Exclusive Download: Datarock

Check this out: Datarock paying tribute to New York genre-benders Talking Heads with an awesome new song! I absolutely love it!

"True Stories," is a track off Datarock's sophomore record, Red which will hit shelves September 1. During three upbeat minutes, vocalist Fredrik Saroea rattles off Talking Heads song titles - "Houses in Motion," "Don't Worry About the Government," "Once in a Lifetime," etc. - in an airy yelp not unlike that of Talking Head's lead singer David Byrne himself. The song - which take its name from Talking Heads' 1986 album and Byrne-directed film - dishes out stabs of guitar, drums, and synthesizer that recall Talking Head's landmark 1980 release, Remain in Light.

"True Stories" will also be available on a new Datarock remix EP, out on iTunes May 19 if you can't wait till September 1, well just get it below :)

Datarock - True Stories MP3

Manchester Orchestra: Act 04

Here is Manchester Orchestra's next music video for "Pride." Their album Everything to Nothing hit stores last week.

We Got You Covered: "Smells Like Teen Spirit"

Okay, yes, I am doing a Nirvana cover. And yes, I know this is extremely risky and most people in fact detest Nirvana covers. I usually hate Nirvana covers, but I like this one and I'm going to go and post it anyway.

Some of you may have heard of Winter Gloves. They're a fun Canadian outfit who took Kurt Cobain's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and put their own indie/pop/electronic/dance spin on it.

Winter Gloves - Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana Cover) MP3
They've already toured with the likes of Tokyo Police Club, and when one of your main instruments is a glockenspiel - I mean that's a conversation starter within itself.

Breaking Artist: Matt & Kim

So I'm wrapping up school - classes end for me next Wednesday, and then I just have to get through a couple of exams and I'm home May 9th. And wow, did the year go by fast! But what's been getting me through all the class and homework and papers and exams? Why Matt & Kim! Especially...

Matt & Kim - Daylight MP3
Matt & Kim are an indie power pop duo that formed in Brooklyn, New York in 2004. The group consists of Matt Johnson (vocals, keyboards) and Kim Schifino (drums, vocals). The group released their first full-length album, the self titled Matt & Kim, in October 2006 and their sophomore release Grand in January 2009. At the end of the day, their music is best described as simple, dance style rhythms and energetic performances

Matt & Kim have gotten a lot of attention even in just the past week. A lot of this has been due to their newest music video "Lessons Learned" from their album Grand.


I originally fell in love with the music, but I'll admit it was the music video that made me post about them. And yes, while I understand nudity is nothing special, it certainly takes some guts. Plus it looks like it was really cold outside!

Passion Pit

Passion Pit's newest CD Manners debuts May 19, and I cannot wait to hear it in it's entirety! But till then, there's The Reeling, the group's single off the album, and their newest music video!



Tracklist for Manners
1 Make Light
2 Little Secrets
3 Moth's Wings
4 The Reeling
5 Eyes As Candles
6 Swimming In The Flood
7 Folds In Your Hands
8 To Kingdom Come
9 Sleepyhead
10 Let Your Love Grow Tall
11 Seaweed Song

Lollapalooza 2009

August 7th-9th: Get ready Chicago! Lollapalooza has another amazing lineup this year. What I wouldn't do to see Kings of Leon, Animal Collective, TV on the Radio, Vampire Weekend, Cold War Kids, Manchester Orchestra, Passion Pit, Santigold, Silversun Pickups, and Hercules and Love Affair all in one spot. The 3 day pass is $190, well worth it when you think of all of the awesome bands and performers that you would get to see. You can buy tickets at the official Lollapalooza site here. But hurry, they sell out quickly!

Lollapalooza 2009 Lineup:
Depeche Mode
Tool
The Killers
Jane's Addiction
Beastie Boys
Kings of Leon
Lou Reed
Ben Harper and Relentless 7
Thievery Corporation
Snoop Dogg
Rise Against
Andrew Bird
TV on the Radio
Vampire Weekend
The Decemberists
Neko Case
STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9)
Animal Collective
Band of Horses
Of Montreal
Arctic Monkeys
Coheed and Cambria
Ben Folds
Fleet Foxes
Silversun Pickups
Kaiser Chiefs
Crystal Castles
Bon Iver
Santigold
Atmosphere
Dan Auberbach
Cold War Kids
Deerhunter
Lykke Li
Robert Earl Keen
Peter Bjorn and John
Heartless Bastards
Gomez
Glasvegas
Federico Aubele
Dan Deacon
Passion Pit
The Raveonettes
The Gaslight Anthem
The Airborne Toxic Event
White Lies
Ra Ra Riot
No Age
Asher Roth
Los Campesinos!
Bat For Lashes
Chairlift
Gang Gang Dance
The Virgins
Amazing Baby
Portugal. The Man
The Knux
Ida Maria
Delta Spirit
Friendly Fires
Manchester Orchestra
Constantines
Ezra Furman & The Harpoons
Hockey
Miike Snow
Alberta Cross
Hey Champ
Sam Roberts Band
The Henry Clay People
Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam
Cage the Elephant
Living Things
The Low Anthem
Blind Pilot
Langhorne Slim
Other Lives
The Builders and The Butchers
Eric Church
Joe Pug
Kevin Devine
The Green Cards
Carney
Thenewno2

