Email Author Andrea Swensson

Awards

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

  Year in Music

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2010 Stories by Andrea Swensson

• BNLX drop free holiday track

  published Dec 17, 2010

  BNLX -- whose series of four EPs were honored in our list of the Best Twin Cities Albums of 2010 -- are adding to their 2010 output with a free holiday track, "What Do You Have Under the Tree For Me."... More >>

• Lusurfer want to wish you a happily satanic holiday season

  published Dec 16, 2010

  It's always fun digging through the onslaught of mail around the holiday season, especially when we get creative Christmas cards from local bands. Our favorite card to arrive so far this season came c... More >>

• P. Diddy party so hot it'll set your hair on fire

  published Dec 16, 2010

  Here's a little dose of WTF for your Thursday lunch hour... So it turns out P. Diddy's been hosting some rad parties and livestreaming them on the web for all to see. Last night, Diddy invited a group... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Best local albums of 2010: How many do you knowr

  published Dec 16, 2010

  As part of our annual Year in Music issue, which hit stands yesterday, we rounded up 11 of our favorite full-length records (and, in one case, a series of EPs) in our Best Twin Cities albums of 2010. ... More >>

• Tapes 'n Tapes drop hilarious video done by locals Northern Outpost

  published Dec 15, 2010

  Tapes 'n Tapes dropped a new video for their single, "Freak Out," yesterday via Pitchfork.TV, and it has all the makings of a great music vid: A coherent plot line, a punchline ending, and, most impor... More >>

• Behind the scenes with MPLS.TV and City of Music

  published Dec 15, 2010

  As I wrote about last week, MPLS.TV's recent City of Music shoot with S. Carey was a grand affair, with 10 different videographers on site to capture the performance from every possible angle. The cre... More >>

• Tricky rescued from snowstorm by kind couple outside of Toronto

  published Dec 15, 2010

  Those hoping to catch Tricky live at the Varsity Theater last night were saddened by the news yesterday afternoon that the trip-hop phenom would not be performing. Little reason was given for the canc... More >>

• Conrad Plymouth, Zoo Animal, and pukin' Santa

  published Dec 15, 2010

  There's a helluva lineup at the Kitty Cat Klub this Friday  night, featuring Milwaukee Americana act Conrad Plymouth (whose four-song vinyl EP was the inaugural release for new imprint Ten Atoms,... More >>

• Eyedea watercolor portrait by Michael Gaughan featured on the cover of this week's City Pages

  published Dec 14, 2010

  We have a few very special surprises in store for City Pages readers this week, as we reflect back on developments in the Twin Cities scene with our annual Year in Music issue. One of the largest and ... More >>

• Tricky show at Varsity Theater canceled

  published Dec 14, 2010

  Trip-hop legend Tricky was slated to perform at the Varsity Theater tonight, but First Avenue, who helped book the show, just announced via Twitter that the show has been canceled. According to First ... More >>

• Food Pyramid get old-school spacey in new 'Cruisin' video

  published Dec 14, 2010

  New locals Food Pyramid have honed in on a very specific era of ambient, experimental music making for their debut cassette tapes, I and II. History lesson: Food Pyramid dabble in what's known as kosm... More >>

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  COVER STORY

  Twin Cities Year in Music 2010: The highlights

  published December 15, 2010

  January Doomtree MC, teacher, poet, and writer Dessa More >>

• MPLS.TV offers up free local mixtape

  published Dec 14, 2010

  In addition to taking over the world with their mad video-making skills, the folks at MPLS.TV are starting a local arts blog. One of their first endeavors is the first volume of an MPLS.TV Mixtape, wh... More >>

• Dessa playing intimate New Year's Eve show at the Aster Cafe

  published Dec 13, 2010

  Hot on the heels of this weekend's wildly successful hat trick of Doomtree Blowout shows in the Mainroom, the Aster Cafe has announced a very cool New Year's Eve show in their limited-capacity space w... More >>

• Doomtree Blowout VI at First Avenue, 12/10/10

  published Dec 13, 2010

  Photos by Nick WosikarDoomtree Blowout VIDecember 10, 2010First Avenue, MinneapolisThere was no stopping the Doomtree crew Friday night, as the five emcees, two producers, and smattering of special g... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  S. Carey performs for City of Music

  published Dec 13, 2010

  With the holiday season in full swing and the Twin Cities recovering from one of our biggest snowfalls in recent memory, this week's City of Music video with S. Carey couldn't have come at a better ti... More >>

• Ozzy Osbourne postpones Sunday's Target Center show

  published Dec 10, 2010

  Ozzy Osbourne is postponing his Sunday night show at the Target Center by exactly one month due to an ear infection, the venue tells us today. The Prince of Darkness is suffering from "complications" ... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Weekend Checklist: Doomtree, Romantica, Trailer Trash and more

  published Dec 10, 2010

  This weekend is hella packed with local shows. That's right, hella. Check our recommendations below for your best bets for the weekend, from back-to-back Doomtree shows to a raucous sock drive to a ma... More >>

• KaiserCartel playing intimate show at the Cake Shop

  published Dec 10, 2010

  There's a feeling of closeness inherent in Brooklyn duo KaiserCartel's music, and it's so palpable that they can't even afford a single space between their names. Courtney Kaiser and Ben Cartel's song... More >>

• Top #FatIndieBands tweets from last night

  published Dec 10, 2010

  You know what keeps us up late at nightr Well, rock shows mostly. But you know what keeps up reeeeallly late at nightr Hilarious Twitter hashtags created by and about the bands we love. Last night, th... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Prince crashes 'The View' (VIDEO)

  published Dec 09, 2010

  Amazing. So get this: The five women on The View were blathering on and on about what one of them should wear to an upcoming seminar or AARP meeting or something on this morning's episode, and BAM! Ou... More >>

• Pictures of Then's Casey Call talks about Saturday's 'Rock for Socks' event

  published Dec 09, 2010

  This Saturday, Pictures of Then, the Goondas, Me & My Arrow, and Canby are playing the Turf Club as part of a unique clothing drive called "Rock for Socks." The concept is simple -- bring a pair o... More >>

• The Current announces 6th birthday party with Free Energy, Cloud Cult, Jeremy Messersmith, and surprise guests

  published Dec 08, 2010

  If there's one similarity binding together all of the concert announcements of late, it might be this: The next month will officially be known as the season of "surprise special guests." Love it or ha... More >>

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  FEATURED STORY

  Romantica's Ben Kyle: The extended interview

  published Dec 08, 2010

  I recently had the opportunity to sit down with busy Romantica frontman Ben Kyle, who is preparing to release his band's second album, America, on vinyl this weekend, for an interview for this week's ... More >>

• S. Carey, the Love Power church, and the dizzying wonder that is MPLS.TV

  published Dec 08, 2010

  Dig, if you will, a picture of two dozen audio/visual nerds scurrying around an unnervingly outdated church nestled just off 94W on the cusp of the West Bank of Minneapolis. The outside of the buildin... More >>