Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti [MySpace] might be my current favorite band name (right up there with the always awesome Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin), and the band are currently putting the finishing touches to their debut at 4AD. In the mean time, the band are set to release a 7″ and digital single for “Round and Round” on April 26th.

Get a taste of what the band have to offer “after the jump” …read full article…

Do you like free music? Hell yeah you do, otherwise you’d be standing in line with money in your hand, paying for it like a sucker. (Note: I still buy lots of music. Especially vinyl. I am just goofing around here. Go with it) MASTERBEAT.com (yes, I said that again and yes, they are a new online music superstore) is celebrating their launch by offering up 10 free tracks for download at http://www.masterbeat.com/free!

Check out the playlist and get more info, “after the jump” …read full article…

Last night on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, The National gave the audience a super cool preview of their new material. The song they chose was “Terrible Love”, a great little song that reminds me of “Fake Empire” without the acapella-epic chorus.

Yes, I made up a word.

May 11th is the release day for High Violet and, as we have said before, visit http://www.highviolet.com for more album info and tour dates.

Check out the clip “after the jump” …read full article…

Yay, a super great new video from She & Him. I needed more Zooey in my life, that’s for sure. I do have a thing for her, you know.

If you’re a regular reader of this blog (an oxymoron?), you’ll know that I’m going to be driving around the country as I research a book about music and the music industry. We’ve been extremely busy with the planning and getting everything together and the big day is finally here: we leave tomorrow. We’re all incredibly excited and we have some great stuff lined up. I’ll be posting regularly on Radio Exile about SXSW and the MtyMx festivals. Check back here often to see what is up. I’ll also be posting daily on the Sound Through Sight Tumblr. Check it out.

That’s all for now. Thanks to everybody for their support and stay tuned for the awesomeness to come!

Lil Wayne, is a genius, we think. I think most people really agree and despite how disappointing many of us found his latest album, Rebirth, Weezy has our support as he is supposed to be stepping into prison today. As a sign of that support for our fave MC (plus Eminem/Slim Shady, who, let’s face it, needs some RE love), we’re going to post the video for the song that got us the most “hype” when Rebirth was announced: “Drop the World”.

Anyway, the track is great, the vid’s intense so puh-leaze check it out “after the jump” …read full article…

Oh hey. What is probably my favorite band is releasing their new album, High Violet, on May 11th. Am I excited? You betcha. You should be too; this album is amazing.

Visit www.highviolet.com for more album info (as it becomes available…..all we have now is the release date and title) and tour dates.

…This Wilco Sandwich Shop. Yes, a Wilco themed sandwich shop in Toronto called Sky Blue Sandwich Company. First Canada wins gold in Hockey and now this. 2 – 0, Canada.

Seriously thought. This is amazing. I think my breakfast sandwiches are my favorite; they include A Shot In The Arm and A.M. Too perfect.

After the jump are 5 Wilco Sandwiches I’d Like To See …read full article…

This week on Dirty Laundry, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s Robert Levon Been, who took some time to hang down at the ‘mat before heading out on tour in support of BRMC’s new album: Beat The Devil’s Tattoo, which is out now. He talks about the band, growing up the son of a famous musician and the new album, so it’s pretty rad.

Grab the track “after the jump” …read full article…

Great clip for a ridiculously hypnotic track. Plastic Beach hits shelves next week.

British post-punk legends Echo & The Bunnymen [MySpace] are launching their first US tour in support of their acclaimed new album, The Fountain. The shows are hot on the heels of the band’s recent tour celebrating their landmark album Ocean Rain that included orchestral performances at New York’s Radio City Music Hall and the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles.Their highly anticipated appearance at the Coachella Festival will kick off the tour.

Check out the dates and more “after the jump” …read full article…

Frenchkiss darlings The Antlers released a second music video from their 2009 breakout album Hospice on Friday. The video is for one of the album’s biggest track, “Bear,” shot in the bleak and snowy forest of… um… Bear Mountain, features beautiful cinematography and fantastical imagery, offering a perfect visual complement to the song’s moving lyrics. Rife with metaphors, despite the video’s initial dreariness, “Bear” maintains some of the same themes of hope that we saw in the bands’ video for “Two.”

Check out tour dates and more “after the jump” …read full article…

The old adage “I don’t want to be famous because…” pretty much applies here. Someone decided to grab Ke$ha’s middle school talent show in which she COVERS Radiohead. Yikes, not a nice move on that person’s part, but still sort of cool to hear that:

1) She can sing…a bit.
2) She is just following what’s popular and, right now, rap-pop/party-party/girl-pop b.s. is the music of the day.

Go Ke$ha. Make a dollar while you can before the major label model implodes and there are no big paydays left for anyone there.

