Tapes 'N Tapes / Top 10 Album Year List

Here's the album opener from the forthcoming Tapes 'N Tapes album, titled "Outside". Check out the fantastically rousing "Badaboom" below. The album as a whole has me hearing tinges of old David Byrnes/Talking Heads. Give a listen, and check out our Top Ten Albums of the year list below as well. "Outside" will be released on January 11, 2011. You can pre-order it HERE.

"Badaboom" by Tapes 'N Tapes

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Top 10 Albums of 2010

(10)The Way Out - The Books - I like found sounds. I like The Books. Highlight of this album, "Free Translator".

(9)Treats - Sleigh Bells - After hearing what this act was comprised of, my gut instinct told me to dislike this at all costs! Until I heard "Kids" & "Rill Rill".

(8)Meet Me at the Munster Station - P.S. I Love You - Seeing what these guys look like, in relation to what they sound like, made me scratch my head. Other than, highly approve.

(7)First Four Ep's - OFF! - This punk rock all star team puts out 16 tracks, each clocking in under 2:00 minutes. Nostalgia is nice.

(6)High Violet - The National - For me personally, I enjoyed this more than their last release. Dark never sounded so comforting.

(5)The Brutalist Bricks - Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - I was fist-pumping to this one all year. Ted makes NJ proud. Highlight song on this album for me, was "Bottled in Cork".

(4)Halcyon Digest - Deerhunter - I've always thought Deerhunter was an acquired taste, that took a little effort to really appreciate, as far as full albums go. I quite enjoyed this one though, and a few tracks even made my father question' "What's this?"

(3)Majesty Shredding - Superchunk - The much needed album from one of my favorite bands of all time, was highly welcomed in 2010. Mac & Co. showed they certainly still had the chops that I grew up hearing.

(2)The Suburbs - The Arcade Fire - The band of Canadians can seemingly do no wrong in my book. The exclamation point on this album, was my favorite music video experience of the year.

(1)My Beautiful, Dark Twisted Fantasy - Kanye West - Yeah, I guess he's kind of an asshole, but Taylor Swift is a whore, no? I only keep up through TMZ. This album just has the goods. Highlight of the album for me, "Blame Game" featuring Aphex Twin sample.

Did I leave anything out? Most likely.

Robert Smith + Crystal Castles + Full Frontal = Two Tuesday Tracks

Here's two tracks to fuel your Tuesday, holiday struggles. The first is a great track from The Crystal Castles, with The Cure's Robert Smith on vocals. Check out "Not in Love" below.




"Not in Love (featuring Robert Smith)" by The Crystal Castles

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Secondly, we have a great track from a local L.A. band called Full Frontal. Check out their Facebook page, for show info and more tracks. Recommended if you like The Horrors, Joy Division, and Bauhaus. Check out "Suitcase or a Coffin" below.




"Suitcase or a Coffin" by Full Frontal

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Visit the official Crystal Castles site.

Visit the sister site of this site, The Book of Band Names.

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Vampires are seemingly everywhere...

Here's the new single from Basement Jaxx titled "Dracula". Also on here, Jason Segel singing "Dracula's Lament" from "Forgetting Sarah Marshall". You decide which Dracula song you like better.

"Dracula" by Basement Jaxx

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Visit the official Basement Jaxx site.



"Dracula's Lament" by Jason Segel from "Forgetting Sarah Marshall"

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Unrelated to Vampires, you should check out www.bookofbandnames.com. Its a site that hilariously suggests fictitious band names for struggling artists. Just click it.

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So overdue.

No excuse. I hate myself for not posting anything new in so long. And with lots of music out there I really like. Coming soon. Been working on another site, that is a writing project, with a few friends. Instead of a book of baby names, we're writing and compiling a Book of Band Names. Check out www.bookofbandnames.com. Do it. Write us. Use the suggestions. Don't be so cruel.

