
On March 18th, Colin Meloy and co. will be playing their upcoming album, The Hazards of Love at a South By Southwest showcase. They'll be playing the entire album straight through, and are offering their fans (in association with Imeem) to design the poster for the event. The winning design will be personally picked by the band. You can enter the contest right here . The concert will feature some special guests, including My Brightest Diamond singer Shara Worden. Opening will be The Avett Brothers, and Heartless Bastards, who are one of the bands that I [...]

Many years ago, I was reading something online about how the author had to take a multi-hour trip across the state of Kansas or something and decided that was the perfect time to listen to The Magnetic Fields' magnum opus 69 Love Songs , a 3-Cd collection of, well, 69 love songs. I thought that was a cool idea and anytime I take a long road trip alone I try to figure out some music to play for the ride -- and which songs and albums are best. Typically, I gravitate toward [...]
This years SXSW festival will get a special bonus when the Decemeberists play their entire new album, Hazards of Love, in its entirety. The concert take place March 18 a full week before the album drops. As a way to reach out to the fans and commemorate the event, the band and imeem have started a design contest where the winner's design will be used as the official concert poster.

One of the oldest traditions around these here parts is the All Things Go Valentine's Day Mixtape, or the mixtapes in general, which haven't been featured here since last year's third installment of the Cannabliss Mixtape. I thought I'd return with, in my opinion, the most carefully crafted and entertaining mixtape to date. Ladies and gents, your 2009 edition, the All Things Go Valentine's Day Mixtape Volume IV. Norman Blake kicks off the love-fest with his unbearably sweet version of one of the all-time classics, "You Are My Sunshine", featured originally on the O' Brother Where Art [...]

Ha transcurrido casi medio siglo desde que Marianne Faithfull se convirtiera en la chanteuse consentida de los Rolling Stones (en el vídeo la tenemos con una canción de dicha banda). Su voz no es la de antaño, pero su personalidad se ha nutrido considerablemente con el paso de los años y hoy, además de Keith Richards y compañía, Faithfull puede presumir de codearse con gente como Sean Lennon , Chan Marshall ( Cat Power ), Nick Cave , Rufus Wainwright y Antony Hegarty . [...]

It began to snow monday night, but I didn't really expect it to stick. There hasn't been much snow this year, so I figured it would just tease. Clearly I'm no expert on these things, because lo and behold, there was a lot of snow outside my door yesterday morning. It's also frickin' freezin'! Snow is fun to look at, but not so fun to be in. Especially when you have to climb a ladder to knock the snow off your satellite dish! Given the indoor nature of a day like this, [...]

Enter the code ENJOYFRESH at checkout and we'll give you free delivery on every order you place through March 31, 2009.* *Limited-time offer. Offer expires 3/31/09 . Unlimited DeliveryPass members receive one bonus week on their membership. May not be combined with any other offer. Limit: one per customer/household.

Welcome everyone to day two of the Mainstream Isn't So Bad 1st Annual Guest Writers Week ! Yesterday Dr. Fu hit you up oh so tenderly with some ladies of soul, and today we switch gears to the world of folk. And to hold our hand while we enter this domain is fellow blogger Boyhowdy. One of his regular writing arenas is at Cover Lay Down , where "we believe that familiarity breeds contentment — that is, that coversongs create an especially powerful comfort zone for fans to discover new [...]

Though I'm quite fond of the Decemberists, I'm not really a fan of Colin Meloy's cover albums. Nonetheless, after the disappointing cancellation of the Decemberists' fall 2007 date in New York, I bought tickets to see Colin solo. This show was at the tail end of a very hectic week of concertgoing that opened with Spoon at Terminal 5 , which was followed by a lovely show by the Weakerthans at the MHOW . My worst concert experience was also during that week - Rogue Wave at the Fillmore - which was undoubtedly a waste of time, money [...]
In anticipation of the March 24th release of The Hazards of Love, the Decemberists fifth studio album, Colin Meloy and co have offered up a preview of their first song. The Rake's Song is available via their website starting today.

Get your first listen of The Decemberist 's forthcoming LP, The Hazards of Love , by heading to the band's site and signing up for the mailing list. By signing up for the always decorated and eloquently worded emails, you can download "The Rake's Song" from The Hazards of Love , which drops March 24th on Capitol Records . Stream "The Rake's Song" Also check out Colin Meloy 's new twitter feed for the most up-to-date abstruse information about him and the band. [...]
Download "The Rake's Song" and don't miss the Decemberists NPR spot today! read more
Decemberism: n. A mental condition that causes 30-something American male rock songwriters to relapse to a state of their own early adolescence that is marked by a preoccupation with fantasy, Anglop... Continue reading "Colin Meloy Descends Even Further Into Fey British Prog-Folk On New Decemberists Album; Free Download Avail." >

Eindelijk is hij daar dan (iets later dan normaal), de Feestelijke Vijftig van 2008 . En er valt iets te vieren, want het is de vijfde alweer in deze hoedanigheid en het is, als we zo bescheiden mogen zijn weer een fijne lijst geworden! De fijne leukste, beste en mooiste, gratis te downloaden songs van dit jaar in de enige juiste volgorde! 50. Telefon Tel Aviv - Helen Of Troy ( mp3 ) (Album: Immolate Yourself) Het uit [...]
We just came across a handful of Ben Gibbard cover songs on YouTube today. Too bad we haven't been able to find higher quality audio versions yet, but they're still great as is. See? Even hipsters notice pop-icons for all those mainstream haters out there. It's okay to observe mainstream things, or even like them. You can still keep your identity and uniqueness in the process. Ben Gibbard - Complicated (Avril Lavigne cover): Ben Gibbard - All Apologies (Nirvana cover): [...]

The end of one year means looking forward to the next and have we got some great releases coming in 2009! Here's a taste of what the PW crew and some of you are most anticipating for next year. The Decemberists - Hazards of Love (Mar. 24th) The anticipation is killing us - and you it seems! - for Colin Meloy and co.'s latest full-length. This fall's Always A Bridesmaid: vol. 1-3 certainly whet our collective appetite! [...]

2008 was a very eventful year for indie rock. If you're reluctant to read through the archives of TRUST ME ON THIS, this year-end retrospective is a crash course in some of my favorite bands. I'll take you month by month through twelve stellar releases in 2008 by bands both new and old, along with some highlights from my concert photography adventures in the last year: janvier: Field Manual by Chris Walla (January 29, Barsuk) (download "Sing Again" ) [...]
From grizzled vets to fresh-faced upstarts, Hypeful's annual ranking of all the must-hear music for 2008 is finally completed! Although assembling a year-end list has certainly been a frustrating endeavor racked with difficult choices, the experience is ultimately a rewarding reminder of just how many great releases come out every ...
Listen to his interpretation of 'Record Year' below. MP3 at bottom of post. MP3: The Decemberists - July, July
A bath of singer-songwriters, warm orange halos, and insidious Northwest ache. read more