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…

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…

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…

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…

The uber-sexified likes of NYC’s own The Phenomenal Handclap Band [MySpace] recently debuted a great new video for “Baby” with the good peeps over at Stereogum. The clip was “likened to a Dario Argento film”, and is a super saturated and atmospherically depressed clip from Steven Agnew, the genius behind The Futurehead’s “Walking Backwards” video.

The band’s self-titled album is out now on Friendly Fire Recordings.

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

It’s now 2010, the beginning of a new decade. Have you stopped to wonder what the next ten years will look like for music and the music industry? What will be the dominant musical trend? What will the industry look like in ten years?

Our sort-of-awesome, sort-of-Chuck Klosterman ripping off writer Tom Williams has. However, unlike you, dear readers, he is doing something to find the answers. Next month Tom and two companions will embark on a two week long road trip across America and Mexico, where they will speak with bands large and small, venue owners, record store clerks, label managers, and music fans of all time, seeking to understand the nature of music and the music industry to come.

Upon his return, Tom will write a book, to be entitled Sound Through Sight: A Road Trip, about his travels, the people he speaks with, and the insights he discovers; think Klosterman’s Killing Yourself To Live meets Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy In America. His travel companions will also be producing a book of photography from the trip, as well as a short documentary.

Tom is seeking to raise $1,400 before he leaves in three weeks via the site Kickstarter. To read more about his project, to purchase an advance copy of his book, or to see other cool ways you can help support the project, check out his project on Kickstarter.

If you’re in the NYC area, Tom is also throwing a concert Friday night to help raise money for the project. Event details can be found on Facebook.

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

9:30: Dynasty Electric – NYC – Recently signed to Damon Dash’s Blu Rock label.

10:00: mynameisjohnmichael – New Orleans – “One of the Top 5 Bands at CMJ 2009″ – http://bit.ly/mnijmCMJ

11:00: Common Prayer – Kingston, NY – The fantastic new project from Jason Russo, of Hopewell and the Mercury Rev

12:00: TBA (but they’ll be damn good, we promise!)

Click to Download and Share the Event Poster

Super Swede, El Perro Del Mar, is embarking on a co-headlining tour next week with fellow Swede hottie, Taken By Trees. El Perro Del Mar’s latest album, Love Is Not Pop, was released in 2009 via The Control Group and is pretty awesome. If you get a chance to check them out live, you definitely should.

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

Yesterday, Black Gold [MySpace] debuted their new video for “Shine” from their spectacular album, Rush with the good peeps at Aol Spinner. Here’s what they had to say:

“Filmed on location in the California desert by director Josh Forbes, the video for Black Gold’s ‘Shine’ is indeed beautiful. But there’s more going on there than just a pretty setting — the hidden treasures may be revealed, partially, by the appearance and use of wish lanterns. The lanterns, which fill up with hot air and take flight — hopefully taking the original bearer’s wishes along with it — are a New Year’s Eve tradition in Thailand.”

Sound cool? It is.

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

Shellshag (Johnny “Shell” and Jen “Shag”) [MySpace] have built up a long reputation in the 1990s DIY scene in San Francisco. According to the press materials I just saw on this new album, these two ran “the now-legendary public arts space Starcleaners” which if you didn’t know (as I didn’t) was a home for the emerging talents of the Dandy Warhols, Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Residents, etc. Insane sphere of influence, to say the least.

The new album, Rumors In Disguise (which is where this clip comes from) is out February 9th on Don Giovanni.

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

The Portland, OR band, Eat Skull [MySpace], recently signed to Woodsist Records in anticipation of releasing their latest single and album later this year. With an upcoming show February 20th at East End in their hometown (w/ The Urinals) the band look to focus on completing their full-length in the near future. …read full article…

Thanks to a tip from our friends at The Music Slut, we heard that Port O’Brien’s latest EP, The Pan American Sessions, is available today. Good news for fans of the band and indie fans alike.

Check out some material from the band and upcoming tour dates “after the jump” …read full article…

The Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival announced the 2010 line-up this year and it isn’t too bad. Granted, anything short of a Smiths reunion is underwhelming to the apathetic masses, but overall, this youth-and-indie focused oasis in Indio looks as strong as in recent years. After a few years of “established” headliners, the show will feature headline performances from younger acts including Gorillaz, Muse, Jay-Z, Thom Yorke, MGMT, Hot Chip, Spoon, Vampire Weekend and LCD Soundsystem at the very top of the bill for the three-day concert that begins April 16 at the Empire Polo Field in Indio.

This year, while there will be “nostalgia acts”, among them Woodstock icon Sly and the Family Stone, 1980s alt-rock outfit Echo and the Bunnymen and the 80s college-rock outfit Pavement, they will not be leading the bill like Paul McCartney, Prince and Roger Waters have in recent editions of the show.

Check out the lineup and full size poster “after the jump” …read full article…

Photo Credit: Joshua Uziel – uzishots.com

The title says it all: we’re really digging CAVES [MySpace]. The band uprooted from San Fran-to-Brooklyn and make we’re hearing the impact of both cities on their latest project, their Face the Wall EP. The charming psychedelia of the Bay Area seems like a less than likely partner for the lo-fi movement they’ve come to embrace in their new digs, but this, as they’ve termed it “trash can psychedelia,” makes for beautiful music.

Any chance that I get to talk about my two favorite cities in the world is enough for me, but I really love what I have heard. Check out some track “after the jump” …read full article…

Rogue Wave [MySpace] just released a new track from their upcoming album, Permalight. The song, “Good Morning,” shows a more mature RW side-stepping the expectations that haunt so many after they begin to develop critical success. Gnarly, right?

Check out “Good Morning” “after the jump” …read full article…

We’ve talked about Headlights [Official] here in the past (as their video for “Love Song for Buddy” was recently featured in our 8 Great Videos Worth Checking Out Now) but they announced yesterday that they are hitting the road with David Bazan, so catch them if they hit your next o’ the woods.

The band recently sat down to play a session with Daytrotter (“Teenage Wonder”, “You & Eye”, “Secrets”, “Wisconsin Beaches”) that you can check out now as well.

Their latest album, Wildlife, is available via Polyvinyl.

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

Check out A Place to Bury Strangers‘ new video for “Keep Slipping Away” (above) and make sure to catch them on their upcoming North American tour.

Get the Tour Schedule “after the jump” …read full article…

The Mountain Goats hold a particularly special place in my music-loving heart as it is at one of their shows that I chilled with a close friend whilst looking at hot NYU girls and finally realized, “I’m fucking old”. That sort of association had never been really clear until that night, however, I can smile looking back on that time now and how very far this site and my friendship with that writer have come since then. The above clip comes from our friends at Grandcrew.com and is an entire Parisian concert featuring TMG from this past October.

“11th Dimension” is the first video from Julian Casablancas‘ solo album, Phrazes For The Young and it is pretty great in a fun, throwback, synthy sort of way. The neon highlights in his clothing remind me of Strokes single “12:51″ for some reason which, in turn, made me think of Tron (because, well, it was full of Tron references).

Like I always say, the more keytar, the better.

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

All My Friends Are Funeral Singers, the film that accompanies Califone’s new album of the same name, will be making its theatrical premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah this January. The film was written and directed by Califone [MySpace] frontman Tim Rutili, and is his debut feature length film. The band will also be performing a live soundtrack alongside the film at the opening screening at Sundance.

Check out more info, tour dates, and two mp3s “after the jump” …read full article…