Dancetastic

Check out a song from the new Ghostland Observatory record titled "Codename: Rondo". For fans of the Rapture, LCD Soundsystem, and noises that come from computers, check out "Give Me The Beat", below. Good luck getting it out of your head.

"Give Me the Beat" by Ghostland Observatory

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Ghostland Observatory music is available on iTunes.

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Vampire Weekday

If you like vampire tv shows, novels, movies, I may just look at you like you just told me you're a registered sex offender. With every judgement, there is an exception, and my exception is this Swedish masterpiece.

My "I think Vampire shows and movies are dumb" segue leads me to the soundtrack for "Vampire Diaries"...which is some ridiculous looking show on The CW Network, or something like that? The soundtrack features songs from Bat For Lashes, Placebo covering Kate Bush, Goldfrapp, and The Gorillaz. It also features the song below, by The Silversun Pickups. Vampy, and charecteristically fuzzy, check out "Currency of Love" below. Have I mentioned that Chris Guanlao is an amazing, Animal from the Muppets-like drummer?

"Currency of Love" by The Silversun Pickups

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The "Vampire Diaries" soundtrack is available at Amazon.

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P.S. they're playing in L.A.!

Here's a track from a record I'm growing quite fond of, from Canada's P.S. I Love You. P.S., happy belated Thanksgiving, Canada! Check out the P.S. page HERE. They will be playing tonight at The Central in Santa Monica. Don't like that part of town? Me either! P.S. I Love you will be wrapping up L.A. at The Mint tomorrow night. Check out "Little Spoon" below.

"Little Spoon" by P.S. I Love You

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P.S. I Love You's album "Meet Me at Munster Station" is available at Paper Bag Records.

CLICK HERE for front page and full list of track postings.

Robot Love

Here's a track from the "I'm Here" soundtrack, a short film from Spike Jonze, which debuted earlier this year at Sundance. The film is described as a Sci-Fi Romance, with two robots in Los Angeles, who find love in one another.

The Lost Trees are a fictitious robot band in the film. The band is actually Nick Zinner, Kevin Barnes of Of Montreal, and members of The Moonrats. Sounds complicated enough? Check out the site for the short film HERE. Check out "The Past is a Grotesque Animal", which is originally an Of Montreal song, below.

"The Past is a Grotesque Animal" by The Lost Trees

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The "I'm Here" soundtrack is available at Amazon.

Also, "I'm Here" paperback at Amazon.

CLICK HERE for front page and full track listings.

Neutral Milk Monday

Here's two tracks I discovered on heavy discount, a la bargain bin deals...that in no way discounts or should deter you from these wonderful bands.

The first track is from Neutral Milk Hotel, from their 'Everything Is' EP. Check out the title track below.


(Somebody handed Paris a NMH cd...what's hidden inside of it?!)

"Everything Is..." by Neutral Milk Hotel

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Secondly we have a track from a great New Zealand act called Surf City. Check out 'Free The City' from their self titled Ep.



"Free the City" by Surf City

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Also for your video pleasure, check out a video from the Matador 21 party in Las Vegas a few weekends ago. Ted Leo joins Liz Phair onstage for a rendition of 'Fuck & Run'. I can't help but speculate, but did Liz and Ted get down and dirty in a Vegas hotel room last weekend? Even a small chance?! If only there were an Indie Rock TMZ.

Liz Phair & Ted Leo at Matador 21 Anniversary in Las Vegas


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The Suburbs and Halcyon Digest

(Photo from Contactmusic.com)

In support of "The Suburbs", the Arcade Fire sprung into their first of a two night stay at the Shrine Auditorium, in L.A. The first part of their set covered much from the new album, while the band incorporated a healthy mix of songs from "Neon Bible" and "Funeral".

The band overcame some early technical difficulties, which set the tone for Win to be pretty loose most of the night. He even took a light-hearted jab at our own L.A. Lakers, but prompted the band to start 'Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)' before any audible response or disapproval from the audience could permeate the crowd.

