Schoolboy Q's album Habits & Contradictions might be the first contender of this young year. One listen through and I'm convinced we'll be talking about this for 11.5 more months and then we'll stop abruptly because it will be old news then. Anyways, it's good. Spotify that shit . Buy the album here .

Sleigh Bells forthcoming album Reign of Terror will be available February 21 and we here at SDM are pretty excited about it. Check out two of the tracks below. "Comeback Kid" "Born to Lose"
Epic might be the best word to describe this. John Fullbright solo on the piano during the annual Cherokee Creek Music Festival in Cherokee, TX. ( Via Music Fog )
It's been a delightfully deep year for music. One might even say it was rolling in the deep. Sorry. Anyways, it really has been a great year for music which made putting an EOTY list together very difficult. This also helps explain why I am publishing it so late; I wanted to give every potential candidate a fair shake. Annnnnnndddd here it is. After the jump that is. If you hate cover art and soundcloud files for some reason you can skip to the very bottom for an easy to read list. [...]

Another brilliant song and video from the Flaming Lip's Steven Drozd and the tallest man in Oklahoma City, Alan Novey. What can I say about this? It kind of speaks for itself. Right? I guess I could say that Al and Steve are pretty amazing together. I wonder if Wayne is starting to get worried? Probably not. Created by Delo Creative again.
Yep that Steven Drozd. Yep the one from the Flaming Lips. And that's Al Novey (The Tallest Man in Oklahoma City) doing a dynamite Neil Diamond. What's the deal with this? Well, this just about says it all: When an illustrious rock star and a golden-throated karaoke phenom are brought together by an insatiable love for Neil Diamond, the result is "You in Me." It's a collaboration so heartfelt, an homage so genuine, and a tribute to love in all it's forms. The video was shot by Delo Creative [...]

RAWKKKKK!!! Look for Mastodon's new album The Hunter on September 27th. Pre-order HERE ! Mastodon - Curl of the Burl by Rock Smashson

Check out the new single, "You, Me & the Boatman" from the Austin, Texas based five-piece, Quiet Company . If you like what you hear you should probably go ahead and pre-order their forthcoming album, We Are All Where We Belong (Oct. 4th) HERE and get 3 months of free Grooveshark Anywhere as well as a bandcamp download code for Quiet Company's latest EP, Songs for Staying In , via email within 24 hours of your order. As always, let us know what you think. [...]
This song is such a jam! Their forthcoming album Father, Son, Holy Ghost cannot come out soon enough. Sadly we are going to have to wait until September 13th to get out hands on it here in the states. Anyways, enjoy the hell out of "Vomit" until then. I doubt it gets old. Girls -Vomit by Hypetrak

Hi. It's been a long long time, you guys. I'm sorry. I know people are tired of talking about the heat, but that's what I'm blaming. Apparently it's too hot to blog. Actually this is kind of true for me. My office is way hot and I somehow destroyed my laptop battery so moving my computer would require me to unplug and replug (I'm not sure replug is a word, but it is going to be as far as this site is concerned) the cord and come on this is 2011, I shouldn't have to do that. I've also been [...]

These are the albums you should probably be listening to from both this week and last. I didn't have time to post last week, and it was a big week for new releases, so I felt obligated do atone for it in this post. Basically everything I've posted is good so I'm going to skip the written advice this week. Enjoy. June 7 Arctic Monkeys | [...]

Apparently it's Tuesday. It doesn't feel like Tuesday but according to multiple calendars and record stores it is. I'm cool with this recent development. Okay now the music. MMJ's new album is legit and is probably a better studio album than Evil Urges (which I liked a lot because I knew those songs were going to rule in a live setting). I'm streaming the new Eddie Vedder Ukulele album right now and I'm actually pleasantly surprised. The new Kate Bush album is hauntingly beautiful and demands [...]
I had never heard of Gil Scott-Heron until James Murphy belted out his name in "Losing My Edge," which you can't listen to without also yelling Gil Scott-Heron! I guess it will be somewhat of a living tribute or sorts. Anyways, after some research I learned that I had been missing out on a great and influential artist. Truly a pioneer. RIP man. MP3: Gil Scott-Heron - "Me And The Devil" MP3: Gil Scott-Heron - "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised"

It's Tuesday which means we all need to head to our local record store and spend our money on the very best albums released this week. The best album this week easily belongs to White Denim . I've listened to this three times this morning and I can't get enough. It sounds super Southern and super stoner. Maybe I haven't paid enough attention but it seems to be a bit of a deviation from their previous sound. Of course it's a deviation I can support. Simply put it rocks! I haven't heard many of the other releases [...]

There is a lot of good music to pick up this week, you guys. However, if for some weird reason you can only pick up one album make sure it's Colormusic's. These guys seriously bring the rock this time. They did last time as well, but mainly this time. I can also recommend the Chad VanGaalen's new album Diaper Island as well as the Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi collaboration. Mainly I like albums by guys with difficult to spell last names. Enjoy and let me know what I'm missing. [...]

This week is overwhelming. There are so many good albums being released that some are going to go relatively unnoticed and that is a shame. Do yourself a favor and listen to everything I posted today. Seriously it is all pretty great, especially The Antlers , Wild Beasts , Gang Gang Dance , Psychedelic Horseshit (seriously forget everything you know about these guys because the new album is awesome), Other Lives and Man Man . Currently I am a bit disappointed in the new Okkervil river ; I'm hoping it's a grower. [...]

This post comes a day late but that doesn't change amount of badassery that comes with this week's list of new releases. First of all the new Beastie Boy's album absolutely dominates. Seriously Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2 is up there with some of the best stuff they've done. I can't say enough about the new Fleet Foxes album. I think it's better than their last album, and me saying that might be the biggest compliment I can give. Also, it sounds like owning an orchard is a ton of work. Also, Gruff Rhys' [...]
This actually looks really good. Logan and I have been KOL fans since pretty much the beginning so this has me intrigued. Any thoughts?

It's the fourth best day of the week already, new release Tuesday (the three best days are Friday, Saturday and Sunday obviously). It's not a bad little week for new releases. Personally I can recommended the Julian Lynch , Matthewdavid , Cass McCombs and Explosions in the Sky . I look forward to listening to Thao and Mirah , Times New Viking and Son Lux . If I've left anything off please let me know. What is your favorite release of the week? New releases, [...]

Norman Music Festival 4 is right around the corner and the internets are completely abuzz about it, and rightfully so. The festival has a little bit different format this year, which I think is a good idea. The all-day-street-closing event has been moved to Saturday (awesome!) with tons of bands playing all over Norman (like SXSW) on Thursday and Friday leading up to the big event. This event gets better each year so a lot of thanks go out to all the good people involved. Thanks. For way more information head over to the [...]