Email Author Andrea Swensson

Awards

• 2010 - Page One Contest/Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists

  Year in Music

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2008 Stories by Andrea Swensson

• Flyer of the Week: Claw Like Things

  published Dec 04, 2008

  This week's flyer is for the Claw Like Things EP release show this Friday at the 400 Bar:Attention Flyer of the Week fans: we'd like to credit the artists who create these posters as often as possible... More >>

• Lori Barbero bids Minneapolis adieu

  published Dec 03, 2008

  Lori Barbero photo by Mark BukumunheBabes in Toyland drummer and longtime local music champion Lori Barbero has announced that she is packing her bags and moving down to Austin, Texas. Her presence wi... More >>

• Michael Jackson's "Thriller," sung a capella

  published Dec 02, 2008

  Thanks to Taylor at Mediation for alerting us to this little gem. French a capella singer Francois Macre has recreated the entire Michael Jackson song "Thriller" using only his voice. The entire proce... More >>

• St. Paul hip-hop heavies Heiruspecs end their hiatus

  published December 3, 2008

  You wouldn't know it from looking at the outside of the building, but inside an old warehouse in northeast Minneapolis, down a giant white... More >>

• Electric Arc Radio get awkwardly hip at the Ritz Theater

  published Dec 01, 2008

  Photo taken from the Electric Arc Radio websiteElectric Arc Radio showRitz Theater, November 29By Dan SinykinElectric Arc Radio is like A Prairie Home Companion on shrooms, or a post-postmodern Wizar... More >>

• Kimya Dawson charms the Cedar Cultural Center

  published Dec 01, 2008

  Kimya DawsonCedar Cultural Center, November 29By Dan SinykinWhat trenchant irony that Kimya Dawson performed on Black Friday. No artist I know of better exemplifies countercultural earnestness than Ki... More >>

• Q&A: Jon Jameson of the Delta Spirits

  published Nov 27, 2008

  Written by Kathryn Savage"Hang on a second!" The Delta Spirits' Jon Jameson yells into the receiver followed by a series of muffled, gurgling noises. "There, sorry." He's back after a frantic pause. T... More >>

• Flyer of the Week: Sharp Teeth

  published Nov 26, 2008

  Sharp Teeth will be releasing a CD this Friday at the Hex. Check out this tewtally awesome kitty poster: ... More >>

• Thanksgiving Eve show guide

  published Nov 26, 2008

  On the HowWasTheShow.com blog today, David de Young provided a nice roundup of the shows happening tonight. As David says, it's usually one of the busiest nights of the year for local shows -- everyon... More >>

• Ian Rans wants to make our holidays bright

  published Nov 25, 2008

  Here's a very charming holiday message from Ian Rans, host of cable access show Drinking With Ian. Those unfamiliar with the show should head down to First Avenue on Friday night for a live taping -- ... More >>

• Ben Kyle of Romantica duets with Carrie Rodriguez

  published Nov 24, 2008

  Thanks to Jim Walsh over at MinnPost, my Monday morning got a whole lot sweeter when I clicked on the link for this heart-wrenching video of Romantica's Ben Kyle singing "Danny Boy" with his current t... More >>

• M83 pack in the electro geeks

  published Nov 24, 2008

  I didn't know much about M83 going into Saturday night's show at the Triple Rock, save for a few tracks I'd heard on the Current and a music video that a friend sent me on YouTube. (Their videos, by t... More >>

• The Absent Arch heat up the Triple Rock

  published Nov 24, 2008

  The Absent Arch's Will Markwardt. Photo by Alexa Jones.In my column this week, I wrote about the first time I saw The Absent Arch and how impressed I was by their balance and performance despite the f... More >>

• New P.O.S. album announced

  published Nov 21, 2008

  Rhymesayers announced today that they will be releasing a new album by P.O.S., Never Better, on February 3. If the tracks that he has been testing out at recent gigs are any indication, the new reco... More >>

• Prince controversy: CJ weighs in

  published Nov 20, 2008

  Feeling lost amidst all the Prince-related controversy this weekr Have no fear, Star Tribune's CJ is here to weigh in with her take, alongside a reported "Prince spotting" at the MSP airport. Accor... More >>

• Flyer of the Week: Food Shelf Benefit

  published Nov 19, 2008

  This show benefiting the Minnesota-based Food Shelf program STEP was just announced this week, via this fantastic soup can flyer. Naturally, attendees get a dollar off their admission by bringing a ca... More >>

• Dance Band

  published November 19, 2008

  It's hard to say what's more odd: the fact that Dance Band will be celebrating the release of their new funkadelic electro album,... More >>

• Prince update: Purpleness says he was misquoted

  published Nov 17, 2008

  The new issue of the New Yorker has a short profile piece on Prince, in which the writer, Claire Hoffman, was invited into the Purple One's new mansion in Beverly Hills for an interview (score). Like ... More >>

• Absent Arch love that dirty basement sound

  published November 19, 2008

  The first time I saw the Absent Arch, they were playing in trumpet player Brian Voerding's apartment above a record store in Minneapolis,... More >>

• Saying "yes" across generations: my meeting with Joan Baez

  published Nov 17, 2008

  A few weeks ago my friends Stacy Schwartz, Alexa Jones and I made an election poster, a replica of an old Joan Baez anti-war poster called "Girls Say Yes." We did it on a whim, mostly to be silly and ... More >>

• Q&A: A.A. Bondy

  published Nov 13, 2008

  ... More >>

• Flyer of the Week: Beatrix*JAR

  published Nov 12, 2008

  Thanks to Beatrix*JAR for this week's whimsical flyer, designed by Dan Hernandez of DreadfulDays.net. Beatrix*JAR play Big V's this Sunday, and if this flyer is correct there will be free cake! ... More >>

• Romantica debut new music video for "National Side"

  published Nov 12, 2008

  While in Nashville for the Americana Music Conference, local alt-country band Romantica (whom I have already raved about here and here) filmed a music video for "National Side," off of last year's muc... More >>

• Triple Rock puts a new spin on Ladies Night

  published Nov 11, 2008

  ... More >>

• The Bill Mike Band search for Obamatopia with new album, Truce

  published November 12, 2008

  It's the Wednesday morning after the election, and Bill Mike is beaming. "Great day, huh?" he says, his dark brown eyes twinkling, as... More >>