The Hold Steady's Boys And Girls In America, $1.99.

The Boys And Girls In America mp3 album is $1.99 today on Amazon.

Bloc Party at the Electric Factory...

Believe me, you can still rely on the guys to light a crowd on fire. They came to Philly with a purpose, which was to give themselves away to the audience, and get the audience to give itself away to the band. I'm still on the post-show buzz, but I daresay that tonight's show was one of the best concerts that ever was. If you were there, please comment or email with agreements or disagreements.

Al Green's Let's Stay Together, $1.99, and M. Ward's Hold Time, $5.00, on Amazon.com.

Amazon is offering Al Green's classic Let's Stay Together (mp3) album for $1.99, (today only!) and M. Ward's acclaimed 2009 (mp3) album, Hold Time, for $5. Awesome deals.

The Decemberists, Live at SXSW

via NPR.

Rock Operaesque.

The Dirty Projectors, Live from SXSW

via NPR.

Listen here.

Thao with the Get Down Stay Down, Live in Concert

From SXSW on NPR.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101427564&sc=sxsw-w

Every Day Is Like A Holiday

Gotta love those eMusic newsletters. Monday's featured this great compilation of Duke Reid Sessions from 1968-1973 :



The Sensations - Every Day Is Like A Holiday (mp3)
The Silvertones - Bluebird Flying Over (mp3)

Anna Faris plus Ida Maria

plus GQ =

MONO

I was swept up in this swell...The band is MONO but there are several channels going on here...

Mono - Follow The Map (mp3)

Bettye Lavette - Heart of Gold (Neil Young)

From the fabulous AntiLabelBlog.

Bettye Lavette - Heart of Gold (Neil Young)(Love@Joe's Pub March 2009)(mp3)

Cyndi Lauper - She Bop (Live on Solid Gold, 1984)

Hey, hey--they say I better get a chaperone
Because I can't stop messin' with the danger zone

Be the 4,000th Follower of Paste Mag on Twitter & Get a Free Subscription

They're at 3,909 at 12:30 EST.

Follow Paste.

3,958 at 7:48 EST...

Neko Case, Live on CBC Radio 3, 2009-03-04

I just realized that I've had this podcast for 2 weeks. I didn't even know it was there.

You can still stream or download the session, here (mp3).

Individual iPod-friendly mp3s here:

People Got A Lotta Nerve
Hold On, Hold On
Middle Cyclone
Vengeance Is Sleeping
That Teenage Feeling

Owen Pallet Loves Birushanah

...according to his Tweet this morning.

As Myspace commenter Starkweather said:

the new promo tracks are unreal!! the combination of traditional sounds with the all out metal assualt is awe inspiring. I can't get over how amazing this sounds. You've definitely advanced your sound and continue to evolve.

Listen to some demos at their Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/birushanah

Diana Ross & The Supremes Definitive Collection: $1.99

The Definitive Collection $1.99 MP3 album on Amazon.com, today only.

TGIP.

Thank God It's Pi Day.

Bell X1, Recorded Live in Concert on WXPN, today.

Listen to the concert, originally broadcast by World Cafe Live from Philadelphia earlier today on WXPN, here.

Order Pree.

If you're the D.C. area and won't be traveling to Austin next week, don't wallow in your recession blues. Washington, D.C.'s Pree are having a CD release show next Thursday at the Black Cat, with Meredith Bragg. Bring enough money for the CD, which is all wit, charm, candor, and depth, with lyrical and musical twists throughout, and beautifully unexpected.

You've never cast a shadow in your life
We fell asleep for longer than we like
We seem to pass the same moon every night
It's only bright enough to show a lack of light

Pree - Lack of Fight (mp3)

Here We Go Magic, Live on WOXY, yesterday.

Download here (mp3).

Track Listing:
Fangela
Tunnelvision
- interview -
Surprise (new/unreleased)
Only Pieces

**update** Here We Go Magic will be touring with Grizzly Bear... :)

Gonna Be Your Sugar Daddy

The Complete Motown Singles, Vol. 11B: 1971,is available now.

The Jackson 5 - Sugar Daddy (mp3)
G.C. Cameron - Act Like a Shotgun (mp3)
Richard "Popcorn" Wylie - Funky Rubber Band (mp3)

Dan Auerbach on MPR's The Current, earlier today.

