New Music From Sufjan Stevens, Grizzly Bear, Fiest and Iron and Wine

Despite all the great artists releasing new music this year the charity compilation Dark Was The Night is easily my most anticipated new release of 2009. We mentioned Grizzly Bear's contribution to the album a few weeks back and have been following along daily as a new tracks from the album are debuted. Here are a couple of new tracks from the album, including a new one from Sufjan Stevens that just came out today.

Dark Was The Night will be released on Feb 17th(in North America) and will benefit Red Hot Orginization - an international charity dedicated to raising money and awareness for HIV and AIDS through popular culture.

Friendly Fires: Skeleton Boy (Video)

I'm a terrible music journalist. Now, I probably shouldn't write that on my blog that you're reading right now but I'm just being honest. The reason I'm a terrible music journalist is because I typically make up my mind whether I like a song or not within the first fifteen seconds of hearing it. Case in point is this song "Skeleton Boy" from the band Friendly Fires. I had seen it posted all over the music blogs, gave it a quick listen and decided I didn't like it and moved on with my life. But then it kept popping up everywhere and I was all like, "whaaat" and Shawn was all like, "huh" and then I was all like, "whatever" and gave the song another chance. Turns out it is actually a pretty catchy tune.

Modest Mouse Coming To Phoenix

Not much of an advance notice from these dudes, but Modest Mouse will be playing at the Marquee Theater in Tempe on Feb. 25th. Tickets will be selling for a reasonably priced $35 and will go on sale 10 a.m. this Thursday at the Marquee box office, Stinkweeds, Bookmans and at statesidepresents.com. Be there or be square.

Arctic Monkeys: Crying Lightning(Video)

The Arctic Monkeys' debuted several new songs recently at this years Big Day Out festival in New Zealand. Luckily for us one of those songs made it on to the YouTube. The Monkeys are reportedly two thirds completed on their next album but to date no title or release date has been set.

What do you guys think of the new song?

Black Lips: Short Fuse(MP3)

Atlanta band Black Lips have been in the news quite a bit recently. The story being reported is Lips lead singer Cole Alexander exposed himself and made out with his guitarist at a show in India. This, apparently, did not go over to well with the locals and forced the band to make a quick escape and managed to narrowly avoid being arrested on indecent exposure charges. You can read about the whole thing over on the Black Lips blog. Oh, Black Lips you so crazy. I'm only hoping that these guys don't(wink) expose themselves when they come to town in April.

mp3:
Black Lips: Short Fuse
[via vice record]

New Music Tuesday: The Bird and the Bee, Beastie Boys

There aren't a ton of new releases I'm interested in this week so I'll keep this pretty brief. The only new release that has really peaked my interest is the sophomore album from The Bird and the Bee, Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future. Aside from being an awesome name for an album it's a pretty solid effort from the indie duo. I just hope we get another video directed by Eric Wareheim.

Other than that I'd recommend picking up the 20th anniversary edition of Paul's Boutique from the Beastie Boys. The album has been remastered by the Beastie Boys and is definitely worth shelling out the money for. It's hard to believe that it's been twenty years since the album was first released - man does that make me feel old, but it is nice to see this classic and ground breaking album getting re-released.

That's it for this week.

Muxtape Reborn

From Muxtape.com

"Welcome to a preview of the new Muxtape, a minimalist platform for bands to promote their music and listeners to create mixes. We’ve invited 12 of our favorite artists to help test, and in the coming weeks we'll begin allowing bands to sign up themselves for free."

It's a bummer that it won't be returning to its old format, but anyone who ever used it before knew it was only a matter of time before it got shut down. On the bright side this seems like it may be a great way to discover some good new music. The site is currently featuring some tunes from Of Montreal, Girl Talk, Dan Deacon and others.

Beirut: The Concubine

Zach Condon and the gang performed a surprise show in Brooklyn last night to test out some new tracks from his new EP, March Of The Zapotec. This EP will also contain a second EP, Holland, which will contain five solo tracks from Condon. March Of The Zapotec EP is out on 02/17 via Pompeii Records/Ba Da Bing.
[via stereogum]

Ra Ra Riot: Ghost Under Rocks(Passion Pit Remix)

Ra Ra Riot's 2008 album, The Rhumb Line, was one of my favorite albums of the year. Which is why I wanted to share this remix of their song "Ghost Under Rocks", which has been remixed by Passion Pit. You may remember that we mentioned Passion Pit the other day on the blog and from the looks of things they may be one band to keep an eye on in 2009.

