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Listen to new My Morning Jacket songs!

3 May

Heard first through Pitchfork –  Thanks to You Ain’t No Picasso, I found about two new My Morning Jacket tracks the band debuted live, “Friends Again” and “Carried Away.”

“Friends Again” sounds like a crowd pleaser already – and  the slower yet lovely “Carried Away” is sung by guitarist Carl Broeme who soulfully and smoothly paces though the song, a bit of a lullaby, although Jim James is a tough act to follow vocally.  Click the link for You Ain’t No Picasso to hear both tracks.

Below are some brief amateur videos of the songs live, but please click the Picasso link because the videos hardly do the songs justice.

The xx – “Islands”

29 Apr

Kissing, dancing, black clothes and deadpan expressions.  A night out in New York City or the xx’s latest video for “Islands.”  The video is a throwback to Bob Fosse, legendary choreographer.

Unfortunately for Americans, most of the band’s upcoming tour dates take place in Europe, however they will hit up several U.S. festivals including Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo.

Stream The New Pornographers – Together

26 Apr

One might think the energy of an album that collaborates the voices of such greats as Neko Case, A.C. Newman, and Dan Bejar may be explosive in a distracting way.   Fear not – the New Pornographers have once again have created an album that takes the genius of many and produced cohesive art, joyfully individual in its own.

Together will be officially released May 4, yet the Pornographers have made the album available to stream in its entirety for eager fans.  Visit NPR’s website to listen.  If I haven’t convinced you yet, the album also features the horn section of the Dap-Kings, Beirut’s Zach Condon, St. Vincent’s Annie Clark, and Okkervil River’s Will Sheff.

Add some joy to your day, open up your computer and just let it stream…

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti Releases a Captivating “Video Demo”

22 Apr

Astronauts lift high into space, moose bob their heads to the music, a ballerina of light exposes the next scene.

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti’s new album Before Today won’t be released for a few months, but they’ve put together an extraordinarily beautiful video demo that teases what’s to come.   The footage is so artistic and captivating it distracts you from the music – which, if you can concentrate on, is just as captivating.

The Creation of the Broken Bells Collaboration – Interviews on MySpace

13 Apr

A “sad, space rock album kinda thing,” is how Danger Mouse describes Broken Bell’s self-titled album.

Broken Bells, the collaboration between James Mercer of the Shins and Danger Mouse is undeniable beauty,  no description necessary for those familiar with the sound.  For those in the dark – open iTunes store, stat!

For fans curious about the collaboration and its creation, interviews and live performances are up on MySpace, where Mercer & Mouse open up about how Broken Bells came to be.

“When you unintentionally come up with something really cool, you’re usually on the right track,” relates Mercer.

Enjoy the interviews and performances at http://www.myspace.com/transmissions

If the live recordings streamed through MySpace just isn’t cutting it for you, check out Broken Bells live – tour dates below.

Broken Bells

May 18 San Diego – Humphrey’s Concerts by the Bay

May 19  Los Angeles – Henry Fonda Theatre

May 21 San Francisco – Regency Ballroom

May 24 Portland – Wonder Ballroom

May 25 Seattle – Showbox at the Market

May 26 Vancouver – Commodore Ballroom

May 29  Denver – Gothic Theatre

May 31 Chicago – Vic Theater

Jun 01  Detroit – St. Andrews Hall

Jun 02 Toronto – Queen Elizabeth Theatre

Jun 04 Boston – Royale NightClub

Jun 05 NY – The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza

Jun 06 Philadelphia – Electric Factory

Jun 07 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club

Jun 10 Atlanta – Center Stage

Jun 11 Athens – 40 Watt Club

Where the Sidewalk Ends, My Morning Jacket Plays

3 Apr

Shel Silverstein, the artist of our childhood, was also a country singer-songwriter.  In honor of the late poet’s side gig, artists My Morning Jacket, Andrew Bird, and Dr. Dog amongst others cover his work on the tribute album Twistable, Turnable Man.  A title referencing a poem, the album will be released June 8.  

 I read about this the other day at Spin.com , and I must say I couldn’t be more excited.  Through Spin’s website you can stream My Morning Jacket’s version of “Lullabyes, Legends and Lies.”   Although the album features many of my favorite artists, I am quite curious to hear Shel Silverstein’s original versions.   I’m not a country fan, but anything written by the man who wrote The Giving Tree has got to be pretty tight.

 Although not covered on the album, apparently Shel wrote a tune warning of the horror of an STD, titled “Don’t Give A Dose to the One You Love Most,”  which I’m exceptionally *itching* to hear.  You really were looking out for us kids Shel, we miss you.

Hahaha. Hahaha. New Hot Chip Video.

30 Mar

Like oh ma gahd. Have you seen the new Hot Chip vid on TRL?  Those boyz are sooo sexi!!

The Hot Chip dudes themselves don’t appear in their video for “I Feel Better” until 3:30, yet  boy band posers do an excellent job of throwing a teeny-bopper concert along to the music until then.  This video is just absolutely hilarious.  I don’t want to give it away, but think Jesus cancer patients with radioactive vomiting abilities, that you’ll wish had started floating around real boy band videos in the 90′s and saved us all from years of undeserving Rolling Stone covers.

YouTube won’t let me embed this one, but ch-ch-check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaCZN2N6Q_I&feature=fvw

Free track from the National – “Blood Buzz Ohio”

28 Mar

The National

Free music = more love.  I’ve always enjoyed the National for their ability to sound passionate, a bit mournful, yet so chilled out.  ”Blood Buzz Ohio” is no different.  Off their new album High Violet, which drops May 11, you can download the song here. If you dig the song, try and check out the National live, they sound even better on stage.  Tour dates below.

April 22-23 Richmond, VA
May 6 London, England
May 7 Paris,France
May 9 Berlin, Germany
May 22 Los Angeles, CA
May 23 San Diego, CA
May 27 Oakland, CA
June 2 Boston, MA
June 5 Philadelphia, PA
June 6 Washington, DC
June 8 Toronto, Ontario
June 16 New York, NY

Hear Jónsi of Sigur Rós cover “Time to Pretend”

24 Mar

An unlikely merging from two of my favorites, MGMT and Sigur Rós.  This past weekend during an appearance with BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge, Sigur Rós frontman Jónsi covered the epic MGMT hit “TIme to Pretend.”

Classic Jónsi, his version was submerged with melancholy and longing, compared to the lively spirit of the youthful original.

Listen below – and for those itching for MGMT and not a cover, you can stream their new album Congratulations from their website http://www.whoismgmt.com/


Not at SXSW? Some free downloads to cheer you up

21 Mar

For those unfortunate fools like me, at home this weekend while SXSW rages on in Austin, some friends at the festival have provided us with some free downloads by artists at SXSW such as Surfer Blood, The xx, and Local Natives.

Click here to download 29 free tracks courtesy of Spin.com

Click here to download 25 free songs courtesy of Urban Outfitters.

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