Overall, the band was as entertaining and provoking as the previous times I've seen them. While I'm about to sound like an enormous dick for taking offense to people having a good time, to the people who were dancing as if they were in one of the terrible clubs on the Sunset Strip, don't act surprised when you get made fun of when you're showing off those moves in a context that doesn't match to the tune of songs like 'Intervention'.

The band was great, but the venue was a pain in the ass to get to, and the mainstream appeal of a band like the Arcade Fire cannot prevent people who drive large trucks with Dave Matthews Band stickers plastered on them, from clogging the very same streets the USC kids and concert goers needed to access to get to the show. 'A' for effort, 'A' for performance, 'C' to the Shrine for being the Shrine.

Check out 'Earthquake' from the new Deerhunter album, "Halcyon Digest" below. Available now from the always wonderful 4AD Records. That's song 2 of 30 for my promise.

"Earthquake" by Deerhunter

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Deerhunter music is available on iTunes.

CLICK HERE for front page and full list of track listings.

30 in 30

Growing up can be hard (on your records). In the last year, I've gotten married, bought a house for the first time, thrown around the idea of making babies, and stood pat at my crappy day job.

The stream of good music has been consistent, but writing with frequency has not. That's why I'm challenging myself to write for the next 30 days, with 30 songs in tow. Any lapse in days will be made up in the next day I write...I will do my best to avoid 29 songs in one post, 29 days from now.

ARCADE FIRE at The Shrine Auditorium


Tonight, the Arcade Fire will open a two night stay at L.A.'s historic Shrine Auditorium. I sure hate big shows, with droves of people, but I just can't stay away from seeing them tonight. I've seen them play at least once, for every album they've put out. Can't say enough about their live experience.

Check out one of my favorite's from 'Neon Bible', 'Ocean of Noise' below. A word about the show at The Shrine tomorrow...

"Ocean of Noise" by The Arcade Fire

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Arcade Fire music is available at iTunes.

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Online Presents

The Fall is officially here, and so is new television. Last night, FOX unveiled their return to smart comedy, by premiering two new shows, Raising Hope and Running Wilde.

Running Wilde comes from the creator of Arrested Development, and stars Will Arnett, aka GOB Bluth, also aka Mr. Amy Poehler, and that chick from Felicity and the Noxema commercials. The premise involves Arnett as a grown up, rich kid who can buy everything he wants, except that lost teenage love...enter Felicty's Keri Russell. It's like an American 'Arthur'. David Cross made a cameo last night, and I look forward to seeing more of the far fetched hilarity, to see what this series has to offer. Visit their official site here. Running Wilde is on Fox, Tuesday nights at 9:30pm.



In the preceding 9:00pm slot, Fox also premiered Raising Hope. The premise involves the main character, Jimmy Chance, raising a wedlock baby he made with a female crime spree murderer, who gets the electric chair, leaving Jimmy to raise 'Hope' on his own, with the help of his kooky family, played by Keanu Reeve's girlfriend in Parenthood, Martha Plimpton, Cloris Leachman as his senile great grandmother, and his father is played by this scoundrel, in The Road, Garet Dillahunt.



This unconventional comedy involved projectile vomiting onto baby 'Hope', antiquated baby car seats violently rolling around a back seat, and raver pacifier gags...what else can you ask for? Raising Hope airs Tuesday nights on FOX, at 9pm.

Enjoy these two shows while you can...we all know what the execs at FOX did to Arrested Development, after all.

And for my best music news of the Fall, Superchunk have released "Majesty Shredding", on MERGE. Mac and company can do no wrong in my book. Check out "Fractures in Plaster" below. Also check out a great video of comedian Todd Barry covering 'Horror Business' by the Misfits, with Superchunk.



"Fractures in Plaster" by Superchunk

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Superchunk music is available on iTunes.

CLICK HERE for front page and full list of track postings.

Pop Sensibility.