And if you get a chance, work this cover into your set. It’s ballsy.

Sunset Rubdown [MySpace] just debuted the great new video for “Dragon’s Lair” at Pitchfork TV today. They could have debuted it here, but they weren’t sure if giving an exclusive to us would make sense. (That’s totally not true at all…I’m just talking shiiizzzzz.)

Either way, this clip = mind-bottling. Yeah, I went there.

Check it out. Above. Duh.

Dragonslayer is out now on Jagjaguwar.

Check out another track from the album “after the jump” …read full article…

?uestlove from the Roots sat down to discuss the importance and influence of Fela Kuti when he first discovered Fela Kuti’s music and the impact of his music on both his personal life as well as Fela’s impact on music and culture, showcasing works by Mos Def, Macy Grey, D’Angelo, X-Clan, and Leaders of the New School.

Over the next several months, Knitting Factory Records will be re-releasing Fela’s entire catalogue. The “Chop ‘N Quench” batch, containing 6 CDs (9 albums total) from 1964-1974, is available digitally and physically now.

Get a free track and check out more “after the jump” …read full article…

Yesterday marked the debut of Passion Pit’s official video for “Little Secrets” directed by Timothy Saccenti. The band is on tour this spring in the U.S. We’ve really liked their previous videos ["To Kingdom Come"] so check this one out, fo’ sho’.

More tourdates, etc. “after the jump” …read full article…

So if there is anything I like more than people watching, it’s music blog watching. Oh, you may not care that Matt LeMay writes for Pitchfork again or that Google shut down a bunch of sites or which blogger reportedly hooked up with which blogger, but I sure do. Some people have soap operas, I have music blogs.

So imagine my surprise and interest when, upon stumbling into work this morning (I’m sick…boo!) and booting up my computer, I saw that one of the Holy Trinity of music blogs (Pitchfork, Brooklyn Vegan, and Sterogum) had undergone a major redesign. Like, drastically major. This, ladies and gentleman, is news of the highest order. But what does it mean?

Okay, so I’m going to be reaching into my training as a music blogtologist (it’s sort of like proctology, only you study a lot more asses) for some analysis here. Bear with me. Pretension will be abound below. …read full article…

Holy gentle Jesus, this video is too funny. You know what? I was not at all surprised that Vampire Weekend, one of the “most buzzed about bands of the last half decade” (copyright: me!), might actually hang out with a Jonas Brother, RZA and Jake Gyllenhaal. Not at all. Well, they all made an appearance in the latest video from VW, “Giving Up The Gun”, and it’s a pretty great clip if I have to be honest, if not for the fact that there is a humor deeply ingrained in the piece. It can be overt at times, but there’s just a dry, subtle humor there.

Still I am shocked that VW like badminton enough to feature it prominently in a video. (Nice work, SMS. It was tennis. They were playing tennis. Seriously, wear your glasses in the morning, k?) They still seem like such a polo sort of crowd, despite their love of afro-centric beats and flavors.

Check out the clip “after the jump” …read full article…

If you’re in NYC and are looking for some sweet ass entertainment tonight (note: I said sweet-ass entertainment, not sweet ass-entertainment…this is an important distinction), I am having a concert to help raise money for the book that I am writing. We’ve got an incredible line up (truly). The door is only $7 and there will be cheap drinks (you can also BYOB). Details are below. Hope to see you out there!

The concert will be a the Newsonic Loft, an incredible loft space in South Williamsburg, on 2/19/10. Admission is $7, there will be cheap drinks available at the bar, and you can also BYOB.

Tentative Schedule:

9pm: Doors

10:00p: Common Prayer – Kingston, NY – The new project from Jason Russo, of Hopewell and the Mercury Rev

11:00p: mynameisjohnmichael – New Orleans – “One of the Top 5 Bands at CMJ 2009″ – http://bit.ly/MNIJMCMJ

12:00a: Miracles of Modern Science – Brooklyn – “One of the Top 25 Must-Hear Artists from CMJ 2009″ – http://bit.ly/momsCMJ

12:45a: Dynasty Electric – NYC – Recently signed to Damon Dash’s Blu Rock label.

With their new album, Kairos, on the way, White Hinterland have emerged with new, danceable music for fans to enjoy, which might come out of left field to those fans who loved their previous material (Phylactery Factory Review). The move, no matter how dramatic a change, was calculated and shows what Casey Dienel and Shawn Creeden do best: innovate.

The latest track is their awesome track “No Logic,” and while the band is preparing for an extensive tour of the US this Spring, we’re sure that many of you will find something to love and embrace about the band once again.

Kairos is out March 9 (March 8 in the UK) via Dead Oceans

Check out the track and more “after the jump” …read full article…