Originally hailing from the state of Iowa, Laura Sprengelmeyer has been a long-time staple of the Montreal indie rock scene, a scene that has brought the world–either for its benefit or utter detriment, you decide–The Arcade Fire. Unlike that band, the music Sprengelmeyer releases under her stage name Little Scream is far less bombastic. Although [...]
music and life in iowa city
Festival 2012: Oberhofer
Brad Oberhofer released a fantastic EP in 2009 and has continued to steadily gain critical attention. He will make his biggest splash yet with the release of Time Capsules II, his first full length effort which was produced by Steve Lillywhite who has worked with such acts as U2, The Rolling Stones, Morrissey, and others. The [...]
MISSION CREEK FESTIVAL 2012
DIRTY BEACHES – (2011) BADLANDS This is the album by Alex (aka Dirty Beaches) Hungtai Zhang, a Taiwanese living in Canada that offered in 2011 an artful mixture of hazy rockabilly and psychedelic lo-fi with a unique “distant-crushed” humid tropical flavor in a sense of a low-energy/drifting vibe of a day spent. In this DIY [...]
New Magnetic Fields Single, “Andrew In Drag”
As their latest effort, Love at the Bottom of the Sea and subsequent Mission Creek show approaches, Magnetic Fields hit us with their first single from the new record. “Andrew In Drag” is a song about falling in love with a man who jokingly dressed in drag once. It’s short, poppy, upbeat and kind of tragic [...]
Favorite Album of 2011 The New Division – Shadows
We all have shadows and this is a band not shy of showing theirs as the name of the band suggests (NEW order, Joy DIVISION) but there is not carbon copy of their influence. Sure, additive synth keys brings those shadows from’78-’81 – 1st wave of post-punk. But the unique feature of the CD is [...]
This Year’s Best Television
NB: While this column is about shows still being produced, part of my year in television has been watching Cybill. I implore everyone reading this to watch Cybill. It’s a sitcom that a) has really smart dialogue and b) is set up so you don’t see the jokes coming from a mile away. The comedic [...]
A Year End Review of Albums
For all those hoping for a list, you’re at the wrong place. I’m not going to actually tell you what the best albums of the year are. For those that insist, the best album to come out this year was PJ Harvey’s Let England Shake. You are, certainly, free to disagree with that and say [...]
New Bowerbirds Album: The Clearing
North Carolina folksters and Iowa City favorites, Bowerbirds are to release their 3rd studio album on March 6th. And guess what? They’re hitting up Mission Creek later that month. The trio has been gaining momentum ever since their fantastic 2007 debut, Hymns for a Dark Horse, and their indie cred is only on the upswing. [...]
Mission Creek Headliners, Magnetic Fields Announce New Album
Magnetic Fields just announced the release of their latest effort, Love at the Bottom of the Sea. Their tenth studio album is scheduled to drop on March 6th, just a few weeks before their Mission Creek Fest debut at the Englert on March 28th. Stephin Merritt, the songwriter and driving force behind Magnetic Fields has [...]
Responding to an Opinion
Right below this post is another one from MC contributor Bernardo. In it, he talks about the fear that music has for turning the corner and moving into a new frontier. One of the main things that he notes is the music of now is a replay of the past because of future anxiety, or [...]
Festival 2010 Info and Tickets
2010 Festival Sponsorship Information