Here's two brand new tracks I'm really enjoying lately. The first is a track from the forthcoming Film School album, titled "Fission". The album will be released on August 31st, courtesy of Hi-Speed Soul Records. Check out the steady, melodic drones on "Still Might". Film School will make an L.A. stop on their tour on October 21st, at The Echo. Visit their MySpace page, at the top of their page is an offer to pre-order their album, in which the band will send you a signed, physical copy.



"Still Might" by Film School

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The second track will make all the kids with a hankering for Passion Pit, Phoenix, and Vampire Weekend quite happy, a track called "Boy" from Ra Ra Riot. The album will be released on August 24th, by Death Cab friendly Barsuk Records. Ra Ra Riot brings their act to the Music Box in L.A. on October 20th.



"Boy" by Ra Ra Riot

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Ra Ra Riot & Film School music is available at Insound.

CLICK HERE for front page and full list of track postings.

J-Droids

I like the Japandroids. Like...a lot. For those of us old enough to remember, Cap N' Jazz have reunionized, and are playing at The Echo in L.A. later this month. Here's an ode to "The Younger Us". Check out "Younger Us" and a video from Cap 'N Jazz's latest tour, below.

"Younger Us" by The Japandroids

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Cap 'N Jazz - Little League (Live)



Purchase the Japandroids "Younger Us" 7" at Polyvinyl.

CLICK HERE for front page and full list of track postings.

There's new all over the place...

Here's two tracks, from two highly anticipated records. "The Suburbs" has an August 3rd release date, from the EENC favorite label of MERGE Records. Check out "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains). Win's lovely and talented spouse, Regine Chassagne takes the vocal lead on this track, a very Knife-esque song. The album is full of surprising sound and direction, which showcases the true innate talent this band possesses, which ultimately has led to the evolution in "The Suburbs" Pre-order the album HERE.



"Sprawl II" by The Arcade Fire

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And secondly, check out the ode to L.A. track from Les Savy Fav's forthcoming record titled "Root For Ruin". Their first record since 2007's "Let's Stay Friends", LSF are releasing this new effort on September 13th, via Wichita Recordings. NYC's reigning spazz rockers celebrate the West Coast on "Sleepless In Silverlake". Any potential for a romantic comedy of the same name, starring Zooey Deschanel and say, Ryan Gosling?! Pre-order "Root For Ruin" HERE.



"Sleepless in Silverlake" by Les Savy Fav

Removed by request.

Buy Les Savy Fav and Arcade Fire music at Amazon or Insound.

CLICK HERE for front page and older list of track postings.

We are not Architectural Digest...

...so we'll stop acting like an expensive, once-a-month publication for older people, and include some online goods on a more frequent, consistent basis. Procrastinators unite!

With that said, check out a remixed track from "The DJ Shadow Remix Project". "Entroducing" was my introduction to everyone's favorite DJ extraordinaire from Davis, CA, aka "Your favorite DJ Saviour". Enjoy the drum and bass heavy remix of "Building Steam With a Grain of Salt", the Ruby My Dear Remix. Read more about the "DJ Shadow Remix Project".

"Building Steam..." (Ruby My Dear Remix) by DJ Shadow

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DJ Shadow albums are available at Amazon.

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AV Club Undercover

Here's a track from the AV Club Undercover series, a great project in which 25 artists are invited to perform a cover, from a list of 25 songs. The list includes Maritime covering Depeche Mode's "Enjoy The Silence", The Clientele covering M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes", and The Fruitbats covering Hall & Oates' "One on One", to name a few. You can view the episodes and songs recorded thus far at the AV Club Undercover site.

Download Ted Leo & The Pharmacists covering Tears For Fears' "Everybody Wants To Rule The World", below. You can also watch the video underneath.

"Everybody Wants To Rule The World" by Ted Leo & The Pharmacists

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Ted Leo And The Pharmacists cover Tears For Fears

Ted Leo & The Pharmacists music is available at Amazon.

