Yo Gabba Gabba!

Where was this when I was watching Nick Jr.? While I had to deal with "Hello there, Face here!" Nick Jr. is very different today, and they have a very cool show: Yo Gabba Gabba! It is by far the coolest children's show. Ever.

Past guests have included Of Montreal, Mates of State, Jack Black, The Shins, Biz Markie, Shiny Toy Guns, Supernova, The Roots, Elijah Wood, The Aquabats, The Clientele, The Little Ones, The Bird and the Bee, Apples in Stereo, Hot Hot Heat, Jimmy Eat World, I'm From Barcelona, Amy Sedaris, Datarock, Chromeo, Jem, Lady Tigra, and The Ting Tings.

If you want to check out the show, feel free to check out the schedule online.

And if you want to see just why we should all start watching Yo Gabba Gabb! check out MGMT's performance of "Art is Everywhere" below.


And remember boys and girls, "Listening and dancing to music is...AWESOMEEEE!"

The Gaga Law

(RAH)² (AH)³ + RO (MA + MAMA) + (GA)² + OOH(LA)² = Bad Romance

Need I say more? I didn't think so...

New Los Campesinos! Music Video

Los Campesinos! return with their third studio album, Romance Is Boring.

The music video for the title track, “Romance Is Boring,” has quite the plot. One part beer-guzzling husband and two parts miserable housewife, you’ve got the perfect formula for a short but very bizarre storyline.

Check it out below!

Coachella 2010 Lineup

And what a lineup it is! Bands that will be playing the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, which takes place from April 16-18 in Indio, California include (but are not limited to) Fever Ray, Grizzly Bear, Iglu & Hartly, Jay-Z, La Roux, LCD Soundsystem, Passion Pit, Ra Ra Riot, She & Him, Sleigh Bells, The Cribs, Vampire Weekend, Yeasayer, Band of Skulls, Beach House, Camera Obscura, Dirty Projectors, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Frightened Rabbit, GIRLS, Gossip, Hot Chip, MGMT, Muse, Portugal. The Man, Sia, The Dead Weather, The Raveonettes, The Temper Trap, The xx, Tiësto, Tokyo Police Club, White Rabbits, Deerhunter, Florence & The Machine, Gorillaz, Julian Casablancas, Matt & Kim, MUTEMATH, Phoenix, Spoon, Thom Yorke, and Yo La Tengo.

There are more than 130 acts scheduled to play!

Tickets go on sale Friday, January 22 at 10AM. For more information (and tickets if you're lucky enough to go) head over to the Coachella website.

The Road Trip: Kentucky

Well it's been a while - my last "The Road Trip" post was WAY back in October! But to make up for it, Kentucky is bringing it. That's right. Bring-ING-it. And with that, I proudly introduce you to (drumroll) The Photographic.

The Photographic are a rockin'duo from Louisville, Kentucky that makes wonderfully cinematic instrumental music. The band, made up of guitarist Jamey See Tai and drummer Chad Blevins, began creating music in February of 2003. And even though there may be only two of them, their looping and layering techniques are what makes the duo capable of delivering a massive sound.

Their latest album, Pictures of a Changing World, is an ever-evolving collage of sounds. Guitar loops with variations of one melody play against a soaring chord progression and rapid, cymbal-heavy drumming. The album has a distinct upbeat post-rock sound as heard in the fourth track (and one of my favorites from them) entitled "Secure."
"Secure" by The Photographic

I really want to see these guys live. From what I hear, it's not like any typical indie-rock concert and more like a visual performance. The first show they ever performed was with friends Unwed Sailor. The Photographic have also shared the stage with VHS or Beta (our honorable mention!), The Apples in Stereo, The Gossip, Viva Voce, and The Shipping News.

The band has been working on writing for their new record. Their website says that they should start demoing in the next month or two, and then hopefully go into the studio not long after.



Honorable Mentions:
"Can't Believe a Single Word" by VHS or Beta
"God Monkey Robot" by The Apparitions


Thinking of a band from Kentucky that I should know? Leave it in the comments section!

Youthless: Telemachy

Remember Youthless? Well, if you liked their demos, then you'll love to hear that they have an EP out!

I've always been perplexed by the art of songwritting. I'll admit that I've tried to create music, but let's face it, there doesn't need to be more awful music out there, and I certainly don't need to write it. So the fact that Youthless had only 10 days to write and prepare the whole EP and only 7 days to record it...well lets just say that Youthless is clearly nothing but amazing.

