(Picture Courtesy of the Incomparable Shaun Bryant)

Nobby always gets the last word.

See what he had to say “after the jump” …read full article…

Why did I ask everyone back for one more week of posts? Why didn’t I just stop when I decided it was time to be done with it? Frankly, I didn’t want Radio Exile to vanish from the world like so many other sites have in the past. I didn’t want people waiting for another update, confused why I hadn’t updated in a week. Or a month. Or a year. Over the last month, I realized I was ready to move on, but damn it, I tried to make a run at it one last time. I really did.

Radio Exile, as I have jokingly stated for the better part of these past five years, is my fickle mistress. At least, she was until today. She stole time from my job, time from my friends and time from my wife. She kept me up nights, had me doting on her (usually with emails and communications) and spending so much time on her that she never paid me back for. As of today, Radio Exile is done and dead and buried. It’s a sad day for me and for all the people that have been writing in over the past few days, but it’s the right decision.

Read my final thoughts on the last day here at Radio Exile “after the jump” …read full article…

The following is a piece from the man who hired me at Inside Pulse Music, Matthew Michaels

“You know what 411 needs, Widro? A music site.”

This may or may not have been what I sent via IM to our fearless BOSS on a fateful night in the summer of 2002, but let the record show that there was SOME sort of conversation, and 411 WAS expanding beyond it’s original subject matter, and I DID eventually join the staff to write about music. It began with a recap of the 2002 VMAs that I stumbled through (I refuse to provide a link for fear of Bill Simmons gimmick infringement accusations)… and 3220 days later, I couldn’t be prouder when thinking about how it all ended up.

From 411 to the launch of Inside Pulse Music a couple of years later, to the spinoff of indie-focused Broken Dial, which is a far superior name for what we today know fondly as Radio Exile…it has all led to what’s been a bittersweet week on these pages. Sad to see it closing up shop, but admittedly enjoying the nostalgia – especially the triumphant return of Greg!

Read more from Matt “after the jump” …read full article…

I haven’t written anything on Radio Exile (or Broken Dial, as it was known then) since 2007. I realized that when Shawn informed me that the site would be closing down. People don’t think about websites dying. We think these things will be staffed forever by fervent volunteers, never wavered by the realities of time and life and changing priorities. From what I understand, Radio Exile is going away not because of frustration or anger, but because the writers of the site wish to move onto other priorities. Their lives have changed. If you’ve paid attention to the site over the last five years, you’ll see how people grow. You’ll see tastes change. You’ll see priorities shift. These are all good things. Harping on the same ideal over and over again eventually leads to just punching at a wall. That wasn’t the case at Radio Exile. It was always moving, always focusing on new, interesting things. And I’m glad to see everyone still moving, still focusing on new, interesting things.

Read KSP’s final thoughts on Broken Dial and Radio Exile “after the jump” …read full article…

How do you write a eulogy to an inanimate, intangible stored batch of 1’s and 0’s that was the only fair-weather friend that never complained and didn’t make me feel guilty? Radio Exile (and the precursory rendition Broken Dial) gave me an opportunity to have my somewhat off-kilter opinions displayed for the world. How many people get to do that? I do want to offer a post-mortem apology to my old buddy Nobby for not staying as committed as I promised I would. If I had only had the time…

Read more from Salty “after the jump” …read full article…

At the time, I loved writing for Spin online content, but the gig was becoming suffocating in the sense that corporate edits were bringing me down. Thanks to an employment encounter with Shawn Smith, Broken Dial became the perfect springboard for my ideas, and ultimately, to strengthen my craft. A clean slate, as it were, to write whatever the hell I wanted. It was quite liberating, and true freedom of the press. That was 2007, and here were are four years later, mourning the closure of its successor, Radio Exile.

A number of articles come to mind while reminiscing about the glory days. First and foremost was a review for a Magik Markers album whose name escapes me at the moment. Shawn in particular did not want to pick it apart. I found out the hard way why he delegated. It was horrible, and the only album I ranked as such during my tenure. Then there was an interview with the Hot Toddies which was very much enjoyable to organize and write up. That band is still kicking, churning some awesome girl-group music. Radio Exile also introduced me to Deer Tick, Band of Bees, and Miracle Fortress, all bands which still receive airtime in chez Perler. But my true labor of love while writing here was the Tuned In column in which I talked about songs being co-opted in television commercials. The nature of the feature kept me on my toes and helped discover some really cool music.

While I’ve since moved on to running my own website endeavor (www.boweryboogie.com), Radio Exile is still firmly in the back pocket. Those two years of writing and online experience served me well. Thanks are definitely in order for Shawn and the Inside Pulse crew. In the meantime, I’ll go pour one out for the old bag.

Ciao for now.

I’ve hemmed and hawed a lot in writing this swan song. I’ve spent the last week trying to mentally articulate a proper goodbye to Radio Exile. I’ve kept coming back to instances and occurrences that concluded with “that never would have happened if I hadn’t written for RE.” So, rather than go on and on about how much music and writing mean to me, I instead present you with my “This is How Radio Exile Has Made My Life Awesome” essay.

What did Holly remember most fondly about her time with Radio Exile? Check it out “after the jump” …read full article…

At a critical moment in the movie “Airheads” (I feel I’ve admitted so much in the first eight words) the band plotting to take over the local rock radio station with toy guns is offered an opportunity to deliver its message, unhindered, over the airwaves. One of the Lone Rangers (I can’t remember if it was Brendan Fraser, Adam Sandler, or Steve Buscemi) grabs the mic and yells “rock ‘n’ roll!”

There is an ounce of that foolishness, or more, in every attempt at self-expression. All of us hijack something to communicate something that has been communicated before. At Inside Pulse Music, Broken Dial, and then Radio Exile, we were more likely to shout “independence!” or “passion!” or a simple “rad!” A good deal of what we said was celebrating the celebrated, or attacking the attacked – but we did it well, with complete sincerity, and for free.