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"Somewhere"

Check out the trailer for the new Sofia Coppola movie, titled "Somewhere". It stars Stephen Dorff, who I consider to be the poor man's version of Christian Slater, who in turn, I consider to be the poor man's version of Jack Nicholson. It also stars Dakota Fanning's sister, Elle...seems like the Fanning clan has an agent ready in the delivery room?

Much has been said about Coppola's visual glitz in her films, while lacking any real depth. I do to this day, enjoy "Lost In Translation". However, I feel a lot of what the great Bill Murray brought to the film, Coppola ultimately took credit for. And I did enjoy "Marie Antoinette", mainly because I got to watch it at The Arclight in Hollywood, while playing hookie from work years ago, and was fortuitously sat next to Jimmy Kimmel and Sarah Silverman (name drop!).

Check out the trailer for yourself, and download the song from the trailer, by The Strokes...Coppola nepotism applied. Regardless of how you feel about Sofia Coppola's cinematic career, her champagne and wine sure work!

"Somewhere"


"I'll Try Anything Once" by Julian Casablancas

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Mates of State cover Belle & Sebastian, and more movies!

Sleep The Clock Around

Here's a track from Mates of State's new covers album titled "Crushes". "Sleep The Clock Around" is a Belle & Sebastian cover, which I think is done quite nicely.

"Crushes (The Covers Mixtape)" will be released on June 15th, and available for pre-order HERE. They also cover Mars Volta, Daniel Johnston, and Death Cab For Cutie tracks. Visit the official Mates of State site.

"Sleep the Clock Around (Belle & Sebastian) by Mates of State

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Here's a few more trailers for some forthcoming Summer releases that has our interests piqued.

CYRUS
John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill, Marisa Tomei, and Catherine Keener star in this dark comedy for all of you kids who grew up with multiple sets of parents.




PREDATORS
Somehow this movie has been green lit, despite all the incarnations of Predators duking it out with Aliens. After Predators invading the Bay Area Rapid Transit system against Danny Glover, I guess the cast still hasn't figured out that Predators will leave you alone if you're not carrying a weapon? The good news is Robert Rodriguez directs Adrien Brody, Danny Trejo, and Laurence Fishburne in "Predators".



INCEPTION
And finally, Christopher Nolan directs Leonard DiCaprio, Ellen Page, and Cilian Murphy in the mindbending, and seemingly too difficult concept for me to comprehend, "Inception".



Mates of State music is available at Amazon.

CLICK HERE for front page and full list of track postings.

"Champ" & Movies you should anticipate...

First off, here's a track from the new Tokyo Police Club album, titled "Champ". The album is due out on June 8th, via Mom + Pop Records. Tokyo Police Club is currently touring as a support act for Passion Pit. My first listen of "Champ" has me quite impressed of the Club's well crafted collection of pop songs on their fifth release. Check out the wonderful melodies from "Hands Reversed" below. Pre-order the album from Amazon.

"Hands Reversed" by Tokyo Police Club

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Tokyo Police Club music is available at Amazon.


"That'll be $18.50, please..."


In an ongoing installment, we're gonna highlight some films set to be released this Summer, that has piqued our interest. Here's a few to get that proverbial itch in your pants going...


"Get Low" has a July 30th release date, and stars Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, and Sissy Spacek. An old timey styled movie, with an interesting plot...check out the trailer below.

"Get Low"



My old college roommate was constantly teased for his love of such terrible excuses of entertainment, such as The Highlander TV series...however, he was unapologetic about it, as he himself knew how terrible it was, but would simply say, "It's so bad, that it's actually good...". Enter, "The Expendables". A film starring Jason Statham, Mickey Rourke, Sylvester Stallone, Steve Austin, Jet Li, and Dolph Lundgren! You gotta see it for yourself. Sadly, you gotta wait til August 13th to get your testosterone hopped up.