Y'all ready for the remix? Fuck that!

mp3:
Ra Ra Riot - "Ghost Under Rocks"(Passion Pit Remix)
[via spinner]

The Acorn: Crooked Legs (Video)

.
Sorry for the lack of updates on the site lately. I've been sick since Thursday and Shawn just got the first two seasons of Blossom and was busy watching his show and baking bread. As part of my apology please accept this awesome new video from The Acorn for their song "Crooked Legs."

Animal Collective: My Girls (Video)

This video is a bit too abstract for my tastes, but you have to admit that it fits for the band. Song of the year so far, though. Enjoy!

Richard Swift: Lady Luck

I have to admit that I'm not all to familiar with Richard Swift, but if this song is any indication I may be persuaded to go back and check out his older stuff. Swift is set to release his fourth LP, The Atlantic Ocean, on Secretly Canadian on April 7th. You can also expect to see Swift performing at this years SXSW.
(via MBV)

Lady Luck - Richard Swift

'Lost' Returns Tonight

If I were any type of indie rock journalist I'd be going to tonight's Miniature Tigers show in Tempe, but you can bet your sweet ass I'm going to be at home watching the season premiere of Lost. Even though it's only been eight months since last season it feels like it's been a fucking eternity. So many questions, so few answers. I would go into last season's many unanswered questions but that would just take too much time. But with the series starting to wind down, Lost better start giving me some fucking answers or they can expect an angry letter from me.

Jay-Z Performs At Neighborhood Ball

Frack, has it been a slow news day. Well, in case you missed the coverage of all of the various balls that took place last night in D.C. here is a video of Jay-Z performing "History". I like the song, but the tuxedo and glasses need to go.

Animal Collective Coming to Tucson

With the release of Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion today on CD and digital format the band has just announced their upcoming tour in support of the album. Good news for residents of Tucson, as they will be skipping Phoenix altogether. Even still, this may be one show worth making a road trip to go and see. No date yet on when tickets will go on sale for the show, but the band will be appearing at The Rialto Theatre on May 31, '09.

mp3:
Animal Collective - "My Girls"

Antony and The Johnsons: Epilepsy Is Dancing (Video)

Here is another great song off of the new album from Antony & The Johnsons' The Crying Light. The video, directed by the Wachowski brothers, may be a bit NSFW-ish depending on where you work, but it's still better then the last two Matrix films. Enjoy!
(via pitchfork)

New Music Tuesday: Bon Iver, Animal Collective

It's been a while since any new and interesting music has been released, but luckily for us there is some awesome stuff being released today. On the top of my list is Bon Iver's new EP Blood Bank. Also available today is the CD release of Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion, which if you read this blog you'll know that this album has already been declared album of the year by Shawn. Other new albums worth checking out include Antony & The Johnsons' The Crying Light, Andrew Bird's Noble Beast, and A.C. Newman's Get Guilty.

Definitely some great stuff worth checking out.

OMG a GOOD Arizona Band - Lydia!!! OMG!! STFU!!!

Living in Phoenix sometimes sucks balls...I think it has to do something with the heat and large distance between stuff, but bands here usually suck...I was in a band her for 3 years and we totally sucked and we were one of the best ones around. Any who I decided tonight that I would go on a search for a good band in the Valley of the Crappy Music to find a diamond in the poop (shit). I thought I found one but it was just some asshole that created a new page for a good band from Portland and tagged them as being from Phoenix...tricky fucking internet.

BUT my friends I think I may have found one...after like 2 hours of searching the internet and listening to several bands that sound like crappy rip off of bands trying to rip off Incubus tribute bands (but not that good) I came across Lydia, they are FROM Gilbert and are signed to a real label (Universal Motown Records...fancy pants they are) and are currently on a tour (Check them out at the Clubhouse on March 21, Celeste Polonski please send us press passes please). And the part that makes them different from the Medic Droid (aside from not being broken up...ohhhh sick burn) is that they are actually pretty good and I don't want to punch them all in the face over and over and over again. I am hearing a tinge of The Format and sprinkle of lavender. I don't know dude...I am just happy to be listening to a Phoenix band that doesn't make me cry blood out of my sound pussies. Check out this video they put on their myspace page of them on tour or something, they sometimes play almost 10 seconds of a song all at once ;-)

Grizzly Bear: Deep Blue Sea

I feel as if I've been a little off topic today. Well, it's my blog and not yours and I'll post what I want, dicks. Anyway, here is some new music that I think you'll enjoy. The track, "Deep Blue Sea", comes from Grizzly Bear off of the charity compilation Dark Was The Night. You can stream the track here. The song will only be available for a short time as a new track from the album will be showcased daily. So be sure to check back often as Dark Was The Night has a truly all-star lineup of musical acts on the two disc set.

