A veteran and darling of Australia’s music industry, Melbourne singer and songwriter (not to mention, writer and painter), Jess McAvoy, has now moved to the US to show the northern hemisphere why her home country fell in love with her. Have a read of her inspiring Q&A with Lip, and just keep your fingers crossed…
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What is Occupy Wall Street? The website occuptwallst.org does a pretty good job (I’ve bolded the parts that are most relevant): Occupy Wall Street is a people-powered movement that began on September 17, 2011 in Liberty Square in Manhattan’s Financial District, and has spread to over 100 cities in the United States and actions in…
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The New York inspired culture festival known as ‘The Boroughs’, toured the major cities in October, promising bands, DJs, art installations, galleries, pop-up cinema, market stalls and fashion displays. While the Sydney event (which took place at the University Manning Bar) was lacking some of the aforementioned exhibitions, the gig did make up for these…
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Every once in a while, you hear a piece of pop music that really excites you. I am not talking about the kind of typical pop music that circulates on the radio and into your head until it becomes maddening (the compositional similarity between “Super Bass” and “Teenage Dream” comes to mind). I am talking…
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Most of the time I am furious about several things out of my control in regards to living in New York City – sometimes the trains just don’t work, most of the time the weather is atrocious (like this weekend, there’s some hurricane set to destroy the world), and almost all the time I hate…
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On August 10, 2011, I headed to Prospect Park (my favorite Brooklyn venue) for a sold out Bon Iver show. This band, led by the sensitive “bear hipster” falsetto-voiced Justin Vernon, has been one of my favorites for a couple years now. I was drawn in by the overall intensity of 2007’s For Emma, Forever…
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Back in November, I saw Sufjan Stevens for the first time, when he was on tour supporting his 2010 radically electronic masterpiece The Age of Adz. The show was in a seated New York City theatre, which strangely confined the audience for the mostly exuberant celebration of life and art and space and everything good that is that…
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On Friday, July 1, 2011, I braved one of the biggest tourist traps in New York City, the South Street Seaport, for the free Dirty Beaches and Lower Dens show as part of the River to River Festival. Yes, you read correctly – it was free. The reason New York puts on so many awesome…
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On June 7, Inuk pop songstress Elisapie Issac released her album There Will Be Stars in the US. That same day, I was lucky enough to have a phone interview with her. I’ve gotta be honest – as someone who has done a fair share of interviews, I’ve never had one go as well as…
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I have to start this concert review a little differently than the standard because Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti is nowhere close to typical. How can I describe the magical weirdness of Ariel Pink? His ‘not all there’ personality, random lyrics, misguided intensity and public moments of self-loathing make him the premier hipster superstar he is….
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As an early birthday present to myself, on May 18, 2011, I saw Fleet Foxes perform in the beautifully underrated and underused United Palace Theater in Washington Heights, New York City. I must admit that while the voyage so far uptown was new to me, the venue could not have been more perfect for the show….
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New York is a funny place. Only in a city of this magnitude can someone so talented and active in the business remain underground for so long. Luckily for us, that’s all about to change. Emily Zuzik is an extremely talented singer-songwriter who has toured extensively in the US and in the UK, is well-respected…
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I know that in Australia, self-defined psychedelic hypno-groove rockers Tame Impala are a pretty big deal. I am more than certain that lead vocalist Kevin Parker, drummer Jay Watson, guitarist and synth -player Dominic Simper and live bassist Nick Allbrook are each legitimate rock stars, although their youthful appearances don’t particularly match the kind of…
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It’s 1:00 AM on March 30, 2011 and I’m walking in the middle of Manhattan dazed after one of my favorite bands ever played one of their last shows ever. My friend suddenly turns to me and makes one simple declaration that perfectly sums up everything I’ve been trying to vocalize for the past hour:…
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