Dischord: Touch & Go Suspending Operations, Reorganizing

From today's Dischord newsletter:

News that Touch & Go Records has suspended label operations has been a blow to us at Dischord. We first met Corey Rusk in 1981, when he was in the Necros, and have worked closely with Touch and Go ever since. We have always looked to Corey and the wonderful people who have worked for him over the years as prime examples of good people doing good things. We may have developed different business models over time but we always considered them kindred spirits, partners in this shared musical community that they helped to create and sustain. We salute Touch & Go for all the great music they have released over the years and wish the label the very best as they reorganize.

Q & Not U/Georgie James' John Davis forms new band, 'Title Tracks'

I was hurt when Q & Not U disbanded, and stung when Georgie James did the same. Maybe it's fitting that the debut single, Every Little Bit Hurts, is out next month. This time, please don't make me love you and then die. Title Tracks' music will be available on Dischord, naturally.

Viva Voce Sing About Devotion

Kevin Robinson recently posted some factoids on VivaVoce.com about the new album:

Factoids
Posted in Viva News on March 1st, 2009 by Kevin
We leave for tour in a few days. Very excited. It’ll be nice to head south on the I5 where it’s a bit warmer than home. Been getting a bunch of emails about the new record & thought I’d post a few facts about it here:

a) Anita and I built a studio in our backyard. We recorded Rose City in 3 weeks - from pen to paper to final master. This was deliberate.

b) All photos (and cover image) were taken at a show here in town by Megan Holmes ( a pdx photog and general mover and shaker). The guitar on the cover is Anita’s Les Paul Custom Lite, a rare little number.

c) Obviously tried to make a conscious effort to keep all elements of the record based out of Portland. It’s not really a concept record, but it’ll make sense when you hear it.

See you out on the open road. All the venues with pre-sale ticket links are up at our concert page & all of our confirmed SXSW performances are listed.
See you soon.

Viva Voce - Devotion (mp3)

Curumin, Live on KEXP 3-6-2009

Brazilian jazz funk. Accent on 'funk.'

This Sao Paolo multi-instrumentalist/producer blends Samba and other Brazilian flavors with a creative mix of reggae, funk, rock and hip-hop. He warms up the KEXP studios with this exclusive live set. Listen up and mellow out. Recorded on 1/24/09 - 4 songs: Mal Estar Card, Compacto, Misterio Stereo, Samba Japa

Curumin, Live on KEXP 3-6-2009 (mp3)

How To Live Without Music On YouTube

The Guardian offers 8 ways to cope, including:

1. Don't listen to any pop music at all,
5. Moan about it,
and my favorite, 7. Re-enact your favourite videos.

Annuals, Anni Rossi, and Benjy Ferree, Live on WOXY

All from WOXY.com Lounge Acts.

Annuals - 3-5-2009 (mp3)
Track Listing:
Always Do
Springtime
- interview -
Confessor
Wake

Anni Rossi - 3-2-2009 (mp3)
Track Listing:
Machine
Venice
- interview -
Living In Danger (Ace of Base cover, not included in podcast)
Wheelpusher

Benjy Ferree - 2-26-2009 (mp3)
Track Listing:
Big Business
Come To Me, Coming To Me
I Get No Love
- interview -
Fear
The Grips

Angus & Julia Stone, Live on KCRW, earlier today

I love her voice.

M83's Anthony Gonzales, live on KCRW, 3-6-2009

M. Ward on KCRW, 3-3-2009

10,000 Volts

I listened to The Priscillas' 10,000 Volts,which you must have, just before bed last night. It made me feel so good I felt all right about Monday. Here are the first and last songs.

All The Way To Holloway (mp3)
Dirty Old T-Shirt (mp3)

Anni Rossi and her Viola, Live on The Current

Smart's Palace, with a dedication to Bachelor dumpee Melissa Rycroft

Here are two songs from Numero's next rare soul offering, Smart's Palace, which documents and preserves the 1963-1975 Wichita, Kansas soul scene, with a generous 19 selections from the Solo, Kanwic, Vantage, and Lee-Mac labels. CD available April 21st, mp3s available now ($10) at Numerogroup.com.

Smart Brothers - I've Got A Funny Feeling (mp3) ....this one's for Melissa, who was quoted by Us Magazine's omg:

Even though Mesnick initially denied he was dating Malaney, Rycroft says she had a feeling.

"Being a girl, you get that feeling," she says. "Anybody that's been cheated on, you know. And being a woman, I got that feeling, because he just backed away from me, and I knew he had contacted her."

