Paste Magazine mPlayer

As the music director of WVMM my sophomore year at Messiah, I was encouraged to read Paste as a way of determining what music we should be putting on the playlist and purchasing for the library. I was hooked. A magazine covering pop culture in all its aspects, focusing on independent manifestations thereof rather than the ordinary industrialized bits. Unfortunately, I caught the tail end of this wonderful trove of culture, as Paste ceased its print publication in September 2010. While I have still followed their blog(s) and e-mail blasts, I've missed the long-form pieces (like this) especially.

It turns out I'm in luck, as Paste is returning as a weekly multimedia subscription service called the mPlayer. It will be in beta for free all summer and start up in earnest in the fall. (via Paste)

The Return of Marc Seeley

For those of you who don't know, I once managed Marc Seeley, who recorded and performed under the moniker Letters from the Prom. Last summer he essentially dropped off the face of the earth, depriving us all of his musical genius in the ensuing months. He is now writing a new album as Tokyo Quest, the first song of which is the above "Eloise".I had a rare opportunity to discuss music with Marc recently, and the forthcoming album is tentatively entitled Play My Tiny Tune, Big Orchestra, and will be made up of folk tunes like the one you just enjoyed above.

Erika Ricchini Does A Pop Song

The first music we've heard from Erika Ricchini since Troubador is a pop song with lots more sheen than we're accustomed to hearing her vocals with, courtesy of producer Jay Criss. I could get used to this. Especially with that '80s snare.

New OnCue/CJ Luzi

My boy CJ Luzi has been back in the lab with OnCue, and the first result we get to hear is "Feel Tall", a pop gem on which Cuey brings his singing chops back out to play: And in case you missed it, here's the official video for their Eisley-sampling jam "It Usually Goes":

The New Division Crew & Its Ever-Expanding Repertoire

Though we've covered founding members John Kunkel and Michael Janz' production efforts, it seems that guitarist Brock Woolsey's work as Juan the Tiger has been missed. He has done his own remix of The New Division's "Saturday Night":

as well as some original productions, my favorite of which is his latest, "Orange":