Not wanting to put their demo songs on the EP (don't worry, those tracks will most likely be on their first LP), the group decided to do a concept EP, Telemachy. Telemachy (which is what the first four poems of the Odyssey are collectively called) tells the story of Odysseus' son, Telemachus, who has been left behind in Ithaca waiting for his father and is trying to become a man/hero/king in his own right and protect his mother and home, so he sets off on a parallel journey to that of his father ...a rite of passage. Inspired by the themes of Telemachus, Youthless base their EP story on a coming of age theme. As drummer Alex Klimovitsky explains,

The son of a famous adventurer grows up fatherless but is raised on tales of his dad's heroic exploits. At age 14 he decides to set sail across the Pacific Ocean in search of his long lost father and in doing so he follows in his father's adventurous footsteps and slowly becomes a famous voyager in his own right. After many years of traveling he reaches the world's end and, upon crossing over, he discovers a land of all children. He finds his father, who has now become a boy, and the two become friends and settle down and make a home in the new land.

If you ask me, it's a pretty cool and thoughtful concept album. The lyrics on the EP, as Alex explained to me, are a captain's log of what goes through the boy's head as he travels. "In the Pacific" serves as a statement of the boy's intent, while "The Beasts" expresses his feelings towards his father for abandoning him, simultaneously idolizing his father and the realization that doing so, the boy also identifies with him too, essentially becoming the same animal, or "The Beast." Track three and four, or "In Motion" and "Travel N' Pieces" have more simple messages about the nomadic life and the boy's travels. "Out There" is about the end of the world and reaching the great horizon. And "I Guess" and "This Must Be the Place"end the EP and the boy's story, as he sees the new land and the children on the island, making his peace and finally arriving to a place that he can come call home.

Much to my amusement, at the end of his email to me Alex added, "The whole time we were recording the EP we were sleeping on the floor of the studio and going out and getting wasted and seeing bands play, so this balanced out some of the nerdy-ness behind the story."

I love these guys! Download their entire Telemachy EP HERE!

Bo Bruce: Brighter Moon

On this beautiful Sunday I thought I'd share Bo Bruce with you.

Some of you may already be familiar with Bo, one of the finalists from the British Orange unsignedAct competition in 2008. The British readers (or at least those who watched the show) will have to excuse me. Apparently I am behind on the times.

What I really love about Bo is that she's not just writing another radio ready pop song. She's writing wonderful pop music, but it's more for herself and not for the money, her music speaks to listeners on an entirely different level because of it. That, matched with the power in her soulful voice, helps her confident personality shine through on each song.

After Orange unsignedAct ended, Bo received offers for record deals, but she walked away from them, deciding instead to focus on her songwriting.

Check out "Brighter Moon" below. It has a great beat and I love the vocals.



Bo Bruce has an album's worth of new material and plans to release an EP sometime this spring.

We Got You Covered: "Y Control"

I love the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and I love Harlem Shakes. So what could be better than putting them together?

"Y Control" (Yeah Yeah Yeahs cover)" by the Harlem Shakes

Happy Saturday!

Hello January!

Here's to another great month of music! Not bad way to start of the new year, if I do say so myself!

Note: Unless noted, the release dates are all for the U.S.

January 12th
Blockhead – The Music Scene (physical release, out now digitally)
Blunt Mechanic – World Record

Final Fantasy – Heartland
Jason Boesel – Hustler's Son
Jukebox the Ghost – Let Live and Let Ghosts
Kría Brekkan – Uterus Water 7"
Laura Veirs – July Flame

Malakai – Ugly Side of Love

OK Go – Of the Blue Colour of the Sky 

Polysics – Absolute Polysics
Ringo Starr – Y Not

Vampire Weekend – Contra


Woodpigeon – Die Stadt Muzikanten

January 18th
These New Puritans – Hidden (UK Release)

January 19th
Cold War Kids – Behave Yourself EP

Dinowalrus – %
Editors – In this Light and On This Evening (U.S. release)
Eels – End Times
The Hot Rats – Turn Ons

Josephine Foster – Graphic as a Star (U.S. release)
Lindstrøm & Christabelle – Real Life Is No Cool

Major Stars – Return to Form
RJD2 – The Colossus



Scout Niblett – The Calcination of Scout Niblett
Spoon – Transference
Surfer Blood – Astro Coast
Susu – R and R and R


January 26th
AFCGT – AFCGT
Basia Bulat – Heart of My Own

Beach House – Teen Dream
Citay – Dream Get Together

Clipd Beaks –To Realize
David Bowie – A Reality Tour

Four Tet – There is Love in You
Fyfe Dangerfield – Fly Yellow Moon
Charlotte Gainsbourg – IRM

Harvey Milk – Harvey Milk
Interference – Viva La Interference
John Vanderslice – D.I.A.L.O. 7”
Kevin Barker – You and Me

Locksley – Be in Love
Los Campesinos! – Romance is Boring
The Magnetic Fields – Realism
My Brightest Diamond – Shark Remixes

Patty Griffin – Downtown Church
Pit Er Pat – The Flexible Entertainer
Retribution Gospel Choir – 2
Slow Six – Tomorrow Becomes You

Thavius Beck – Dialogue

Happy New Year!

May it be happy and healthy!