Coachella 2009

Get ready for the 10th annual event! It's set for April 17-19 at Indio, CA's Empire Polo Field, and there are (as usual) a TON of amazing acts. If you can get there, do! Tickets are pricey, but you can get them now via Coachella's official website.

Here's the lineup:

Friday, April 17: Paul McCartney, Morrissey, Franz Ferdinand, Leonard Cohen, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Beirut, the Black Keys, Girl Talk, Silversun Pickups, the Ting Tings, the Crystal Method, Ghostland Observatory, Crystal Castles, the Airborne Toxic Event, We Are Scientists, N.A.S.A., Patton & Rahzel, M. Ward, the Presets, the Hold Steady, A Place to Bury Strangers, Felix da Housecat, Buraka Som Sistema, Ryan Bingham, Bajofondo, Peanut Butter Wolf, Noah & the Whale, White Lies, The Bug, Alberta Cross, Los Campesinos!, Craze & Klever, Molotov, Switch, Gui Boratto, Steve Aoki, the Aggrolites, People Under the Stairs, the Courteeners, Cage the Elephant, Dear and the Headlights.

Saturday, April 18: The Killers, Amy Winehouse, Thievery Corporation, TV on the Radio, Band of Horses, Fleet Foxes, MSTRKRFT, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Atmosphere, Mastodon, TRAV$DJ-AM, Henry Rollins, Crookers, Turbonegro, Hercules and Love Affair, Superchunk, Glasvegas, Dr. Dog, Drive-By Truckers, Booker T & the DBT’s, Amanda Palmer, The Bloody Beetroots, Surkin, Para One (Live), Calexico, Liars, Bob Mould Band, Zane Lowe, Electric Touch, Blitzen Trapper, James Morrison, Drop the Lime, Glass Candy, Thenewno2, Gang Gang Dance, Billy Talent, Ida Maria, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, Zizek, Cloud Cult, Tinariwen.

Sunday, April 19: The Cure, My Bloody Valentine, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Throbbing Gristle, Lupe Fiasco, Paul Weller, Peter Bjorn and John, X, Antony & the Johnsons, Roni Size, Public Enemy, Jenny Lewis, Groove Armada, Paolo Nutini, Christopher Lawrence, Lykke Li, the Kills, Okkervil River, M.A.N.D.Y., Clipse, Sebastien Tellier, Fucked Up, Perry Farrell, the Horrors, Late of the Pier, K’naan, Junior Boys, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Supermayer, No Age, Vivian Girls, Shepard Fairey, Themselves, Gaslight Anthem, The Knux, Mexican Institute of Sound, the Night Marchers, Marshall Barnes.

Who would you rather be? The Beatles or the Rolling Stones?

Wow all of my posts have been about the many great albums coming out this spring. And here's another...

Metric's new album Fantasies is being released April 14th, and I'm very excited! Their last album was relesed something like 4 years ago, so I'm happy to hear their new stuff. And if that wasn't exciting enough, Metric will be touring this June (I'll get back to you on the dates when I find them out).

The video below is a interview/slight (acoustic style) music video for their first single off the album "Help I'm Alive," a beautiful song that I think you'll really enjoy.



You might also want to check out this acoustic version of "Give Me Sympathy." It's really pretty...


And in case you're interested here's the tracklisting for Fantasies:
1. "Help I'm Alive"
2. "Sick Muse"
3. "Satellite Mind"
4. "Twilight Galaxy"
5. "Gold Guns Girls"
6. "Gimme Sympathy"
7. "Collect Call"
8. "Front Row"
9. "Blindness"
10. "Stadium Love"

Death Cab for Cutie is Touring!

That's right my friends! Death Cab for Cutie will be touring this spring with Ra Ra Riot for all of the performances and Cold War Kids or Matt Costa for certain dates. Fun! Here are their spring dates:

March 7    Miami, FL         (Langerado Festival)
April 7    Upper Darby, PA   (Tower Theatre)@
April 8    Washington, DC    (DAR Constitution Hall)@
April 9    Davidson, NC      (John Belk Arena/Davidson College)@
April 10   Louisville, KY    (Louisville Palace)@
April 11   Memphis, TN       (Orpheum Theatre)@
April 12   Tulsa, OK         (The Brady Theater)@
April 13   Omaha, NE         (Holland Theatre)@
April 15   St. Paul, MN      (Roy Wilkings Auditorium)@
April 17   Chicago, IL       (Aragon Ballroom)@
April 18   East Lansing, MI  (Breslin Events Center/Michigan State University)@
April 19   Waukesha, WI      (Van Male Fieldhouse/Carroll College)@
April 24   Spokane, WA       (McCarthey Athletic Center/Gonzaga University)@
April 25   Boise, ID         (The Morrison Center)@
April 27   Sacramento, CA    (Memorial Auditorium)@
April 29   San Diego, CA     (RIMAC Arena/UC San Diego)@
May 1      Austin, TX        (Austin Music Hall)#
May 2      New Orleans, LA   (Contemporary Arts Center)#
May 4      Nashville, TN     (Ryman Auditorium)#
May 5      Birmingham, AL    (BJCC Concert Hall)#
May 6      Atlanta, GA       (Fox Theatre)# 

(@ w/Cold War Kids)
(# w/Matt Costa)
(All Dates w/ Ra Ra Riot)

MP3 Death Cab for Cutie - Earth Angel (cover)
MP3 Ra Ra Riot - Each Year
MP3 Cold War Kids - I've Seen Enough
MP3 Matt Costa - Miss Magnolia

Exclusive Preview: Tonight: Franz Ferdinand

Now you don't need to wait till Tuesday! Head over to Fran Ferdinand's Myspace page and stream the full album!

And the Oscar goes to...

The nominess for the Oscars were officially announced this morning! In terms of music, here are the nominees for best song and best score...

Best Song
Peter Gabriel, “Down To Earth,” WALL-E
A.R. Rahman, “Jai Ho,” Slumdog Millionaire
M.I.A. and A.R. Rahman, “O… Saya,” Slumdog Millionaire

Best Score
Alexandre Desplat , The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
James Newton Howard, Defiance
Danny Elfman, Milk
A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire
Thomas Newman, WALL-E

To see the full list (best actor, best actress, best picture, etc.) you can visit the Ocars' official site here. The winners will be announced live on February 22nd at 8pm.

My guess? Best song will go to M.I.A. and A.R. Rahman, “O… Saya,” Slumdog Millionaire and Best Score will probably be Thomas Newman, WALL-E, but that one I'm much less sure about. We'll have to wait and see!

Things that make me happy...

The Silversun Pickups are releasing their sophomore album this spring! Somehow this one went under the radar for me, but it's true. The Silversun Pickups will debut Swoon April 14th, and it's about time! Carnavas came out three years ago, so I'm glad they finally have some new stuff. A tour is in the making, have no fear! Drummer Christopher Guanlao also hinted at a chance of some secret shows, so keep your ears perked!

Exclusive Download: "My Love"

Get ready for January 27th, because that tuesday is when the Bird and the Bee's newest album Ray Guns Are Not the Future is finally released! Can't wait till then? Well here is one of the tracks from the album "My Love."

MP3 The Bird and The Bee - My Love
The foot-stomping beat is simply fantastic! This one will be on repeat for a while (not that that's a bad thing....)

SXSW 2009

The list for band's performing at SXSW has been put up! Here's some of the bands that I would love to see. It's in downtown Austin from March 18-22, so if you can get yourself there DO IT!

Bands include:
Ace Enders, Andrew Bird, Annuals, Au Revoir Simone, 

Backseat Goodbye, 

Barcelona, 

Ben Harper and Relentless7, The Black Angels, The Dead Trees, 
Dear and the Headlights, 
Explosions in the Sky, 
Great Northern, 
Harlem Shakes, 
Head Automatica, 

Immaculate Machine, 
The Mae Shi, 
Malajube, 

Margaret Cho
, 
The Matches, 


Passion Pit, 

Peter Bjorn and John, 

+/- {Plus/Minus}, 

Pompeii
, 
Port O'Brien, 
Ra Ra Riot, 
The Republic Tigers, Say Hi, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, 

The Sonics, Starsailor, 
Via Audio, 
The War on Drugs, The Wrens, and 

Youth Group

If you're interested in seeing the full list of performing bands, check it out at SXSW's site here

Exclusive Download: "The Rake's Song"

The Decemberists new CD The Hazards of Love doesn't come out till March 24th, but if you go to the band's website the single "The Rake's Song" is available for a free download! All you need to do is give them your email address and you're good to go.

The story of an immoral 18th century jerk, "Rake" features supporting vocals from My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden and Lavender Diamond's Becky Stark (what's with all the Diamonds?). Meloy's indignant vocals float over an acoustic-guitar melody and pounding drums that feel as rooted in grunge as they are in British folk.

Enjoy!

