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!

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…

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…

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.

the xx remixed the Magic Wands

…if only they’d touch my magic wand….I’d allow them to remix it.

Oh well.

They’re legal, right? I know they’re young….

Anyways, back to the topic at hand. The xx remixed Magic Wands. RCRD LBL has the download (link after the jump). The Magic Wand’s video for Wizards also after the jump… …read full article…

Check out this beautifully shot video of San Francisco’s Morning Benders playing a Phil Spector influenced new song, Excuses, live in-studio. I could continue to waste ink over how great this video is, but I think the best thing to do is just watch it. Highly recommended.

If you’ve been browsing your favorite music blogs the past few days, you might have noticed something different. Namely, your favorite blogs might not exist any more. It seems that Google has decided that it’s Al Qaeda and music blogs are the twin towers (…too soon?), resulting in the removable of many loved and well read music blogs, such as PopTartsSuckToasted and I Rock Cleveland, among others. This blogs were removed without warning and, it appears in some/most cases, due to posting content they had permission to post.

Stupid Google.

Nashville Scene has more on the story.

I’ve also compiled the new links to some of these sites and created a list of ways to cope with this massacre, after the jump…
…read full article…

Alright y’all, I’m back writing for Radio Exile and I’m back inventing new columns that I will likely never follow up on.

I want to introduce you all to a band that I’m obsessed with. It’s name is Oberhofer [MySpace] and it’s the brainchild/bedroom recordings of one Brad Oberhofer, a teenager from Tacoma, WA who is currently living in New York. I met Brad through work, where he gave me a CD-R with his demo tape. Since I started to work in the music industry, I’ve had a lot of people give me, or try to give me, their music. At best they’re okay. At worst…..well, lets not go there. Oberhofer’s demo was different. At worst is was fucking awesome and at best….well, lets just say that CD-R made my Top 10 Albums of 2009 list.

Music, after the jump… …read full article…

I wanna start a band. I don’t care that I can barely play guitar, can’t sing, and have no other discernible musical talents. F#ck that! I love music. I wanna start a band.

So I will.

I wanna start a noise pop band. I want to make music that’s slightly experimental, uber-poppy and catchy but also slathered in a layer of fuzz and satisfying lo-fi goodness. I wanna make music you can get passionate about and fall in love with. I want to make music you can sing along with at the top of your lungs as you blast it in your car with the windows down on a hot summer’s day. I want to make simple music that anybody can play. I want to be a part of a band that builds a community around it. I wanna start a band so I have an excuse to start a record label for which to release said band’s music. I want to make music that’s optimistic, wide eyed, non-pretentious. I want to start a scene that’s inclusive, that is that antithesis of all the bullshit that Williamsburg so often is.

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

Wisconsin natives and friends-of-the-site The Chairs are currently on their first ever American tour right now. We were lucky enough to catch them twice in Brooklyn and were not disappointed; they’re one of the most interesting and consistently catchy bands we’ve come across. Also the most prolific. After dropping the delightfully ADD-pop of Laugh, It’s A Fright in March and the coolest covers EP we’ve heard in years in October, they’re back now with 9 Ways. Without even getting to the music (a review is following soon…), it should be noted that 9 Ways probably has the best album packaging I’ve seen all year. Check it out here. It’s worth your time. TRUST me.

To coincide with their tour, The Chairs have commissioned a truly beautiful tour poster (as seen above). Really, it’s awesome. Don’t take my word for it, go read what UnderConsideration’s FPO said about it.

While The Chairs were coming through Brooklyn, we managed to score one of these posters for a give away. Not only that, but we got the band to sign the poster. NOT ONLY THAT, but the poster is #1 of only 75 made. Readers, some day (sooner rather than later most likely…) when The Chairs are the next Of Montreal, this is the sort of memorabilia which you’ll be able to sell and put your kids through college with the proceeds.

So how do you win this glorious piece of art? Be the first to e-mail tom@hitsingularity.com the answer to the following question and we’ll ship this bad boy to your door.

Ready? Are you? Okay. The question is: What song did The Chairs cover on their first EP, The November EP? E-mail me the answer first and you win. In the mean time, enjoy the mp3.

[mp3] The Chairs – Charlotte Pipe

Sooooo, I took about a month off from posting on this site. I think Shawn hates me now. Oh well, I probably deserve it. Anyways, in an effort to win back his love and affection, here are five great songs that deserve some hypin’ love!