DJ Sets at Perry's:
Bassnectar
MSTRKRFT
Simian Mobile Disco
DeadMau5
Boys Noise
KiD CuDi
Crookers
A-Trak
Hercules and Love Affair (DJ Set)
The Bloody Beetroots (DJ Set)
LA Riots
Kaskade
The Glitch Mob
Hollywood Holt
Rye Rye
He Say, She Say
Car Stereo (Wars)
Dark Wave Disco
Moneypenny
Yello Fever
Animal Collective (DJ Set)

Manchester Orchestra: Act 02 and 03

Clearly I have to be more on top of my game! As I posted earlier, Manchester Orchestra will be having videos for each song off their new album Everything to Nothing and will be releasing them one at a time in the same sequence as the album. Well, apparently their second and third music videos have already been released!

Act 02 - Shake It Out


Act 03 - I've Got Friends



There are still eight more videos to go, so I'm ready if you are!

Now on Twitter!

I now have a Twitter for this blog! Feel free to click the picture above and follow me. That way, you'll know exactly when I make a new post. And then we can be friends yeah? Yeah!

We Got You Covered: "Too Little Too Late"

You know that you loved JoJo's "Too LIttle Too Late" when it first hit radio back in 2007. At the very least you knew (actually still know) the lyrics so don't try to lie. Well I'm not going to lie - I genuinely like this cover. To be honest, I didn't realize it was a cover of JoJo's " till the chorus, but even now knowing I still don't care.

Department of Eagles - Too Little Too Late (JoJo cover) MP3

It's acoustic-y and beautifully haunting - give it a listen. So yes, that's my cover for the day. But I'm gonna stand by it - loud and proud. Plus one half of the duo is Daniel Rossen from Grizzly Bear, and who doesn't love Grizzly Bear? I know I certainly do!

Record Store Day!

Don't forget, today is record store day! So now what? Go out there and supporting a dying breed - vinyl of course. Go to the official Record Store Day site here and find out which stores are participating near you.

M. Ward: It's so springy!

I hope you're all out enjoying the sunshine (or at least I figure the sunshine...I mean if it's sunny and 60 in upstate New York I figure it HAS to be nice in the rest of America). And now you can enjoy a new music video from M. Ward's latest album Hold Time,

M. Ward - Rave On MP3

So now go outside! I know I'm off to a lovely picnic :)

More Comebacks: Voxtrot

Fans of Austin band Voxtrot - who have been on a hiatus for two years - may be glad to hear that the band has a new song produced, recorded and mixed by Spoon's Jim Eno called "Trepanation Party." The group did perform at SXSW, but there's no word however from the band about an upcoming album.

Voxtrot - Trepanation Party MP3
Hopefully they'll have another album out soon. I've been missing me some Voxtrot!

We Got You Covered: "Love Lockdown"

From here on out every Saturday there will be a fun cover for you to look forward to! To start us off, Here's a cover of Kanye West's "Love Lockdown."

Alan Pownall - Love Lockdown (Kanye West cover) MP3
There are a lot of differentversions that I've heard on the internet, but this one is one of my favorites. It almost makes me think of the Cold War Kids. Either way, Alan Pownall is very talented and I wouldn't be surprised if you start hearing about his own work.

Playlist: Bloody Brits!

Here's a playlist with my favorite 10 British groups that were at SXSW this year and recently featured on Ruined By MTV for the past week and a half. Links to their sites and more information on the bands can be found in the older posts.

