Holy happy Monday! I woke up this morning to an email with some fantastic news: Josh Ritter's new record now has a name, So Runs the World Away , AND a free mp3, "Change of Time"!! Get it for only the price of an email HERE . And if you're not familiar with Josh Ritter by now, then here's past tracks to catch you up: mp3: Josh Ritter - Me & Jiggs from the album [...]
I found a package on my doorstep this morning which must have been delivered some time late yesterday. When I opened it, I found a treasure trove. Not only was the box filled with the stuff I had ordered but it was also filled with crumpled up pages of newspapers, instead of those annoying peanuts. I started uncrumpling and found pages from Chinese newspapers. Ads in red caught my eye as did the pictures of smiling workers all wearing identical looking work clothes. I saved several pages figuring I'll find a use sometime. Below those were pages of papers from [...]
I'm thinking Ride when I hear the Norwich four piece Sennen : same insistent waves of guitar, same panorama of widescreen sound, same bittersweet shoegazing tunes. 'Age of Denial' (Hungry Audio) is vigorous dreampop, with the emphasis on the 'pop', both rousing and uplifting. Norfolk might be known for its turkeys but this is the dog's bollocks of shoegaze. Myspace Dorias Baracca are teenage Danish shoegazers and, on the evidence of the 'Hands At Melting Point EP' (Club AC30 Records), you can believe the claim that [...]
"Kiss always fashioned themselves as the Beatles on steroids"—Gene Simmons, Billboard, 10/3/09 ◆◆◆ Singer/guitarist Parthenon Huxley, aka P. Hux, is "rock's most underrated pop genius" according to the L.A. Weekly . Inspired as a kid by the British Invasion, Huxley's melodies are ridiculously catchy. Think Beatles On Steroids: great songs, insane hooks, smoky vocals, and lyrics good enough to recite to your friends.—Publicity page for P. Hux ◆◆◆ [Charlie Bernardo's] other duty is [...]

Played such an awesome gig last night. Got more lined up for the next two weekends. Life is good. -M 16 (Apster Remix) - Bassjackers & Jorn (Golden Banana) Still my favorite Dutch House track at the moment. This shit is golden bananas. Close Your Eyez (Original Mix) - Mario Ochoa Super big room Prog track. Love is Gnuk (Axwell Mashup) - David Guetta vs Nari & Milani Well done mashup, really love the non-Guetta track, I should [...]
Well, the title of Shania Twain 's hit couldn't have said it better. Sorry Chicago, but that was possibly the worst set of auditions ever in nine seasons of American Idol . A paltry 13 golden tickets were handed out, and we only got to see eight of those auditions. Something tells me we'll only need to remember two of these singers once we get to Hollywood week anyway. So, just how did we get only 13 "good" singers? Let's start at the beginning. Tonight's Idol started off with a montage of disgruntled contestants [...]
THE RISKY PRESENTS… THE PAST DECADE OF DRUM&BASS PART 2 (2003 – 2005) The Risky returns from down under to deliver the second installment of the 'Decade of Drum&Bass' series. Spanning from 2003 – 2005, checkout this massive selection including tracks from Fresh, Pendulum, Sub Focus, Calibre, Zinc and many many more! SHOW_132.m4a breakbeat.co.uk 2003 Pendulum – Vault (31 Records) Sub Focus – Down The Drain (Frequency) RAM Trilogy – Screamer (RAM Records) [...]

I think there are two types of bar bands: 1. Those consisting of local indie kids who exude mad bubbly energy jumping up and down on the stage, inviting the audience to do the same. These are the bands who you drag your friends to see and drink and dance the night away. 2. Then there are those who are more refined. Where the music is arcane and complex (or pretentious) and it requires thinking and admiring from afar. Most bands are a mix of these two types. Some lean towards the first group (ie. [...]
Today's Music Monday should be called VIDEO monday because the only reason why Im putting these two songs up is because the video is so freaking amazing Until this morning I had NO idea who the FLAIRS were until someone forwarded me their latest video for TRUCKERS DELIGHT.. and needless to say it's so good. (It's a little perverted so if balls and tits gross you out, don't watch) Im not trucker but Im pretty sure that is [...]