BASTARD.

Melissa is later quoted:

"I said, 'I hope you know why I got that mad.' We weren't talking at that point, so it was my way off saying, 'This is my closure ... Don't reply back.'"

Asked if she could ever be friends with Mesnick or Malaney, Rycroft says, "No."

Kenneth Carr - Don't Hate Let's Communicate (mp3)

Stone Cold Rhymin', Deluxe

Young M.C.'s classic rap album, which features, as Delicious Vinyl puts it, "thirteen songs and zero curse words," gets the Digital Deluxe treatment 20 years after its original release. The update comes with rare bonus tracks and remixes, and will be available on Delicious Vinyl March 17th, 2009.

Young MC - Bust A Move (Don Rimini Ravekid Remix)(mp3)

Recess.

Antony & The Johnsons, Live at 6th & I Synagogue, Washington, DC, Feb 3, 2009

Download Antony & The Johnsons' recent concert recorded at the Sixth and I Synagogue in Washington, D.C., from NPR, here (mp3), or stream here.

The Submarines, Live on The Current

What an incredible live performance. The Submarines do not disappoint.

Angus & Julia Stone's Mango Tree

This is what I've been waiting for - the cliche-free music video.



Mango Tree (mp3)

Also, check out the cover art:


A Book Like This is out today.

People Has It Hard.

Numero has a new offering out tomorrow - Local Customs: Downriver Revival, a selection of mostly soul, funk, and gospel rarities from the Solid Rock, Cass, Compose, and Revival labels, recorded in Felton William's Ecorse, Michigan basement. Brilliant. I know you probably have other new releases to pick up tomorrow, but add this one to the list...it's essential Numero.

Gospel Supremes - Sinner Man (mp3)
Coleman Family - People Has It Hard (mp3)

Unfinished Fiction From David Foster Wallace

Lane Dean, Jr., with his green rubber pinkie finger, sat at his Tingle table in his chalk’s row in the rotes group’s wiggle room and did two more returns, then another one, then flexed his buttocks and held to a count of ten and imagined a warm pretty beach with mellow surf, as instructed in orientation the previous month.

From Wiggle Room, by David Foster Wallace, an excerpt from his unfinished novel, on the New Yorker.com.

Also, see New Yorker to Publish Part of Unfinished Wallace Novel: Manuscript Was Discovered After Novelist's Death in September, in today's Washington Post (registration required).

Chinatown Bus

Hot Panda calls this song "Chinatown Bus," a title that rallies the senses to a conjured downtown evening image - that old crowded bus smell, the feel of skin on cheap fabric, the accidental touch of a stranger, and all the strange noises. The song is an escape fantasy, and what an odd vehicle for the journey of one's dreams.

Hot Panda - Chinatown Bus (mp3)

From Volcano...Bloody Volcano.

A.C. Newman on KCRW today.

A.C. Newman will be playing a live set at KCRW this morning at 11:15 (Pacific).

Beast

Beast - Mr. Hurricane

French boy-girl duo Beast give us this song, which tickled my novelty-seeking gene for the embedded gospel choir-like parts, and the drums, the drums.

Beast is out March 3rd, for less than 8 bucks on Amazon.com.

Neko Case: Exclusive First Listen on NPR

Listen to Neko Case's forthcoming Middle Cyclone in its entirety here.

Pomegranates

The muted strings, the ringing strings! Also, the descending notes - a reminder of the cosmic moments from The Church's Starfish.

Pomegranates - Corriander (mp3)

From the forthcoming April 14th release Everybody Come Outside.

From The Harlem Shakes' Debut LP

I'm sick of slow rock
I'm sick of quick quips
I'm sick of holdin' on to nothin'
When I just want to hold your hips

This will be a better year.
This will be a better year.

The Harlem Shakes - Strictly Game (mp3)

From Technicolor Health, out March 24th.

M. Ward, Live, Solo Acoustic on WNYC, Feb 17, 2009

The songs sound so good. Listen here.

Hold Timeis out now.

Looking for Beck's "Leopard-Skin Pill-box Hat?"

It seems that a lot of people are coming here looking for this...It was the song that closed the Academy Awards last night during the summer 2009 preview, and it was just. the. thing. I posted it forever ago, and it's long gone. Good news is, you can and should get it from the new War Child presents Heroes
compilation, out tomorrow, and help provide humanitarian assistance to war-affected children in some of the most devastated regions of the world.