"The Expendables"



And the last to be released film we wanna talk about today, is "The Kids are All Right", starring same sex movie partners Julianne Moore and Annette Benning, who meet their sperm donor from years ago, played by Mark Ruffalo. We love Julianne Moore as one of Alec Baldwin's "Bahh-stan" love interests on 30 Rock. Our favorite Julianne Moore quote from the last episode? (To Alec Baldwin) "You look like a gay mortician in that suit...". "The Kids are All Right" drew rave reviews at Sundance earlier this year, and releases on July 7th.

"The Kids are All Right"




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The Sweetest Thing...

Here's a track from Camera Obscura's "Nights Are Cold" single. "The Sweetest Thing", originally released on 2009's "My Maudlin Career", gets a re-working and remix from suave, British crooner Richard Hawley. The single also contains a cover of a Richard Hawley song, "The Nights are Cold".

You can purchase the single from Amazon. Visit Glasgow's, Camera Obscura's official site, HERE. Also, single music nerds are still drawn to this Camera Obscura album cover from yester year...

"The Sweetest Thing" by Camera Obscura
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Camera Obscura music is available at Amazon.

CLICK HERE for front page and full list of track postings.

Vancouver '86

(A parade of the leisure kind)

Here's a track from the forthcoming Wolf Parade album, titled "Expo 86". A reference to the World Fair held in Vancouver that year. When I was a wee lad, I wore the shit out of a t-shirt my uncle brought back from that event, as if the more I wore it, somehow I was magically curing AIDS, which was also big in the 80's.

I digress, check "Yulia" below. "Expo '86" will be released on June 29th, via the always wonderful, prolific, and still relevant Sub Pop Records. You can preorder the album HERE.

"Yulia" by Wolf Parade

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Visit the Wolf Parade store at Amazon.

Visit the Sub Pop Megamart.

CLICK HERE for front page and full list of track postings.

Rock The Bells

How fun is this album? Check out "Kids" by the highly buzzed, Sleigh Bells. This Brooklyn duo brings the goods on their debut recording "Treats". The duo consists of Derek Miller, formerly of Poison The Well, and singer Allison Krauss who was formerly in a teenage pop act called Rubyblue. I'm gonna give these guys a pass on these youthful blunders, as "Treats" is just that good.

While we're not even at the end of May in '10, I'm gonna tap "Treats" for album release of the year. Enjoy "Kids", kids.

"Kids" by Sleigh Bells

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Purchase "Treats" at the iTunes Store.

Visit the official Sleigh Bells SITE.

Pre-order a physical copy of "Treats" from Amazon.

CLICK HERE for front page and full list of track postings.

Brothers...not the movie with Tobey Maguire.

Here's a really amazing new track, from a highly anticipated new album, from The Black Keys. "Brothers" is the third release on Nonseuch Records, and will be released on May 18th. A first listen of this record gives me a little bit more of the feeling I got listening to the initial release of "The Big Come Up" and "Thickfreakness" in the early 2000's, than some of the more recent Auerbach and Carney releases. The recording of this album took place in Alabama, which seems to factor in for the gritty and trademark bluesy sound on "Brothers".

Check out "Ten Cent Pistol" below. Pre-order "Brothers" from Amazon. Visit the Akron, Ohio duo's official site HERE.

"Ten Cent Pistol" by The Black Keys

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Black Keys music is available at Amazon.

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Record Store Day!

Here's a track from The Thermals, in lieu of this year's Record Store Day, which happens to coincide with the second day of Coachella. Thank you, to all the Indio Valley goers who have vacated Los Angeles for the weekend. It will be nice to actually go places without insane traffic.

Give a listen to "Separate" below. It appears on a split 7" with The Cribs. A pleasant little pop driven ditty, The Thermals have been so good for, all these years. This is their second split 7" for Record Store Day, as last year they released a pressing with Thao With The Get Down Stay Down.