Soundtracks can really make or break a movie. And if what you're really trying to make is your directorial career, then the soundtrack is even more important. How to make your slick gangster movie scream young, cool, and hip? Guy Ritchie knows it's by making the soundtrack just as sweet as the film. Ritchie became a household name directing Snatch in 2000, and the movie has since achieved cult classic status. Just as much of a classic is the soundtrack to that film. Reminding us of the movie and yet amazing in its own right, if any aspiring [...]
So 2009 has been such a crazy year for The Record Machine. I love this time of year. I feel like personally I start winding down a bit and get to look back over the last year and see how far we have come and start to dream on how much father we can get next year. So first off let me talk about 2009. We released 6 records which is twice as many in a single year then any year in the past. Every one of them are amazing and I believe so much in all of them and [...]

It's always a better year for songs than albums, and here's my list of Favorite Songs of 2009. I've stopped using the word "best" as that implies some sort of higher standard. People can argue that "Lisztomania" is not the best single of 2009, but they have no grounds to say it's not my favorite. Anyway. Most of these were actual singles, and the rest could've been and when making this list I kept that in mind. Singles are ephemeral; it's ok if you don't end up listening to them a year from now. But I think a lot [...]

Platz 31 Blank Dogs - Under And Under 2009 war das Jahr in dem "Blankdoggen" ein Verb wurde. Zwar eines das eher sarkastisch in Rezensionen genutzt wurde, aber nichtsdestotrotz zeigt es den Einfluss von Mike Snipers preisgünstigem Produktionsethos. Trotzdem spielt er was Longplayer angeht immer noch in einer Klasse für sich, nach anfänglichem Routinegefühl entdeckte ich bei einer Bahnfahrt unter Kopfhörereinsatz mal wieder wie die unscheinbare Oberfläche seiner Musik täuschen kann. Die oszillierenden Scooby-Doo-Synths, der Nuschelgesang, die simplen Postpunk-Anschläge bestimmen immer noch das Klangbild, sind jedoch im Vergleich [...]

2009 was another great year for live music , slightly edging out last year for me with a grand total of 97 shows, in 26 different venues for 251 sets of music by 215 different bands, with 26 bands logging in 2 or more. Continuing to be one of the best live music venues anywhere, Johnny Brenda's topped the list with 25 visits. The other places where you could have found me hanging out this past year being World Cafe Live (15), The M Room (11), Kung Fu Necktie (7) and The Khyber , The [...]
If 2008 saw Cut City being two steps shy of dying then underachievers hum the satisfaction of progress halted when 2009 proved to sink all of our feet in the grave while trying to poke a tiny whole in the coffin to be able to (barely) breath. In 2010 Cut City will release their second album. It's entitled "Where's the harm in dreams disarmed" . That's a fact. Night Minutes , a solo endeavor I initiated this year, will release a 7" on Deleted Art offshoot Psychic Malmö, as well as produce a full-length. [...]

There's a song on JAM'N 94.5 that makes me want to slash and laugh myself to stitches. The tormenter is Def Jam recording artist Jeremih "Birthday Sex" Felton; his weapon, "I'm a Star," is a miraculous synthesis of hackneyed production and faux-consciousness. It's one of those insulting tracks that proves how powerful big label honchos truly are, and how payola supersedes product. If Def Jam can pass off Jeremih as acceptable urban entertainment, then they could sell my grandma as the new Foxy Brown. One need not employ chicken-or-the-egg philosophy to understand why certain hip-hop acts succeed while [...]
New Music Canada Track of the Day. Guest Host, Pat Sayers from Wintergloves: "Love them, they are great."

Live music picks for WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 9 through TUESDAY DECEMBER 15, 2009. WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 9 / THE ANDY KIM CHRISTMAS SHOW / MOD CLUB / 722 COLLEGE ST / $25 / 19+ Rapidly becoming an annual tradition, ANDY KIM's Christmas benefit show sees a diverse mix of local musicians gather to play a mixture of holiday covers and original songs. This year features renowned Canadian musicians DIVINE BROWN, BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE, THE BEAUTIES and KIM MITCHELL. Expect to see a see a small army's worth of guest stars make appearances to raise [...]
Just two weeks ago, SXSW announced it's initial list of over 230 showcasing bands for next year's festival (March 17th-21st). Today they've added an additional 200 bands, with highlights including Fool's Gold (pictured above), Anya Marina , The Hood Internet , Summer Camp , Vandaveer , and a bunch more. Starting next year we'll be doing our SXSW Spotlights featuring some of the new up-and-coming bands. Check out the new additions down below and see the full updated list here . [ Via ] *Akina Adderley & [...]