Fleet Foxes Get The Party Started

I love Saturday Night Live. The cast are all hilarious, the writing is great, the digital shorts are the best, and they book some really great musical guests. However, if I could make a small suggestion to Lorne Michaels on how to improve the show it would be to let Jorma Taccone, SNL writer and member of The Lonely Island, perform his interpretative dance routine during all musical performances. Lets face it, I enjoyed Fleet Foxes on SNL just as much as the next guy, but watching it again with Jorma is so much better.

Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job Live

So the Electric Mustache crew all went down to Tempe last night to see the Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job tour at Marquee Theater. Holy shit was it awesome. I had wanted to post some pics from the show, you know, all professional like, but nobody brought a camera. Well, other than my iPhone, but those pics didn't turn out so great. So, instead, please accept this artist recreation of the show from last night.

Update: this one didn't turn out too bad.


Hey someone took a video of the beginning and its not bad...the part where Tim jumps down I bet scarred the crap out of the guy taking the video. PUT ON YOUR D-PANTS!

How 'Bout Them Cardinals

I'll be honest, I don't really follow sports and I've never really considered myself a Arizona Cardinals fan, but that did not stop me yesterday from going crazy during yesterdays game between the Cardinals and the Eagles. If you had told me at the beginning of the season that the Arizona Cardinals were going to be in the Super Bowl this year I would have told you to start taking your meds again. But here we are. Crazy shit. Let's just hope they can win the big game.

Pubic Mittens

This is an actual IM conversation between Shawn and I. We're classy guys, I know. I'm the brown bear looking thing. Anyway, see you at Tim & Eric on Sunday at Marquee Theater. It's going to be fuck-tastic.

The Black Lips Coming to Phoenix

Damn good news! Just found out that The Black Lips will be playing The Clubhouse Music Venue Friday, April 17th. I haven't had the pleasure of seeing these dudes live, yet, but I hear they put on a hell of a show. You can buy tickets here for $12-$14.
(via phoenix new times)

O Katrina! - The Black Lips

M. Ward: Never Had Nobody Like You

The other day we let you know that you could stream the new album Hold Time from M. Ward over at NPR. My favorite track from the new album, due out Feb. 17, is "Never Had Nobody Like You". The track features M. Ward's She & Him partner Zooey Deschanel. Enjoy!

mp3:
M. Ward feat. Zooey Deschanel - Never Had Nobody Like You

The Decemberists: "The Rake's Song"

Can we all agree that bands who give away free music are awesome? Good, now that we've got that out of the way. Go over to The Decemberists' website and give them you e-mail address in exchange to download their song "The Rake's Song". You'll be glad you did. I'd post the mp3 here, but I'm still figuring out this whole interweb thing (update...I did kinda figure it out...thanks Stereogum!!!)

mp3:
The Decemberists:The Rakes Song

Gorillaz: "Broken"

Damon Albarn was guest DJ on BBC's Radio One program yesterday and debuted some new demos from the forthcoming Gorillaz's album. What a sweet heart. You can listen to more demos over at Pitchfork.

Verne Troyer Is Doing Just Fine

Nothing music related, but I just had to post this hilarious image of Verne Troyer dressed as a bear eating honey. Oh how the mighty have fallen, indeed. More pics here.

City of God's Son

I don't know about you but I'd really like to see that movie. Too bad it isn't real. Instead the above video is a preview of Kenzo Digital's concept album City of God's Son. This ambitious project takes samples from hip-hop legends including Jay-Z, Nas, and Ghostface and combines them with original audio and dialogue from various films. The result is a an audio only movie. I can only imagine the hard work that went into this type of project, but I'm glad someone went through the trouble. The album is pretty awesome. And free, you can download part 1 here.

Neko Case: "People Got A Lotta Nerve"

Neko Case seems pretty cool. She's an awesome musician, she's very easy on the eyes, and she's an activist for animals. To help our little furry friends Neko Case is offering the song "People Got A Lotta Nerve" as a free download, this is her first single from her new album Middle Cyclone, due out March 3. On top of that, Best Friends Animal Society will donate five dollars for every blog that posts her new song and one dollar for every user of iLike that adds the song to his or her profile. How awesome is that? Pretty fucking awesome, sir. So enjoy the song, repost it on your blog, and help out the animals.