As I mentioned, Angelenos who wish to take advantage of the new found space to roam this weekend, can purchase this and many other great releases at our city's great record shops. For a list of participating stores, check HERE. Happy Record Store Day to all...and to all, a good night.

UPDATED INFO: Lou Barlow, The Dum Dum Girls, One AM Radio, and many others will be playing for free at Origami Vinyl in Echo Park tomorrow, between 2-7pm. More info HERE.

"Separate" by The Thermals

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The Thermals music is available at Amazon

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Mon UNKLE

(Cover art for "Where Did The Night Fall)"

Here's a track from Mo' Wax guru, James Lavelle's project, UNKLE. "The Answer" features Big In Japan, not the Big In Japan with that kid from the "O.C." tv show, but this Big In Japan, from Baltimore. The track is from the forthcoming album titled "Where Did The Night Fall". The album also features guest appearances by The Black Angels, Katrina Ford from TV On The Radio, Joel Cadbury from the band South, Autolux, and Mark Lanegan from Screaming Trees, fame.

The record is due out May 11th. You can pre-order the album from Amazon. On a side note, kudos to this kid who overcame the terrible "O.C." show to star in one of my favorite LA shows, "Southland".

TRACK REMOVED BY REQUEST

UNKLE music is available at Amazon

CLICK HERE for front page and full list of track postings.

"You, Flock of Seagulls..."

I remember the balmy night in NYC back in 2003, when I first heard "Losing My Edge", like it was yesterday. I remember the feeling of astonishment of hearing the 8 minute opus, detailing such relevant music, like a Wikipedia page, before my ears. Seven years later, and three official albums later, LCD Soundsystem is still relevant and educational to my senses.

The evolution of the band's sound from a primarily "Dance, Disco-Punk" label received from many earlier in the decade, is no better showcased than on "This Is Happening", which will be released via DFA/Virgin Records on May 17th next month. You can pre-order the album at Amazon.

From the David Byrne-esque delivery in the opening bars of "Dance Yrself Clean", to the furious beats coupled with James Murphy's spoken word style crooning on tracks like "Pow Pow", this latest LCD effort shows that the band can still deliver dance infused pop, while simultaneously showing off their 80's influenced incarnate pop standards. Check out the last track on the album, "Home" below.

"Home" by LCD Soundsystem

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Purchase LCD Soundsystem music at Amazon

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Shuck N' Jive

The next time I hear a band talk about the rigors of touring, rehearsal, and overall being in a band, I ask you to consider the size and scope of Canada's darlings, the Broken Social Scene. Sure these obstacles become exponentially easier when you have a great label like Arts & Crafts behind you, who will be releasing "Forgiveness Rock Record" on May 4th. You can pre-order the album before the May 4th release date at Amazon.

Its great to see the as many as 19 member act with a new studio product. The new album continues to offer much more of their layered, harmonic, and driving pop sounds. Check out "Water In Hell" below. Makes this fan of Superchunk, The Replacements, and the like type bands, wanna play any of the number of available air guitar slots BSS has to offer.

Also to consider...how productive could you be in the completion of any project, with say you and 18 of your friends trying to get along and be cohesive?

"Water In Hell" by The Broken Social Scene

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Purchase Broken Social Scene music at the Amazon Store

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More Making Underground Raw Shit

Here's the title track from the forthcoming Murs & 9th Wonder album titled "Fornever". This track features Dogg Pound member Kurupt. The album features the incredibly slick and soulful production, which has become a trademark, of 9th Wonder. Kurupt also guests on the last track of the album, "Live From Roscoe's", a nod to one of this blogger's favorite places to eat in L.A.

Good hip hop is hard to find these days, but look no further than "Fornever". This record marks a wonderful addition to the body of work the Living Legends alumni, Murs has amassed. Who says all the good hip hop only comes out of the East Coast?

"Fornever" releases next Tuesday, April 13th. You can pre-order the album from Amazon, via SMC Recordings.

"Fornever" by MURS & 9th Wonder

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MURS music is available at Amazon.

