Month: January 2009

Grandaddy Clause: Tape Op

Post author By Magnet
Post date January 30, 2009

After the dissolution of beloved sci-fi pop outfit Grandaddy in 2006, frontman Jason Lytle left behind California’s blue suburban skies for the peace, quiet and sobriety of Montana. This week, Lytle re-emerges with news of a solo debut and a part-time seasonal job as guest editor for magnetmagazine.com.

Read our new Q&A with Lytle about his forthcoming album, Yours Truly, The Commuter (Anti-), here.

Lytle: Tape Op magazine pretty much bridges the gap between amateur home recordist and high-end studio. And it does it in an un-intimidating way. I’ve seen it grow from a black-and-white zine to a magazine with lots of ads, plenty of color, slicker paper and a larger format, yet it’s still pretty much the same. People who are in recording for the right reasons flock to it. What we have now is all these historically significant engineers commenting in the editorials, and you realize what a wonderful magazine this is. And the best thing is, it’s free.

For an in-depth piece on Lytle circa the end of Grandaddy, read our 2006 cover story here.

NEWS

Fountains Of Wayne DVD Has Got It Going On

Post author By Magnet
Post date January 30, 2009

fountainsofwayne490 NYC power-poppers (and L.L. Bean jingle-ists) Fountains Of Wayne are releasing their first-ever DVD, No Better Place: Live In Chicago (Shout! Factory), on February 24. The DVD includes a 16-song set shot at a 2005 Soundstage taping, plus a bonus in-studio acoustic performance. The quartet is also hitting the road for a series of full-band acoustic gigs that will reportedly feature songs from the album Fountains Of Wayne are currently recording. No Better Place tracklisting and tour dates after the jump.

Fountains Of Wayne’s 2002 cover of the Kinks’ “Better Things”:

FEATURES

Exploding Plastic Inevitable

Post author By MAGNET Staff
Post date January 30, 2009
2 Comments on Exploding Plastic Inevitable

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The gory details of selling your entire CD collection. By Matt Siblo

After 15 years, untold thousands spent and a constantly revised collection of lists protruding from my wallet, I came to the sobering decision to sell almost my entire CD collection. My reasons are not so much environmentally noble (although I will gladly accept pats on the back for my recently acquired plastic sensitivity) as they are pragmatic. Simply put, I could no longer chase the plastic ghost; I found myself unable to keep up. Times are tough, and since I’m as obstinate as any other collector type, I’d rather have nothing at all than a half-assed, incomplete lot. Thus began the arduous task of hocking an almost obsolete product (CDs) to a brand of specialty retailers swiftly on the verge of extinction (independent record stores). What follows is a bulleted recounting of the guilt-inducing experience of selling off my memories, one dollar at a time.

Modest Mouse’s “Bankrupt On Selling” from 1997’s The Lonesome Crowded West:

GUEST EDITOR

Grandaddy Clause: Toyota

Post author By Magnet
Post date January 30, 2009

Read our new Q&A with Lytle about his forthcoming album, Yours Truly, The Commuter (Anti-), here.

Lytle: I probably owned five to 10 crappy, beater cars before I made my first chunk of money and was finally able to buy the first car I was really excited about. And that happened to be a ’93 Toyota pickup. I’ve driven nothing but Toyotas since. They make really efficient vehicles, the ergonomics are really smart, and I like the way they pretty much gave the people what they wanted.

MAGNET would like to add that, no, Toyota did not license Grandaddy’s music for a commercial. That was Honda:

For an in-depth piece on Lytle circa the end of Grandaddy, read our 2006 cover story here.

GUEST EDITOR

Grandaddy Clause: Bota Box Wine

Post author By Magnet
Post date January 29, 2009

Read our new Q&A with Lytle about his forthcoming album, Yours Truly, The Commuter (Anti-), here.

Lytle: The winemaking world finally figured out they can sell more box wine if they make it taste good. From the taste tests I’ve done, usually on camping trips, I’ve narrowed it down to Bota. It makes sense on a number of levels. It’s really easy to recycle the packaging. The enemies of wine are air and light, so in a box it’s vacuum-sealed and hidden from the sun. Also, it takes away from the pressure of having to finish the whole box if all you want is one glass a night. You don’t have to wake up to a crappy-tasting bottle the next day. I’ve noticed their box designs are really boring, though, so I’m trying to get endorsed by a box-wine company so I can design their artwork.

For an in-depth piece on Lytle circa the end of Grandaddy, read our 2006 cover story here.