By Eliot Van Buskirk of Evolver.fm . A McGill University study found that activity in the brain’s nucleus accumbens reflects one’s willingness to buy music after hearing it for the first time. It’s hardly surprising that a part of the brain also known as the “reward center” would be responsible for deciding whether to buy (or like/favorite/collect ) a particular piece of music, but it’s pretty neat that the amount of activity in that reward center even corresponds to how much one is willing to spend on it [...]

Looking for some live music in Chicago this weekend? We’ve got you covered. Check out this weekend’s featured show along with a more extensive weekend list below! APRIL SMITH AND THE GREAT PICTURE SHOW @ Bottom Lounge , 10/1 April Smith and the Great Picture Show, named by Rolling Stone as one of the “30 Bands to Watch” at Lollapalooza, have recently released their latest effort, Songs For A Sinking Ship . The track "Terrible Things" was even used in a promo for Showtime's [...]
April Smith and The Great Picture Show creates an interesting ragtimey, swingin’ French cabaret vibe – all in all, a pretty unique musical experience. Music Player: April Smith - Drop Dead Gorgeous.mp3 [...]
New month, new music and new news! As always; I’ll keep on updating this post this month with more music news, updates, releases, short reviews, quick introducions and music related stuff. Click here for "February Music", here for “Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue!” (January news) and here “A Kind of Magic.. eh, [...]

It's been a month since the previous Eight Songs post . Why not celebrate this year's Turkey Day by stuffing your mouth with food and... ...Err... I was going to say enjoy eight good tracks that I have been into lately. There are four videos and four mp3s. After you're through celebrating Thanksgiving in your own way, why not come back and celebrate Black Friday by using some of these Amazon Widgets! *nudge* [...]

April Smith And The Great Picture Show will be playing a FREE show tomorrow night at 6pm on the Millennium Stage at The Kennedy Center . Check out their video for "Terrible Things" below.
Colors It's not necessarily hard to define April Smith & the Great Picture Show's sound, classy, cabaret styled pop music. The music has a nostalgia sound to it, April Smith's voice is utterly fantastic. Catching her set in Newport at the Folk Festival this summer, I was completely surprised at just how fantastic she was live, her voice was so perfect, the crowd ate up the music and I've been dying to see her again. I've been particularly enamored of the video (above) for her song 'terrible things,' as it is zombie season (halloween.) [...]
ZOMBIES! April Smith and the Great Picture Show keep dead people around in their video for "Terrible Things." It's a humorous juxtaposition of the immaculate home life with the skeletons in the closet.

April Smith is my kinda gal. Bubbly personality, chirpy voice and a gracious hostess who evidently could show Martha Stewart a thing or two about throwing a rager. Her debut, Songs For A Sinking Ship , is chock full of Dixieland ditties and old-timey Southland swing, guaranteed to get four generations shaking their respective moneymakers. Sure, it's all rosy cheeks and toothy grins on the outside, but as the video for Terrible Things suggests, Miss Smith is a troubled young lady, who probably has at least a passing familiarity with [...]
Creepy... perfect for the upcoming holiday.

Just in time for Halloween, April Smith and the Great Picture Show have unveiled their spooky new video for "Terrible Things" - the lead single from their debut Songs For A Sinking Ship. In this swinging clip, April reveals her dark side as she grinds her dinner guests into next week's leftovers. Smith tells Spinner.com : "I had this creepy, campy idea for the 'Terrible Things' music video a while back. I reached out to Ryan Stober, the director, and...

Blood and guts are what's for dinner in the latest video from the sultry siren. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for contests, MP3s, and links that don't make it onto the blog.