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BOH

Here's the opening track, from the forthcoming Band of Horses record, titled "Infinite Arms". The album will be released on May 18th, via their new label, Fat Possum. You can pre-order the album from Amazon. You can see the track list for the album below. You can also check out the music video for the other new album track making the rounds on the web, "Compliments" at Under The Radar.

"Factory" by Band of Horses

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"Infinite Arms"
01 Factory
02 Compliments
03 Laredo
04 Blue Beard
05 On My Way Back Home
06 Infinite Arms
07 Dilly
08 Evening Kitchen
09 Older
10 For Annabelle
11 NW Apt.
12 Neighbor

Purchase Band of Horses music at their Amazon Store.

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Avril Fools

Holland Oates
Here's a track from the new Bird & The Bee tribute album to Hall & Oates. I have an older sister who is responsible for my unrealized, subliminal love for these hits. Kudos to Bird & The Bee for also paying homage to the "Private Eyes" album cover, which I was far too familiar with, looking at my sister's collection of Hall & Oates cassettes, in the early 80's. Check out their cover of "Maneater" below. You can order the album "Interpreting The Masters, Volume 1, A Tribute to Hall & Oates" at Amazon.

"Maneater (Hall & Oates)" by The Bird & The Bee
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Ted Leo & Rx
A great time was had this past Saturday night at The Troubadour, to anyone who caught the Ted Leo & The Pharmacists show. Along with showcasing tracks from their latest "Brutalist Bricks" record, Ted also managed to close the night with a great cover of The Misfits "Angel Fuck". I also enjoyed the awkward interaction that caused Ted Leo to ask "what I was doing" when I snapped the photo below, between the runway area of the Troubadour stage and the upstairs lounge, while Ted was speaking to the audience between songs. Check out "Bottled In Cork" from a previous post HERE.

(Ted Leo & The Pharmacists live at The Troubadour)

The Bird & The Bee music is available at Amazon.

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Its Always Dr. Dog in Philadelphia

Here's a track from the forthcoming Dr. Dog album, titled "Shame, Shame". If you're a fan of Dr. Dog, you've most likely heard the first released track from the album, "Shadow People". The rest of the album maintains their folksy, feel good roots, which often helplessly draws Beatles comparisons.

Check out "Unbearable Why" below. If you like having your life put into a Harry Nilsson frame of mind, this record is for you. "Shame, Shame" offers a number of toe-tapping, enjoying some libations with friends, brand of introspective rock. The album, which will be released on April 6th, is their first with wonderful label ANTI Records, which is home to TV On The Radio Kyp Malone's Rain Machine incarnation, as well as Sage Francis, and The Weakerthans. You can pre-order "Shame, Shame" at Amazon.

"Unbearable Why" by Dr. Dog

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Dr. Dog music is also available on iTunes.

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Mick Jones & Paul Simonon guest on Gorillaz track!

(Mick Jones & Paul Simonon from the Clash)

Here's the title track from the forthcoming Gorillaz album, titled "Plastic Beach". Mick Jones and Paul Simonon from The Clash lend their 'axes' to this track, which marks the first time in over 30 years they've shared time in the 'lab' together. Their portion of the recording took just one day to record.

The album boasts a stellar guest contributor line up, which also features Lou Reed, Mos Def, Bobby Womack, Snoop Dogg, and De La Soul & Gruff Rhys. "Plastic Beach" is a futuristic, 16 song, sonic romp that vividly portrays a polluted world which our future children may one day inherit. But then again, they should be so lucky to have the pop creations on this record.

"Plastic Beach" will be released this upcoming Tuesday, March 9th, courtesy of Virgin Records. You can pre-order the album HERE. Check out title track "Plastic Beach" below.

"Plastic Beach (Featuring Mick Jones & Paul Simonon)" by Gorillaz

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Gorillaz music is available on iTunes.

CLICK HERE for front page and full list of track postings.