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Tag: Indie Rock

  • Bright Eyes Accuser Recants Rape Allegation

    A woman who claimed that Bright Eyes singer Conor Oberst raped her a decade ago when she was a teenager revealed that she fabricated the entire story.

    Joan Faircloth of Durham, North Carolina first posted an essay entitled It Happened to Me: I Dated a Famous Rock Star & All I Got Was Punched in the Face to the women’s lifestyle website XOJane last December. Faircloth wrote that Oberst “took advantage of my teenage crush on him” after she was introduced to him at a concert when she was 16 and he was in his twenties. Faircloth related that “Conor took a lot from me including my virginity, my dignity and self esteem.” Faircloth went on to submit statements saying that Oberst’s attorneys offered her “hush money” to stop writing about the rape.

    Oberst filed a defamation lawsuit against Faircloth in February, asserting that the rape accusation was “republished by countless media outlets around the world, thus further perpetuating the untrue depiction of Oberst as a rapist. … To add insult to injury, certain media outlets published stories in which Faircloth’s defamatory false statements were characterized as true, and in which Oberst’s fans were actually encouraged to stop supporting his musical career.” A judge issued a default judgement in Oberst’s favor in early July. Court records reveal that Faircloth never responded to the lawsuit, which called her a pathological liar, and requested $1 million in damages.

    Faircloth sent a notarized letter to Oberst’s attorney Monday explaining that “the statements I made and repeated online and elsewhere over the past six months accusing Conor Oberst of raping me are 100% false. I made up those lies about him to get attention while I was going through a difficult period in my life and trying to cope with my son’s illness.”

    Faircloth added, “I publicly retract my statements about Conor Oberst, and sincerely apologize to him, his family, and his fans for writing such awful things about him. I realize that my actions were wrong and could undermine the claims of actual sexual assault victims and for that I also apologize. I’m truly sorry for all the pain that I caused.”

    Oberst’s fans took to Twitter:

    Oberst, 34, has yet to respond to the revelation.

    The singer-songwriter, who Rolling Stone describes as “a pain-strumming poet of emo,” formed Bright Eyes in 1995 in Omaha, Nebraska. The band first achieved wide success in 2002 upon the release of the album Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground.

    Here Oberst channels the dream journal of a sullen, yet verbose high school sophomore on “A Perfect Sonnet,” from the 1999 album Every Day And Every Night:

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Arcade Fire Releases Teaser Video

    Canadian indie rock band, Arcade Fire released a teaser video for what it seems to be titled, “Reflektor.” The video flashes:Sept. 9, 9 p.m., the likely release date of the video.

    The band has been pretty hush-hush about the details of their latest album. The band’s fourth record is due out Oct. 29th on Merge.

    The video-that debuted today-opens with budding synthesizers that slowly crescendo along with the steady beat of bongos. The video creeps away from filtered shots of hands preparing on keys to black-and-white shots of rolling ocean waves. The mood of the video seems to fit perfectly with the band’s sound.

    There’s a lot riding on this next album for the Canadian super-group since their last album, “The Suburbs” won the Grammy for Album of the Year.

    James Murphy, the former frontman for LCD Soundsystem produced the band’s latest album. This however isn’t the first time the band has collaborated with Murphy. Some of the band performed and appeared in the LCD Soundsystem, “Shut Up and Play the Hits” documentary.

    Arcade Fire is comprised of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, along with Will Butler, Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury, Jeremy Gara, and Sarah Neufeld. The band first made waves in 2004 with the release of their critically acclaimed debut album, “Funeral.”

  • VEVO and Ditto Music Team Up For Indie Music

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    One of the biggest problems facing indie musicians has always been their ability to get their music out to the masses. Now VEVO and Ditto Music have teamed up to not only give indie artists a bigger platform, but also a way for them to make soe cash while they are at it.

    When asked about the partnership, Rio Caraeff, President and CEO of VEVO had this to say: “VEVO supports independent artists and we’re thrilled to team-up with Ditto Music to help new acts reach global music fans.”

    This partnership allows artists and labels who distribute content via Ditto Music to be able to set-up their own VEVO channel and receive royalties for any music videos viewed via the platform.

    Jay Kerr, CTO of Ditto Music, agreed. “We’re really proud to be able to offer this. VEVO is an incredible service and this means that a whole new wave of indie artists will be able to take advantage of video monetization.”

    If you are a current Ditto Music user you can take advantage of this program at no extra cost. Just go here to register.

    In March VEVO announced that they were expanding where their service would be offered. This is a continuing trend for the music company and they are looking to grow more in the future.