Read more of what Broken Dial and Radio Exile co-founder, Greg Wind, has to say “after the jump” …read full article…

I opened the lonely door to the building that is Radio Exile World Headquarters and, with a measure of slow regret, climbed the creaky stairs to Shawn M Smith’s office on the top floor. I hadn’t been here in some time but nothing much physical had changed. I paused outside his door and looked left, then right. The wood was as worn as ever, the framed photo of Jeff Buckley listed to the left as always, and the water-stained ceiling remained stained.

My three sharp raps on the door where quickly followed by an equally sharp command to enter.

Read more of Tom’s eulogy to Radio Exile “after the jump” …read full article…

Broken Dial/Radio Exile is always with me and is not simply made up of brief memories that can be randomly triggered by a snippet of an album I loved at the time or a narcissitic Google search, which always digs up more embarrassing stuff then you would ever want to find. I remember our website constantly not only because it was a fantastic experience in which I met some great people, but because it plays a key role in a story that I will most likely be telling for the rest of my life: how I met my best friend, current girlfriend and hopefully future wife (fingers crossed): Jeannine. …read full article…

After much deliberation over the past two months (and weeks of back-and-forth decision making), I have decided to shutter the doors on Radio Exile effective this Friday, June 24th.

For almost seven years, I have been gifted with the privilege of working with some of the most spectacular writers and human beings, first at Inside Pulse Music, before I was given my own “indie” site in 2006 – Broken Dial which was later renamed Radio Exile. We’ve fought some really hard battles against jerk managers and publicists while remain staunch in our belief that what we say or do on the web has as much weight as in the real world.

I never wanted to be bigger than Pitchfork or Stereogum, I just wanted our voices and opinions to be heard and appreciated. We were fans first. We covered what we wanted to. We turned down things we didn’t truly believe in.

With all this being said, our former writers, who have brought so much life and vitality to the site, will be coming back to say goodbye one last time, delivering eulogies of sorts. Truthfully, they’re the ones that made this site worth updating and keeping and generally made it worth every second I could spare.

Again, thank you all for helping me realize a dream. One of you put it best in 2007 (and you know who):

“If you wait until you have the time or can afford to do the stuff that matters most, you’ll never get around to doing anything”.

This has been the most incredible ride. Thank you for sharing it with me and with us all. (I feel like Doctor Who about to regenerate).

<3 SMS

On August 2nd, Collections of Colonies of Bees will release GIVING via Hometapes. The release is the first we’re hearing from the band since the Milwaukee six-piece worked with on Volcano Choir with Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. …read full article…

When a group takes the risk of combining sound and vocal styling that initially seem to be polar opposites, it often threatens to make the compilation a “tale of two albums”-the best of songs and the worst of songs. However, on rare occasions, the risk pays off when the yin-yang concept gives the album added depth and diversity thematically and the unique and, at times, competing sounds complement each other in a way that elevates the album to new heights like Fleetwood Mac did with Rumors and Buried Beds does with their second studio album Tremble the Sails. …read full article…

A series of names come to mind upon listening to Little Scream’s The Golden Record; names like Pink Floyd, the Cranberries, Kings of Leon, the Beach Boys, Sigur Ros and more. Each song has a completely different feel and genre to it and this band band has the cajones to not sound like everybody else when we live in a Z100 music era. …read full article…

This week on Dirty Laundry, Malia sits down with Nashville’s favorite band of brothers Jeff The Brotherhood before their set at the Echo in LA. (Note: Malia is still SUPER effing hot.)

Check it out “after the jump” …read full article…

Well, Apple isn’t always perfect, it seems. News from the web indicates that iTunes is the source of an unintentional leak of Bon Iver’s self-titled new album a full month before the official release date.

Evidently a handful of incredibly savvy iTunes customers were clickety-clicking around the service and noticed that the album was available there. They quickly grabbed the record before it was pulled down and it’s now all over the web. Rumors abound, but it appears that the service was preparing to offer the first single, “Calgary,” on the site and in the “Botch of the Year,” threw the entire album up instead.

Prevailing logic dictates that they should just release the album and garner any sales that they can today. The longer a record is held off, the less it will earn due to piracy and lack of interest so Secretly Canadian/Jagjaguwar family, if you’re reading this: GET THE ALBUM OUT NOW SO PEOPLE WILL BUY IT AND YOU WON’T LOSE A SHIT TON OF MONEY.

<3 SMS

Vancouver-based indie-rockers The Ruffled Feathers have me in a tizzy with their latest video. The band set about writing, directing and filming a cinematic musical with next to no money and have now present for the world this amazing clip, “Blueprints For Our Failed Revolution.” I say, bravo. Seriously. Everyone needs to save their money and “buck up” and get it done themselves these days. The single here is from their upcoming full-length album and the band are giving away a free single on their Bandcamp page.

So what are you waiting for? Check out the track “after the jump” …read full article…

Check out a fine tune and video for So Cal’s indietronic brother duo White Apple Tree. “Circles” is the first single from their upcoming full length album Smooth Jaws (37 Records).

Check out the video “after the jump” …read full article…

In two weeks time, one of the greatest artists of the 20th century will celebrate a major milestone. On his 70th birthday, Bob Dylan will have already outlived many of his contemporaries (Jerry Garcia, George Harrison), but the man continues to produce amazing work that truly illustrates his influence on generations. The father of modern rock, pop and folk will soon step into his 7th decade of life on May 24th, and what better way to honor him than to share our favorite Dylan records. These are the ones that if you don’t own, you should. Is there really any better way than to celebrate? Sure, we could get bombed. This was just more fun. …read full article…