Playlist: Winter Songs #1

Although it isn't exactly snowy across the country I think that we can all agree on one thing: it's REALLY cold. So with that in mind, I bring you the first (of many, I assure you) playlist to help you get through winter....or atleast winter themed. I think songs about summer might help you get through winter, but they would just make me a bit jealous and/or depressed....

but once again, me personally....

MP3 Au Revoir Simone - Fallen Snow (The Teenagers Remix)
MP3 Fleet Foxes – Blue Ridge Mountains
MP3 The Octopus Project - Snow Tip Cap Mountain
MP3 Mew - Snowflake
MP3 Animal Collective - Winters Love

Stuck on a dreamland...

I love Bloc Party, but sometimes I just can't understand their videos. It's creative, I'll give them that, but I think it still needs to grow on me.

Bloc Party - One Month Off
And for those of you that didn't know, they're coming to America!!!!!

March 19   Boston, MA            House of Blues
March 21   Philadelphia, PA      Electric Factory 
March 22   Washington D.C.       9:30 Club
March 24   New York, NY          Terminal 5 
March 24   New York, NY          Terminal 5 
March 27   Miami, FL             Ultra Festival
March 28   Chicago, IL           Riviera Theatre
March 30   Minneapolis, MN       First Ave
March 31   St. Louis, MO         The Pageant

I'll keep you posted if there are any more U.S. tour dates, but I think that's going to be it for a while. At the end of December they posted that they would only be touring in New York and Miami, but they added more dates. But right before the start of the tour they're in Montreal (March 18) and right after they go back to London (April 11). They'll probably want to relax....damnit...

The digital age...

The famous Times Square Virgin Megastore in NYC is shutting down!

The store which is (was?) the highest volume music store in the U.S. will shut down come April, leaving the Virgin chain with just five stores.

iTunes must be thrilled.....so long CDs. Whatever, we should all just buy vinyl anyway

Breaking Artist: Ou Est Le Swimming Pool

I downloaded their track "Dance the Way Feel" maybe two days ago, but I can’t seem to stop playing it. Somehow, on my online journey to find what I typed into google as “get up and fucking dance” (you know what I’m talking about….when you prance around your room and look like a complete idiot, but it doesn’t matter because no one’s home) I stumbled across Ou Est Le Swimming Pool and their mesmerizing song. It wasn't exactly what I was looking for at the time, but I have really come to love this song.

Think Justice’s “D.A.N.C.E.” anthem feel mixed with MGMT’s synths with a dash of Passion Pit’s “Sleepyhead” and The Specimen’s “Do U Damage” on the side.

Mark my words, these guys - maybe not a month from now, maybe not even six months from now, but in the future they should, can be, and will be HUGE. This time next year people will be saying how Ou Est Le Swimming Pool was one of the best new artists of 2009.

Ou Est Le Swimming Pool - Dance the Way I Feel

So sinister, so sinister

Here's the music video for "Ulysses," the first single off of Franz Ferdinand's new album Tonight: Franz Ferdinand which is being released January 26th.


I like it!

Exclusive Preview: The Von Bondies

The Von Bondies last album was released 5 years ago, but their new album, Love, Hate, and Then There's You is coming out February 3rd.

Spin.com has an exclusive first listen of the track "This Is Our Perfect Crime." Go listen now, I promise you won't be disappointed. I mean come on, its garage band rock a it's best!

Just for fun!

I'll admit that I'm not a big Rihanna fan, but I am a The Bird and the Bee fan. Check out their cover of Rihanna's song "Don't Stop the music." It's pretty good!

The Bird and the Bee - "Don't Stop the Music"

Exclusive Preview: Blood Bank

Bon Iver mastermind Justin Vernon has made his upcoming EP, Blood Bank, available to stream for "a few days only" via the band's MySpace page here. The four-song EP, which features "Blood Bank," "Beach Baby," "Babys," and "Woods," is due out January 19th and is the first new material from Bon Iver since his debut, For Emma, Forever Ago, arrived last winter.

Now on last.fm

Hello all!

Just a little update: I have made an account on last.fm. There's now a player on the right side of the page (last add on) so you guys can feel free to check out what I've been listening to. This last.fm page is so you can know what I'm listening to, another way for me to share all this wonderfully newfound music with all of you!

Cool

Exclusive Preview: Noble Beast

Andrew Bird's new album Noble Beast doesn't come out until January 20th, but you can go over to NPR's site here and listen to the entire thing. Nice!

Executive excess yes, yes, yes

I love Youtube! Awful band name though...

Shitdicso - "OK"