Check out the track listing:

1. Beck (Bob Dylan - "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat")
2. The Kooks (The Kinks - "Victoria")
3. The Hold Steady (Bruce Springsteen - "Atlantic City")
4. Hot Chip (Joy Division - "Transmission")
5. Lily Allen feat. Mick Jones (The Clash - "Straight To Hell")
6. Yeah Yeah Yeahs (The Ramones - "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker")
7. Franz Ferdinand (Blondie - "Call Me")
8. Duffy (Paul McCartney - "Live And Let Die")
9. Estelle (Stevie Wonder - "Superstition")
10. Rufus Wainwright (Brian Wilson -" Wonderful & Song For Children")
11. Scissor Sisters (Roxy Music - "Do The Strand")
12. Peaches (Iggy Pop - "Search And Destroy")
13. Adam Cohen (Leonard Cohen - "Take This Waltz")
14. Elbow (U2 - "Running To Stand Still")
15. The Like (Elvis Costello - "You Belong To Me")
16. TV On The Radio (David Bowie - "Heroes")

Andrew Bird, Live on KEXP, 1-22-2009

Download here (mp3).

Hey Mr. Big!!

This is wrong.



And of course we have just the song.

The Dils - Mr. Big (mp3)

from Class War

Antony & The Johnsons, Live on The Current, earlier today.

And from last night's Letterman:

Neko Case - The Next Time You Say Forever

It's a minute and 46 seconds of Neko Case, and I know, I know, it's not enough. But Middle Cyclone is out in less than 2 weeks. Even better - she's probably coming to a town near you, soon.

Neko Case - The Next Time You Say Forever (mp3)

Lily Allen, Live on KCRW, Earlier Today

You can't not love Lily Allen, can you?

Calvino & Millhauser in The New Yorker

The moon is old, Qfwfq agreed, pitted with holes, worn out. Rolling naked through the skies, it erodes and loses its flesh like a bone that’s been gnawed. This is not the first time that such a thing has happened. I remember moons that were even older and more battered than this one; I’ve seen loads of these moons, seen them being born and running across the sky and dying out, one punctured by hail from shooting stars, another exploding from all its craters, and yet another oozing drops of topaz-colored sweat that evaporated immediately, then being covered by greenish clouds and reduced to a dried-up, spongy shell.

What happens on the earth when a moon dies is not easy to describe; I’ll try to do it by referring to the last instance I can remember. Following a lengthy period of evolution, the earth had more or less reached the point where we are now; in other words, it had entered the phase when cars wear out more quickly than the soles of shoes. Beings that were barely human manufactured and bought and sold things, and cities covered the continents with luminous color. These cities grew in approximately the same places as our cities do now, however different the shape of the continents was. There was even a New York that in some way resembled the New York familiar to all of you, but was much newer, or, rather, more awash with new products, new toothbrushes, a New York with its own Manhattan that stretched out dense with skyscrapers gleaming like the nylon bristles of a brand-new toothbrush.

- from The Daughters of The Moon, by Italo Calvino, on TheNewYorker.com

From the beginning we were prepared, we knew just what to do, for hadn’t we seen it all a hundred times?—the good people of the town going about their business, the suddenly interrupted TV programs, the faces in the crowd looking up, the little girl pointing in the air, the mouths opening, the dog yapping, the traffic stopped, the shopping bag falling to the sidewalk, and there, in the sky, coming closer . . . And so, when it finally happened, because it was bound to happen, we all knew it was only a matter of time, we felt, in the midst of our curiosity and terror, a certain calm, the calm of familiarity, we knew what was expected of us, at such a moment. The story broke a little after ten in the morning...

- from The Invasion From Outer Space, by Steven Millhauser, from last week's TheNewYorker.com.

Juana Molina, Live on KEXP 2-10-2009

It's a "multilayered folktronic meditation," in the words of the KEXP feedwriters. Download here.

She'll be on KCRW today.

1,000,000.

You might think that upon 1,000,000 hits (TODAY), TSOAF's author(s) might write a piece exceeding 50 words. Nope. Still, thanks for visiting! TSOAF soldiers on for you, dear downloader, piece-free.

R.E.M. - 1,000,000 (Live at Tyrones, Athens GA 9-23-1981)(mp3)

A conversation from last night:

Me: The Smudge will reach a million hits tomorrow.
Julie: Congratulations.
Me: I wonder what's next.
Julie: 1,000,001.

