can visit his personal website at http://www.mehanjayasuriya.com.
Features
Tuesday, August 24 2010
Hard Luck and Hard Work: An Interview with the Eels' Mark Oliver Everett
The Eels' Mark Oliver Everett (aka "E") discusses his latest LP, Tomorrow Morning, reveals what the Eels and Prince have in common, why he hopes his next book is boring, discusses the dangers of being bearded around police officers.
Thursday, May 13 2010
The Return and Demystification of Jeff Mangum
Indie-rock's most revered recluse makes a rare appearance in New York City and in so doing, manages to overcome his own myth, one song at a time.
Monday, March 8 2010
It's a Sad and Beautiful World: Remembering Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse
We celebrate the life and work of singer-songwriter and Sparklehorse frontman Mark Linkous, who will be remembered as one of the most earnest, distinctive American songwriters of his generation. Truly, he will be missed.
Monday, February 22 2010
Return to Piano Island: The Blood Brothers, Revisited
Emerging from the West Coast punk scene in the late '90s, the Blood Brothers helped redefine hardcore before abandoning the genre in favor of a damaged brand of art pop all their own.
Tuesday, September 15 2009
In Circles: Sunny Day Real Estate Reconsidered
In anticipation of a reunion tour, the two albums produced by the original Sunny Day Real Estate lineup get remastered and repackaged with extra tracks and expanded liner notes. They are ripe for revisiting.
Reviews
Thursday, April 21 2011
Tabi Bonney: Fre$h
D.C. M.C. provides further evidence of the album format's irrelevance for up-and-coming rappers.
Wednesday, March 2 2011
Shugo Tokumaru: Port Entropy
On his fourth LP, Shugo Tokumaru's jubilant bedroom pop proves to be a bit too much of a good thing.
Monday, February 14 2011
Bright Eyes: The People's Key
On The People's Key, Conor Oberst bids farewell to an adolescence marked by histrionics and artistic restlessness. Even enfants terribles have to grow up sometime.
Thursday, January 20 2011
Wild Nothing: Golden Haze
Golden Haze is less disposable than it might appear at first glance; taken together, these six songs hint at where Jack Tatum may be headed.
Monday, July 12 2010
M.I.A.: ///Y/
That /\/\/\Y/\ lacks the focus and confidence of M.I.A.'s previous albums is disappointing; that it finds Maya Arulpragasam content to follow, rather than lead, is indefensible.
Blogs
Tuesday, February 15 2011
Baths: 11 February 2011 - Washington D.C.
Will Wiesenfeld takes his glitchy, beat-driven electro-pop on the road with impressive results.
Thursday, November 18 2010
Glasser + Twin Shadow: 15.Nov.2010 - Washington D.C.
Recasting themselves as proper ensembles, both Twin Shadow and Glasser successfully sought out bigger, fuller sounds.
Wednesday, October 20 2010
Belle & Sebastian + Versus: 14 October 2010 - Washington D.C.
Anyone who says that Belle & Sebastian don't know how to have fun clearly hasn't seen the band play live recently.
Tuesday, October 19 2010
Deerhunter + Casino Versus Japan + Ducktails: 12 October 2010 - Washington D.C.
Much like Halcyon Digest, Deerhunter's live show finds the band splitting the difference between ambient noise and delicately constructed pop.
Tuesday, October 5 2010
Eels: 26 September 2010 - Washington D.C.
What do the Eels and ZZ Top have in common? More than you might expect...