The Answering Machine - Lightbulbs MP3
The Courteeners - Cavorting MP3
The DeBretts - Hole in the Head MP3
Dirtblonde - The Hangman MP3
Hatcham Social - So So Happy Making MP3
Ipso Facto - Six and Three Quarters MP3
Primal Scream - Accelerator MP3
Theoretical Girl - Another Fight MP3
The Vaselines - No Hope MP3
White Lies - Death MP3
(And yes, this playlist was created in it's entirety because I thought some of you would be too lazy to go to older pages. You know who you are)...

Silversun Pickups: They're baaaaack

I am ready for some more Silversun Picukups! Their sophomore album, Swoon will be released April 14th, and their single off of the album is Panic Strike. The music video is simple, yet effective - and the song's pretty awesome, too, right down to its loud but melodic guitars and dreamy chorus about paranoia. There's a really nice bass line that they focus on about 4 minutes into the song.

Check out the official video for Panic Strike below!

Ironically, the only place I could find a video to embed on Ruined By MTV was at MTV U...

Bloody Brits!: White Lies

White Lies (London U.K. - England)
www.myspace.com/whitelies

They’re new kings of doom and gloom in the U.K. Their debut album shot straight to the top of the charts, and, as song titles such as “To Lose My Life” and “Death” may suggest, they are obviously not going to sound like Kid Rock. Like Interpol or The Editors before them, they are heavily influenced by Joy Division, with a strong dose of ’80s synth pop. Time will tell if are more than just flavour of the month, and it’s gigs such as SXSW that can truly make or break the reputation of a band like this. A full U.S. tour with The Soft Pack and Friendly Fires has already started.

White Lies - Death MP3
Tour Dates

March 26   8:00 PM   Bowery Ballroom, New York
March 27   8:00 PM   Bowery Ballroom, New York
March 28   8:00 PM   Paradise Rock Club, Boston
March 30   8:00 PM   Les Saints, Montreal
March 31   8:00 PM   Lee’s Palace, Toronto 
April 1    8:00 PM   Blind Pig, Ann Arbor
April 2    8:00 PM   Radio Radio, Indianapolis 
April 3    8:00 PM   Double Door, Chicago 
April 4    8:00 PM   Triple Rock Social Club, Minneapolis 
April 7    8:00 PM   Neumo’s, Seattle 
April 8    8:00 PM   Richard’s on Richards, Vancouver
April 9    8:00 PM   Doug Fir Lounge, Portland
April 11   8:00 PM   Slims, San Francisco
April 17   8:00 PM   Coachella Festival, California

Bloody Brits!: The Vaselines

The Vaselines (Glasgow U.K. - Scotland)
www.myspace.com/thevaselinesband

Without a doubt, one of the highlights of SXSW 2009 was The Vaselines, the legendary Scottish band whose Sup Pop releases inspired none other than Kurt Cobain. To see the band who wrote C86 classics such as “Molly’s Lips,” “Son of a Gun” and “Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For A Sunbeam” perform those songs live should have been a sight to behold, as proved by their well-received comeback gigs last year. The Scottish act helmed by Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee are finally reaping the rewards they’ve always deserved, and their SXSW set is sure to be very special.

The Vaselines - No Hope MP3

Bloody Brits!: Theoretical Girl

Theoretical Girl (London U.K. - England)
www.myspace.com/iamtheoreticalgirl

With Britain’s current obsession with quirky female singer-songwriters (seen as an antidote for the so-called “landfill indie” of bands such as Pigeon Detectives or Razorlight) the time is right for Theoretical Girl. After all, her electro-tinged brand of indie rock sits very nicely alongside more hyped acts such as Little Boots or Florence And The Machine — in fact, Theoretical Girl is better, and songs such as “The Hypocrite” or “The Boy I Left Behind” prove she’s got enough personality and tunes to take her to the top.

Theoretical Girl - Another Fight MP3

Bloody Brits!: Primal Scream

Primal Scream (Glasgow Scotland U.K.)
www.myspace.com/primalscream

Maybe Bobby Gillespie & Co. will never make an album as good as Screamadelica or XTRMNTR again, but their latest album Beautiful Future had its fair share of catchy tunes and showed a reinvigorated Primal Scream. Live, though, is where they truly shine. On their most recent U.K. tour, Primal Scream proved that they are still a very powerful live band — possibly better than ever before, beefing up their set with My Bloody Valentine-esque levels of noise, turning songs that originally sounded more “trad” (such as ‘Rocks’ or ‘Country Girl’) into a shoegaze soup of distorted guitars. As for their more cutting-edge songs — it’s like you died and went to rock and roll heaven. They were the best British band at SXSW this year, no question.

Primal Scream - Accelerator MP3
Take a listen - it's wonderfully fuzzy!