Andrew Bird, live on KCRW, today.

Listen here:


Video should be up tomorrow.

Amazon offers Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" FREE for V.T.'s Day

Clicky.

School of Seven Bells, Live on The Current, 2-10-2009

If I Work 'Til The Close Of Day, Lord (TGIF)

If I walk in the pathway of duty
If I work 'til the close of day, Lord
I shall see the great king in all his beauty
When I've gone the last mile of the way, Lord, yes sir

When I've gone the last mile of the way, oh yeah
I shall rest at the close of day
For I know there are joy awaiting
When I've gone the last mile of the way

The Soul Stirrers - The Last Mile of the Way (mp3)
Troy Ramey and the Soul Searchers - By The Power Of God (mp3)

New on the yPod

Y-Rock on XPN has a podcast, and the beautiful XPNers recently made the following in-studio performances available for download:

Phantom Planet (2-6-2009)(originally recorded in Jun 08)(mp3)
Ra Ra Riot (1-23-2009)(mp3)

After reading the news on The Rentals' latest project, you might be itching for something like this:

The Rentals (1-25-2008)(mp3)

Puritanically Yours.

The Kool-Aid is so drinkable.

Parenthetical Girls - Puritanically Yours (mp3)
Kanda - In Celebration of Karaoke (mp3)

The shortest one word post ever.

Oi!

Sab Gray & The Royal Americans - Wasted in D.C. (mp3)
Brassknuckle Boys - Day After Day (mp3)

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart (Live on KEXP 2-9-2009)

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart played a live in-studio set for KEXP, broadcast today. They also played the Black Cat tonight, on the other coast...if you were there, let us know how it was.

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart (Live on KEXP 2-9-2009)(mp3s):

Doing All The Things That Wouldn't Make Your Parents Proud
Come Saturday
Kurt Cobain's Cardigan
The Tenure Itch

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart was released last Tuesday.

Franz Ferdinand - Live, Koeln, 2-4-2009 (FM)

Here's one thing on my list of things to do before I, well, you know: Go to a rock concert in Germany. With Germans.

Franz Ferdinand - Live, Koeln (Cologne), Kulturkirche, 2-4-2009 (mp3s):

No You Girls
Send Him Away
Live Alone
Take Me Out
Ulysses

From this set.

It's a recession-friendly 10 bucks for Tonight:Franz Ferdinandon Amazon.com.

Andrew Bird, Live at the 9:30 Club, 2-3-2009

NPR broadcast Andrew Bird's performance at the 9:30 Club on Tuesday. You can listen to the entire concert here.

Andrew Bird - Live at the 9:30 Club, 3 February 2009 (mp3s):

Oh No
Effigy
Not A Robot, But A Ghost

Also, download Loney Dear's entire opening set here, or stream it here.

Oxford Americana

Here are a few bits of Americana from a couple of Oxford American Southern Music samplers. The first two, taken from the same compilation (Vol. 6), are polar opposites.


Ann Savoy & Linda Ronstadt - La Chanson d'une Fille de Quinze Ans (Song of a Fifteen Year Old Girl)(mp3)

The Collins Kids - Hot Rod (mp3)

The Staple Singers - Will The Circle Be Unbroken (mp3)

Perfect Unpop

Copies of Peel Show Hits and Long-Lost lo Fi Favourites, Vol. 1
are getting rare: one in stock at Amazon.

Beneath lo-fi, these are Ludd-fi, and it's mighty ironic that you're going to listen to these songs on your computer and/or iPod.

The Monochrome Set - He's Frank (Slight Return)(mp3)
Language School - Tours (mp3)
The Vibrators - Whips and Furs (mp3)

A.C. Newman - Live on WFMU 1-31-2009

The New Pornographers' A.C. Newman recently visited Terre T's Cherry Blossom Clinic show on WFMU and played 6 songs in-studio, broadcast on Saturday, in support of his new album, Get Guilty.
'Twas glorious. Listen to the entire performance here.

Palace at 4 AM
The Heartbreak Rides

Bloc Party Live on KCRW 1-29-2009

On tour now. Yeah, you'll be looking for tickets after watching this.

Bloc Party - Halo (Morning Becomes Eclectic 1-29-2009)(mp3)

Sometimes a little 'tude hits just the right spot.

The Stolen Minks - Stop Talking:

Everybody.

True.

Bunny Sigler - Everybody Needs Good Lovin' (mp3)