Awesome songs from Yellow Ostrich, The Big Pink, The Music Tapes, The Beets, and The Drums after the proverbial jump…
…read full article…

Location matters. If you think it doesn’t then try and imagine “The Boss” coming from some place other than New Jersey. Location influences both the artist and how the listener perceives the artist. Tell me a band is from Williamsburg and I’m immediately bringing to the table a set of preconceived notions about what to expect. The Dirty Projectors, for instance, sound like 2000’s indie rock by way of Brooklyn and My Name Is John Michael sounds like 2000’s indie rock by way of New Orleans.

My Name Is John Michael [MySpace] is the name of the touring musical entity led by John Michael Rouchell, who, like the rest of his six piece band, is a native of New Orleans. My Name Is John Michael originally began as a 52 week one-song-a-week recording project that Rouchell under took in 2008. Originally conceived as a solo project but spiraling out of control into something much, much larger, My Name Is John Michael now touring behind the highlights of this project some 9 months later. Which brings us to Sunday night at Williamsburg’s Spike Hill. …read full article…

The Harlem Shakes have broken up. If you live outside of New York City this news likely means nothing to you and if you do live here, you’re likely thinking either “meh”, “who?”, or maybe even “that’s too bad”. Put me into the “that’s too bad” category. Actually, put me into the “this really blows” category. For whatever reason, the Harlem Shakes were as a cruelly overlooked, ignored, and under appreciated band as their has been in New York this decade. They were never flashy, never seriously buzzed about, never given much attention period. They always sort of seemed to be there floating in a sea of similar bands that could easily grouped in a future late night TV compilation entitled “Post-Strokes NYC Indie Bands”. But now that they are gone, I want to commit to public record the voice of at least one person who says that dammit, the Harlem Shakes were a damn good band and as an enjoyable producer of music as I’ve heard. …read full article…

Photo: Sound Proof Magazine

Shawn and I were sitting at a table in Brooklyn’s Littlefield (site of this weekend’s After The Jump Fest!) the other day when the topic of album of the year came up. I told him it was hands down the Rural Alberta Advantage. He said no. He said he hadn’t even listened to them yet. After my heart finished breaking and my anger subsided (this took quite some time…), I calmly informed him that I was already planning on hijacking the Radio Exile end of the year best album poll. Holly is already on my side and we are a coalition of the willing (willing….to ROCK!). I’m actively recruiting other Radio Exile writers to join in voting Hometowns as album of the year (hey Dan….join the coalition…all the cool kids are doing it). Shawn of course says this is all irrelevant as he controls the poll and will rig it so whoever he wants to win will win. F-him, I say. Us Rural Alberta Advantage fans will prevail!

So that’s it for Rural Alberta Advantage/Radio Exile news. Now for just the Rural Alberta Advantage news! …read full article…

By the time you read this, dear reader, it will be Monday morning and if the rumors are true there will be a new Radiohead EP waiting on your doorstep for you to take in and love. That is, unless nothing happens at all and the wild rumors flying around the internet are false. But when are internet rumors ever false? Rhetorical question, don’t answer that.

All this uncertainty is pretty rough on us reviewers. Here at Radio Exile we pride ourselves on getting our reviews out the day albums come out. As such we have prepared a review for this new hypothetical Radiohead release. True, we haven’t heard the release yet, or even know what it is if it even exists, but that shouldn’t stop us. Reviewers review albums without listening to them all the time.

So we did what we had to. We wrote the framework of the outline and provided options for all the unknowns. Think of this almost as a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Book, Radiohead style. …read full article…

Dear Mark Richardson,

Okay, so let me start with this: I have no problem with you as a reviewer. You gave “In The Aeroplane Over The Sea” a 10.0 (…eventually), so really, we should be like best friends here.

But I must say, giving Broken Social Scene’s Love Will Tear Us Apart cover a 3 is puzzling at best. This is a song that has been covered a ton of times and the BSS version is one of the best. Hands down. For sure. Fo shizzle. Yes yes indeed.
…read full article…

Has it really been almost a month since I did one of those? My, how time flies! Lets get on it!

And best yet, this is number TEN! Hype Device TEN! American History X? Nah, Hype Device X. In honor of HD:X, here are TEN songs that deserve some blogger love, some buzz spice, and and whole lotta hype!

Ten awesome new artists and mp3s after the jump! …read full article…

So apparently I like to start new features all the time over here at Radio Exile. I thought of another good one the other day; it’s called Covered and this is the first edition of it.

Everybody loves a cover and Covered will be a feature where we round up a bunch of covers of a single artist and give them a letter grade. Today’s Covered artist is Joy Division.

Check out the covers after the jump… …read full article…