SLUG Contributor Limelight
December 4, 2014
Contributor Limelight: Courtney Blair
Courtney Blair is the brains behind our December “Top 5” cover, and a beloved SLUG alum whose name readers may recognize from her KRCL Saturday show, “Afternoon Delight.” Blair has fond memories of her SLUG interviews and/or articles about Ari Up from The Slits and Oliver Ackerman of A Place To Bury Strangers, and has concentrated on her work in design recently—some of which can be seen at her site, courtney-blair.com. Blair has designed festival posters, ads, banners and bags for SLUG’s sister organization, Craft Lake City, in 2013 and 2014 for the ’14 and ’15 DIY Festival, along with the 2014 program. She’s also a voracious concert-goer and enjoys the newest local restaurants. We’re lucky to work with such a talent in the community as Courtney Blair!
Articles by contributor
Review: Ulrich Schnauss
A Long Way To Fall is the fourth studio release from German producer Ulrich Schnauss. This time around, Schnauss dropped the synthesized shoegaze and embraced new age. The album concentrates on delicate, ethereal melodies that weave in and out of human subconscious. … read more
Review: Kazyak – See the Forest, See the Trees
Peter Frey is the main man behind the adventurous chamber-pop band, Kazyak. The gentle finger-picking intro on “Pieces of My Map” immediately recalls the talents of Andrew Bird. … read more
Review: JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound – Howl
You know, I’m a fan of groups that have a “throwback” or “revivalists” label, I just beg that the product you serve up stands tall and offers something stellar. Howl, the third album from Chicago soul revivalists, JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound, however, does not. … read more
Review: Gliss Langsom – Dans
Gliss = Blonde Redhead + Beach House + Depeche Mode … read more
Review: DJ Koze – Amygdala
Minus a single here and there, Amygdala is the first full-length album from the German DJ and producer DJ Koze in eight years. The album title references a part of the brain where memory and learning develop. … read more
Review: Decades – Self-Titled
On their self-titled debut full length, Toronto four-piece Decades deliver bursts of ‘80s Brit-pop through echoey shards of shoegaze. … read more
Review: Charles Bradley – Victim of Love
The screaming eagle of soul, Charles Bradley became a breakthrough artist at the age of 62 with the release of his debut album, No Time for Dreaming. On his sophomore release, Victim of Love, Bradley once again delivers a bucket of authenticity, passion and power. … read more
M83, I Break Horses @ In The Venue 04.29
The crowd is now at full capacity. The beer lines are intolerable and the denim gods are in full swing. We are ready. Ready for the Frenchmen, Anthony Gonzalez and company to hand-deliver some authentic ’80s synth-pop-gaze. … read more
The Man Who Put the R in Music: A Conversation...
While most everyone was mourning the loss of the King of Pop, I was preparing myself to interview reggae legend Frederick “Toots” Hibbert of The Maytals. When I emailed my good fortune to a few friends, they all sent back the same question— “Who’s that?” I wondered how I could possibly call such clueless people my friends.
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The Slits; Unleashed Animal
It’s been 30 years since the release of The Slits’ influential debut album, Cut. Ari Up, only 14 years old when she started the group, was a woman destined for greatness––after all, she grew up in a household that became a stomping ground for punks and, well … her stepfather was Johnny fucking Rotten of the Sex Pistols. … read more
National CD Reviews – November 2009
National music reviews from Brother Ali, Devendra Banhardt, Fuck Buttons, The Gossip, Immortal, Jookabox, Lewd Acts, The Raveonettes, Sea Wolf, Strike Anyhwere, White Denim and many more. … read more
National CD Reviews – December 2009
This month’s national reviews feature releases from Asobi Seksu, Beak>, Dead To Me, Evangelista, The Mary Onettes, The Prodigy, The Rakes, Skeletonwitch, Slayer and many more. … read more
Top 5: Sleigh Bells
Alexis Krauss and Derek Miller make up the raw, loud and addictive Brooklyn duo Sleigh Bells, but you should already know that. Chances are you were at their face-punching, sold-out show in October. Have you heard the story of the initial meeting of this pair? It plays out like the Brady Bunch. A chick named Alexis, who was once an elementary teacher, met Derek, a former Poison the Well member, while he was her waiter in a Brooklyn restaurant. … read more
Across the Wire: An Interview with Colin Newman and Graham...
Over three decades ago, the legendary art-punk band Wire released their debut album Pink Flag. By the mid-90s, the band once consisting of frontman Colin Newman, bassist Graham Lewis, drummer Robert Grey and guitarist Bruce Gilbert had broken up, pursued solo projects and reunited, only to break up again. Eventually, they faded into obscurity. Their music, however, left a mark inspiring a whole new generation of bands In 1999 the band reformed for good—and with a vengeance. … read more
National CD Reviews – July 2011
New releases from Black Lips, Crystal Stilts, Dox, Explosions In the Sky, Friendly Fires, Iceage, Jello Biafra, Los Vigilantes, Set Your Goals, Sol Invictus, Thurston Moore. Tyler the Creator and many, many more are reviewed.
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Top 5: PJ Harvey
I spent weeks buried behind my headphones listening to Harvey’s every word within the horrifyingly beautiful socio-political battle she created. When I came up for air, I had two words to describe this piece of work: bloody brilliant. Studying the anti-war poems of Harold Pinter and dedicating two years perfecting her writing of the lyrics, she paints disturbingly vivid images of conflict, war, death and grief over a backdrop of buoyant folk-pop melodies. … read more
National CD Reviews – January 2012
New and recent releases from The Cure, The Devil’s Blood, Errors, Kepi Ghoulie, Laura Gibson, Majestic Downfall, Mickey Moonlight, The Slackers, Tim “Love” Lee and many more are reviewed. … read more
One Model Nation Under Courtney Taylor-Taylor
The last three years have kept the members of the Dandy Warhols busy on various projects, but the most interesting project has been frontman Courtney Taylor-Taylor’s graphic novel, One Model Nation. The book was originally released in 2009 and is now being reissued as a special hardcover edition. A companion album, One Model Nation TotalWerks Vol. 1 (1969-1977), is also being released. … read more
Worshiping A Place to Bury Strangers
“We don’t try to be loud at all, we just play at a volume that feels good to us,” says Oliver Ackermann of New York noise-rockers A Place To Bury Strangers. Ackermann supplies the reverb-saturated baritone vocals to the group, who have been labeled as the “loudest band in New York” by various music critics since their formation in 2003. Over time, the label of loudness has become a bit of a nuisance for the band. “We play music, and I don’t think music should really be described.” … read more
National Music Reviews – July 2012
New and recent releases from A Place to Bury Strangers, Baroness, El-P, Mission of Burma, Nile, Public Image Ltd., Shout Out Out Out Out, The Ty Segall Band, Wintersleep, and many more are reviewed. … read more