People Got A Lotta Nerve - Neko Case

Music Video of the Year

I fully expect this music video to sweep the MTV VMA's this year, or at the very least win video of the year over at BET. This is the first time I'm hearing about Mark Gormley, but if this video is any indication I think we've found this generations David Lee Roth. Keep on rockin Mark!

Animal Collective's "Leaf House" A Capella...fish?

If you like to listen to the children of affluent white people singing songs with no instruments and if you also like Animal Collective then this fucking video should be just the thing to suck your cock or nipples. I think they do a pretty good job for people wearing pastels. Check out the original if you feel so compelled, and really you should because you are boring.

Phoenix Metro Light Rail Pub Crawl!

Sitting at my desk I can look out the window and watch the light rail go by all day. Still, I've yet to ride the light rail, mainly because I don't really have a reason. But I do now. Pub crawl! Thanks to this snazzy new web site lightrailbeer.com, I can see all the bars near the light rail. Here is the plan: we start out at Four Peaks Brewing Co and hit every bar along the way and finish up with a burger and a beer over at Wineburger's. Seriously though, they do have some damn fine burgers over at Wineburger's, I highly recommend them. Anyways, who's with me? Let's get fucked up and ride the metro!

Coconut Records

Max Fisher, formally of Rushmore Academy, has a new album coming out. Just kidding. I bet you didn't know that guy who played Max Fisher, Jason Schwartzmen, is not only a actor and an all around cool guy but a musician as well. It's true. Back in 2007 Schwartzmen released his debut album "Nighttiming" under the moniker Coconut Records. Although the album flew largely under the radar for the most part it was still a very enjoyable listen, if you ask me. But good news for me and anyone else who enjoyed "Nighttiming", the followup entitled "Davy" is scheduled for release on January 20th. Good times.

West Coast - Coconut Records

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M. Ward: 'Hold Time'

Good news! I really dig M Ward, I mean, he really revs my engine - but not in a sexual way, of course. I just really dig M. Ward's music. We'll all have to wait until February for his new album "Hold Time" to come out. Well, no, not if you click on this link here and listen to the whole thing now. My impression so far...it's dope.

Passion Pit: "Sleepyhead"

It took a while for me to warm up to this song, but now I can't get it out of my head. It was fine at first, but I haven't been able to sleep for the past three days due to this song playing constantly in my head. I was glad that the goblins had finally stopped yelling at me but now I'm so tired, so very, very tired. Enjoy!

Blitzen Trapper: "Furr"

People always told me that the best present you could get for your parents were the home made kind. You know, instead of buying a gift card from the store you make one yourself in art class. I wonder if someone told the same thing to Blitzen Trapper and that is why they decided to go in the direction they did for this video for their song "Furr"?

Merriweather Post is the Cats Pajamas

Seriously guys...seriously. If you have been lucky enough to obtain a copy of Animal Collectives boss new album then you know as well as me that this shit is some good shit. If doctors had to pick something to listen to that would cure cancer this would be picked 7 out of 8 times I am sure. Next time you are at the LP store you should ask yourself "Why am I at a LP store? There are still LP stores?" then since you are there anyways buy the LP version of Merriweather since its the only legal way of getting it till it comes out everywhere else 1/20/09. There are some people who think this is going to end up being the album of the year even though its not even the middle of January yet. But unless Wilco can come up with some super magic later this year they might just be right.

Animal Collective - "My Girls"

Franz Ferdinand: "Ulysses"

Kind of a slow news day today.

Here is the latest video from Franz Ferdinand. I'm not that crazy about it myself. Thoughts?

Antony and The Johnsons: "Another World"

The first time I remember hearing Antony Hegarty of Antony & The Johnsons was back in 2000 when he had a small cameo in the independent film "Animal Factory." While I don't remember much about the movie I don't think I'll ever forget the brief but memorable cameo in which Antony performs a version of "Rapture", a song from his 2000 self-titled album. Since then I've been hooked on his somewhat haunting vocals. I particularly enjoyed his involvement with Hercules & Love Affair in 2008 and am really looking forward to the forthcoming album from Antony & The Johnsons entitled "Another World".

mp3:
Antony & The Johnsons - "Another World"

Bon Iver - Blood Bank EP

Bon Iver's debut album For Emma, Forever Ago was unquestionably my favorite album of 2008. Despite all the great music that was available last year I always found myself going back and listening to For Emma and enjoying it just as much as the first time I heard it. I'm sure I'll be waiting for a while for the next full album from Bon Iver, but in the mean time I can enjoy his new EP Blood Bank which will be available from Jagjaguwar on January 20th. Or if you're like me and can't wait that long you can stream the whole thing on Bon Iver's Myspace page here.